The American who has headed the operation since 2002 is set to step back into an ambassadorial and advisory role within the business that carries his name.
According to the team, it is part of a long-planned transition for the ex-racer, with Dan Towriss to take the helm in Andretti’s place.
“Michael’s goal has been to transition to a more strategic role with Andretti Global and focus less on the operational side of the race team,” Andretti Global said in a statement to Sportico.
“He and Dan Towriss have been working on a structure of what this could look like and have reached a direction that Michael is very happy with and believes will bring a positive future.
“Michael remains engaged and will continue to serve as a strategic advisor and key ambassador.
“We will have more to share in the coming weeks after Michael and Dan have had an opportunity to speak to the team.”
Towriss acquired an ownership stake in Andretti Global courtesy of a buy-in in 2022 through his holding company, Group 1001.
That move was part of a capital-raising effort to fund Andretti’s F1 ambitions, preparations for which remain well underway despite ongoing uncertainty.
Towriss worked in the insurance sector prior to founding Group 1001, a financial services company which boasts Gainbridge among its brands.
He’d been involved with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 2016 before buying into Andretti Global as discussions were ongoing to acquire Sauber – which ultimately fell through.
That saw Towriss’ interest progress from a comparatively small time investor in the organisation to co-owner.
“We’ve really been on the same page across the board, so it was an easy conversation,” Towriss told IndyCar’s official website when asked about the deal last year.
“I do think we brought (the topic of team ownership) up first, but he was very open to that. He was like, ‘Of course,’ and he was very welcoming.
“So, we’re partners in the truest sense. That’s a very easy relationship, even on the hard days. There’s just so much respect (between us), and we’ll talk about his perspective and my perspective.
“My (strength) is business, not racing, so I don’t offer opinions on setups and drivers and tyre strategy, those kind of things. I’m very involved in the business side, and Michael and I talk multiple times a week.
“There’s never a week that goes by that we don’t speak on the phone. It’s definitely a lot of collaboration back and forth.
“It’s been fun; we’ve learned a lot from each other.”
Discussion about this post