Lack of F1 entry hasn’t stopped Andretti poaching staff from Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari
Despite not receiving final approval for an F1 entry, Andretti are pressing ahead with their plans.
Andretti have already made hires from the likes of Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari despite not yet receiving the green light to join the F1 grid.
The US-based outfit’s bid to enter F1 with General Motors’ Cadillac brand was approved by motorsport’s governing body, the FIA, last October, but FOM has the casting vote and is yet to announce a decision.
Nevertheless, Andretti have been pressing ahead with their plans.
Their F1 operation consists of 120 staff, including around 50 GM engineers, according to The Athletic, who report Andretti are “already leaning heavily on GM’s technical support”.
Andretti’s F1 technical director Nick Chester revealed the American team have successfully poached personnel from some of the biggest teams in the sport.
“I was pleasantly surprised, in a way, how easy it was to draw people to the project,” Chester told The Athletic. “There’s a real draw of a new team, the Andretti name. A blank sheet tends to have a very proactive culture.
“We’ve had people joining from Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren. They all wanted a new challenge. It’s that real potential to shape departments, which is very attractive.”
According to The Athletic’s report, Andretti are planning to build a full-size F1 chassis in mid-2024 to be used as a prototype model for early homologation testing.
“It takes time to build competitive race cars,” Michael Andretti, Andretti Global’s CEO and chairman, told The Athletic.
“I’m very happy that we have made so much progress already on long-lead activities such as aerodynamic design and simulation. We don’t underestimate the task.”
Despite reported opposition from F1 and some of its teams, Andretti is confident his side’s entry bid will get rubber-stamped.
“As Mohammed [Ben Sulayem, FIA president] has said a number of times, the benefits we will bring to the sport and the championship are so obvious,” Andretti added.
“I can’t imagine anyone would want to try to stop us, and deprive racing fans of the opportunity to see a genuine American works team going head-to-head with the legendary names currently competing in F1.”
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