Andretti Cadillac Not Waiting for Final F1 Approval, Schedules Wind Tunnel Test

• Michael Andretti’s bid to join the championship as a potential 11th entry has received the approval of motorsport’s governing body, the FIA.
• While the proposed Andretti Cadillac team waits for a final okay by Formula 1, he’s pressing forward.
• Andretti says he can have his team ready for the grid as early as 2025.

Andretti Cadillac is pushing on with its Formula 1 entry plans as owner Michael Andretti revealed Friday that a 2023-spec F1 car will be tested in a wind tunnel next week.

Andretti’s bid to join the championship as a potential 11th entry received the approval of motorsport’s governing body, the FIA, earlier this month. Andretti already has several senior Formula 1 figures involved in its team, including ex-Renault/Lotus technical director Nick Chester, former Williams aero chief Jon Tomlinson and ex-Manor designer John McQuilliam.

Speaking to Sky Sports at the Circuit of the Americas, Andretti said that “at the moment we are still shooting for ’25.

“Our car is actually going to be in the wind tunnel next week—we have a car already set-up in ’23 spec—so we’re flat out. We’re building a team. At the moment it’s ’25, could be ’26, but we’ll see.”

One major stumbling block for Andretti is the requirement to reach an agreement with Formula 1. Formula 1 has been at best lukewarm to the prospect of expanding the grid while the majority of the teams—teams do not vote, but can influence the final matter—have been opposed to the entry.

“I don’t know, it’s a mystery to me in some ways why they’re pushing back,” said Andretti. “They say we’re slicing the pie but the point is hopefully we bring in more than we’re taking away and we really believe that. If you look at the fan support on all of the surveys that have been done and things, we think we’re going to add to it, not take it away.”

Andretti also elaborated on the approach the team would take with regards to its driver lineup.

“Obviously we talk a lot about Colton (Herta), and Colton is definitely at the top of our list, but obviously we have the points problem,” said Andretti, referring to Herta’s current ineligibility for a Formula 1 Super License. “So we have to see how he does in the IndyCar championship (in 2024) to hopefully get enough points to get a Super License.

“But then, we’ve talked to a few others who do qualify. The goal is to have at least one American in the car and then an experienced driver in the other car to help mentor that.”