Announcing that Devlin DeFrancesco will complete the team’s four-man IndyCar line-up for 2022, Andretti Autosport’s CEO said, “I just want to end some of these rumors that the deal failed due to financial reasons that couldn’t be further from the truth be away, it had nothing to do with it.
“Basically, the last hours of the negotiations were about controlling problems. That’s what ruined the deal.
“I’ve always said that if the deal isn’t right, we won’t make it, and in the end it wasn’t right. So let’s keep looking for other options.”
Andretti later added: “Unfortunately, around the eleventh hour the control problems changed and we had to pull out of this deal because we couldn’t accept it. I’ve always said we’ll only do it if it’s right for us, and in the end it wasn’t right for us. “
Asked by AP to clarify whether he meant that Andretti Autosport should “buy and not control”, Andretti nodded and said: “Basically.”
Andretti, who clinched 42 IndyCar wins, publicly confirmed for the first time that Colton Herta’s move from the US open-wheel to Formula 1 was indeed part of his expansion plan.
“If we ever get a team [Herta] would be groundbreaking for us when it comes to bringing an American driver along, “he said.” He would be the perfect guy for that. I mean we definitely wanted to try to get him on because I think he could be a competitive driver in Europe. I really. There’s no reason why he shouldn’t. “
He agreed that there was a lot of enthusiasm for an American and the return of the Andretti name in Formula One, but that Liberty was not actively involved in making that happen.
“Freedom? No, ”he commented. “I think they’d like it of course because they’re really driving the American market, but they haven’t done anything to help us … I think it would have been a huge story. It’s a shame it didn’t work out . ” But I do not give up…
“Our eyes will always remain open. We’ll always look for opportunities there … not just there, but also in other formulas, other racing sports. That’s what we do. and we are always looking for ways to expand.
“But when we expand we have to make sure it’s a real deal that we know we can be competitive about, because that’s very important for our brand – to be competitive in everything we do.”
Andretti also confirmed that Kyle Kirkwood, the 2021 Indy Lights champion, would have moved to Formula 1, would have taken his place on the team’s IndyCar line-up.
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