Photo: Chris Owens / IndyCar Media
Wipe your tears away, racing fans, because they The Andretti family does not seem to be buying up the Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team in the foreseeable future. Turns out all the hype was just that: hype.
If you’ve missed out on the latest drama, Michael Andretti – son of legendary Mario Andretti and owner of the Andretti Autosport racing team – has considered buying a controlling stake in the company that owns Sauber, which in turn owns the Alfa Romeo F1 team. A few vague rumors of a meeting between Andretti and the concerned parties surfaced and fans desperate for a small American representation began to speculate about it Colton Herta could end up in Formula 1 due to the deal.
It turns out it doesn’t happen RACER Reports based on conversations with multiple sources.
Nothing seems to have stood in the way of the deal. Instead, Andretti and Sauber were to have talks during the USA Grand Prix weekend, and those talks have been postponed. There was a vague hope that talks would resume in Mexico City during next weekend’s Mexico Grand Prix, but RACER says various sources disagree. Instead, the $ 404 million deal is completely off the table.
Part of the problem seems to come in the form of Colton Herta, who was consistently identified as an Alfa Romeo driver as part of the deal. Herta was supposedly supposed to take part in Free Practice 1 during the US Grand Prix, but his super licensing situation was pretty dire.
G / O Media can receive a commission
In order to participate in an F1 session, you must have achieved a certain number of points by participating in a certain number of FIA-certified motorsport disciplines. Even with a COVID-mandated addendum that would have included Herta’s second place in the 2018 Indy Light Championship, it would not have enough points, as the FIA only awards points if the season is contested by a certain number of drivers. The 2018 Indy Lights field was depressingly slim and did not make this requirement.
So Herta couldn’t drive an F1 car in FP1, and it seems that this was an integral part of the deal.
As it stands, the Andretti / Sauber deal doesn’t look like a comeback.
The post Andretti Autosport will no longer buy into F1 in the foreseeable future first appeared on monter-une-startup.
