To end the speculation, Michael Andretti reveals that “control problems” have dashed hopes for a takeover of the Sauber F1 operations.
Late last month, after weeks of intense speculation, it was revealed that Andretti had lost sight of talks that would have got him into F1.
Andretti reportedly wanted to buy an 80 percent stake in Islero Investments, the Sauber Motorsport company that runs the Alfa Romeo F1 operations. Claims from Swedish billionaire Finn Rausing, the man behind Islero.
When Andretti announced the fourth driver for his team in IndyCar in 2022, he wanted to set the record right.
“I just want to end some of those rumors that the deal failed for financial reasons,” he said. “That couldn’t be further from the truth. It had nothing to do with that.
“Basically, the last hours of the negotiations were about controlling problems. That’s what ruined the deal.
“I’ve always said if the deal isn’t right, we won’t do it,” he continued, “and in the end it wasn’t right. So let’s keep looking for other options.
“Unfortunately, at the eleventh hour, the control problems changed,” he added, “and it was a deal we had to step back from because we couldn’t accept it.
“I’ve always said that we only do it if it’s right for us and in the end it wasn’t right for us.”
When asked if the “control problem” essentially meant that Andretti Autosport was able to buy Sauber but not control it, he replied, “Basically.”
When asked if the owners of F1, Liberty Media, had been involved in the discussions at any point, he said, “Liberty? No.
“I think they’d like it, of course,” he continued, “because they’re really driving the American market, but they haven’t done anything to help us.
“I think it would have been a big story. It’s a shame it didn’t work out. But I’m not giving up. Our eyes will always be open. We will always look for opportunities there, not” just there, but also in other formulas, other racing sports. That’s what we do. We’re in the racing business and we’re 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.”
Although the deal has expired, Andretti confirmed that Colton Herta would almost certainly have made the move from IndyCar to F1.
“If we ever get a team he would of course go the way for us when it comes to bringing an American driver along,” said Andretti.
“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 do. T. “
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