Last October, the FIA officially approved the candidacy presented by Andretti to enter the Formula 1 championship, with confirmation coming only at the end of an evaluation process on sporting, technical, financial and environmental sustainability criteria.
However, the American team has not yet received the green light to appear on the grid, because once approval has been received from the Federation, an agreement is also needed with Liberty Media, which manages the commercial rights of the championship.
Although the team has not yet passed the second approval phase, for which it has also put the GM group's candidacy on the table through the entry of Cadillac as supplier of the Power Unit, Andretti is already busy developing its project. In fact, the engineers recruited by the US team since last October have been active in Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. To show the progress made so far, Andretti has released the first image of its scale model, while it will move to a full testing program later in the year should participation in the championship be confirmed soon, so to arrive ready at the starting line.
The team can count on two locations: one is the research and development center at the GM Motorsport headquarters in Charlotte in the USA, where around 50 people work, while the other is the European hub located in England, near Silverstone, which houses 70 employees. In reality, with the continuous expansion of the staff, Andretti intends to move to a larger facility, but still close to the British track.
Photo by: Andretti Autosport
I work at GM Charlotte
According to technical director Nick Chester, recruited last year after a long experience in Formula 1 and Formula E, the group that deals with the development of the single-seater is working at full speed, hoping to receive the green light from Formula 1 for a possible debut in 2025 or 2026.
“I think obviously we would prefer to have a formal entry and a goal to focus on the season. But I think we were very satisfied with the process that we went through with the FIA,” explained the engineer in an interview with Motorsport.com.
There is trust on the part of the team, especially for the elements put on the table, such as the financing available and the link with GM. It should not be forgotten, in fact, that Andretti could also count on the support of Guggenheim Partners, which currently supports the company in IndyCar and Formula E, where it has also become the team's main sponsor to symbolize its profound bond. “Was [un processo] very rigorous and we met all the conditions. We are working head-on to try to have a competitive car ready for any year in which we enter the championship. I think everyone is reasonably confident that given the funding, the Andretti name, the connection with GM, the fact that GM is going to make its own Power Unit for 2028, that this can happen.”
“The great thing is that it's a group of like-minded people who enjoy growing a new team. And that makes it very fun and challenging,” added the technical project manager.
Photo by: Andretti Autosport
I work at GM Charlotte
Chester, who in the past was also former technical director of Renault, underlined that at the moment there is no precise date on which the team's future will be known, but if confirmation does not arrive in time to participate in next season, this will force the team leaders to postpone the debut to 2026.
“We don't have one [data] precise, but the sooner we know it, the better we can make the machine. It's really complicated, it's a very difficult question. Because you want to have confirmation of your registration and a date, so you can plan the recruitment of all your staff. Obviously we are still building, but after joining, the construction of the team would be even faster”, explained the technical director, because clearly at that point the team would have concrete bases with which to be able to attract engineers from other teams, given the confirmation of participation in the world championship.
“The deadline is a bit of a compromise in terms of performance. You can start pushing later, but you end up having a worse car. The longer you go, the more difficult it becomes to put a competitive car on the grid.”
The team is testing a 2024 model that will never race, to develop and better understand the tools available, have a clearer picture of how a given aerodynamic concept works and have a reference for the future. All this while a new group of people from different teams, and in some cases directly from universities, are training to work together.
Photo by: Renault F1
Nick Chester, Chassis Technical Director Renault Sport F1 Team
“We're actually trying to develop with a current car and learn from those geometries and how to get better performance out of them. But also to try to improve our process of developing the concept, the CFD, the gallery, the visualization of the CFD results We are therefore trying to improve the processes and develop a 2024 car.”
If the team ultimately moves to the 2026 entry date, it will have to focus on the new rules, although, like existing teams already taking part in the championship, it will not be able to work on the new aerodynamic technical cycle until January 1, 2025.
“It's a difficult step to make. Obviously with 2026 the rules are not all defined yet. There is a CAD model around and there is some intention. But there is not a complete regulation yet. So it's a bit complicated to switch from one model to another,” added Chester.
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