One of the big talking points in the sport at the moment is the potential addition of Andretti Global to the Formula 1 grid in the near future.
The FIA approved their bid a few weeks ago after a rigorous process, but they have to clear the FOM hurdle. They are also facing a lot of pushback from the current teams.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 on Friday at COTA, Michael Andretti revealed they will be testing a 2023-spec car in Toyota’s wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany next week.
“At the moment we are still shooting for 2025.
“Our car is actually going to be in the wind tunnel next week, so we have a car already built up in 2023-spec. We are flat out and we are building a team, so at the moment it is ’25 but could be ’26, we’ll see.”
In regards to the potential driver pairing they will field should they be on the grid in the next couple of years, Andretti says Colton Herta is still the team’s first option in regards to having a driver from the United States in one of the cars.
Herta had a relatively disappointing 2023 IndyCar season. The youngest ever winner of a race in the category only scored one podium in Toronto, and it was fellow young American Kyle Kirkwood who stole the show inside the Andretti Autosport team as he scored two wins in his first season with the squad.
However, Herta did finish P10 in the championship, one place and four points ahead of Kirkwood. But a lowly championship finish hasn’t helped his F1 superlicence points total.
“Obviously, we talked a lot about Colton, and Colton is definitely at the top of our list, but we have the points problem, so we have to see how he does in IndyCar to hopefully get enough points to get a superlicence.
“We talked to a few others that do qualify. But the goal is to have at least one American in the car and then an experienced driver in the other car to help mentor him.”
Photo credit: Penske Entertainment | Joe Skibinski
