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Andretti Global continues to work on its F1 program despite not having been granted entry into the world championship.
It currently boasts an F1-specific workforce of approaching 250 staff, plus a host of contractors and relationships elsewhere in the industry that boost that figure.
That includes high-profile staff such as ex-Formula 1 technical boss Pat Symonds.
Earlier this year it unveiled a new Silverstone campus that will house the operation, a site that is currently undergoing fit-out as part of the project.
The logistics surrounding that fit-out are understood to be a limiting factor in the team’s ability to recruit faster.
Ironically, Andretti is arguably in a beneficial position by not having a 2026 entry as yet.
While rivals are hamstrung by the regulations on what they are able to begin work on, not to mention limited by cost cap, there are no such limitations for Andretti.
It is making the most of that position with sources revealing to Speedcafe that it is running multiple shifts in the wind tunnel – which it has exclusive use of.
That is supported by a small army of model makers creating parts for the tunnel, including leveraging experience both from Toyota in Cologne on top of in-house staff and other third parties.
It continues to grow its model-building team as part of a broader recruitment push that is set to see the squad swell by more than 25 percent before Christmas.
That effort will see the squad have a 2026-spec F1 chassis on hand before the end of the year.
Speedcafe understands the intended purpose of that chassis is for load and crash testing, just as it has done with countless nose assemblies – it has already developed a solution capable of passing the FIA’s frontal impact test.
Other components are also being produced, Speedcafe has seen wishbones and other suspension elements.
It is both a significant amount of work and investment despite facing an uncertain future, as its place on the grid has not been accepted.
Andretti Global attempted to join the grid through an expressions of interest process opened by the sport’s regulator, the FIA, last year.
Four applications were made with Andretti’s the only one to progress to the ‘next stage’, which referred it to Formula 1 itself for commercial consideration.
That is where the bid stalled, with the commercial rights holder deeming the entity added no value to the championship and would therefore not be permitted to enter – despite slots for new teams being available under the regulations.
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Andretti Global’s project originally saw it entering very much as its own operation, but that transformed into a deep-seated relationship with General Motors, which intends to enter F1 as a power unit manufacturer via its Cadillac brand for 2028 (contingent on Andretti being on the grid).
The power unit and the Michael Andretti-led operation’s initial reliance on obligation to supply regulations did not sit well with F1 which claimed that such a move hurt the prestige of the championship.
Awkwardly, Renault has recently announced that it has withdrawn from F1 as a power unit manufacturer, with its team now set to boast a customer power unit from 2026, having voluntarily wound back from factory status.
The influence of rival power unit manufacturers to Cadillac (GM) in addition to the sport’s commercial rights holder seemingly possessing regulatory rights has caught the eye of the Department of Justice in the United States, which has opened an investigation into the situation amid allegations of antitrust behaviour.
Mario Andretti, father of Michael, has also claimed that Liberty Media boss Greg Maffei has taken a personal interest in the matter, telling the 1978 world champion that he will “do everything in my power to see that Michael never enters Formula 1”.
It’s not the only battle Andretti Global is fighting, with seemingly deliberately skewed reporting of changes within its business structure emerging earlier this month.
Sportico revealed that Michael Andretti will step back from the organisation’s day-to-day operations, though it was presented as if he were giving up control of the business.
The team has categorically denied that, and sources confirmed as much to Speedcafe. Andretti himself has written an open letter in an attempt to clarify the situation.
It’s suggested the report was a comeuppance for the Andretti owner figurehead after he’d been outspoken about IndyCar’s marketing effort. Roger Penske owns IndyCar, and his son, Jay, owns Sportico.
It is alleged the story surfaced after confidential documentation filed by Andretti Global as part of its IndyCar charter submission found its way to Sportico.
With Andretti Global’s expanding interests, headlined by its F1 project, the 1991 IndyCar champion is looking to move into a strategic position atop all aspects of the business, freeing him of the need to be on the pit stand at events.
It’s a logical move that also serves to future-proof the organisation, with each element able to operate independently but with oversight.
With the F1 project maturing, that is important, given it will see Andretti Global spread across both the United States and the United Kingdom while also racing internationally.
In the interim, Andretti Global pushes on with its F1 project, an approach that could leave it with a competitive advantage over the rest of the field should its entry be accepted.
That decision may not be in Formula 1’s hands, and could be the result of the Department of Justice.
