Andretti Closer to F1 Entry With $200M Fee Covered

Andretti Autosport now just needs the green light to enter Formula 1 as the 11th team.

The American racing giant received key financial backing from Guggenheim Partners, a private equity firm with $285 billion in assets under management.

• The firm will provide funding for Andretti’s $200 million facility in Indiana.
• It will also cover the $200 million entry fee for Formula 1, a sum intended to offset revenue dilution for other teams.
• Andretti still needs approval from the FIA, F1’s governing body. To date, other F1 teams have been resistant to adding more cars to the grid.

The racing group is run by former racer Michael Andretti, son of legend Mario Andretti, and has teams in IndyCar, Formula E, Extreme E, and several other series.

New Digs

Whether or not the group is able to enter F1, Andretti is committed to constructing a 575,000-square-foot facility that will house a restaurant, Andretti museum, and outdoor amphitheater. 

The facility will also house Andretti’s IndyCar operations, with an eye toward an F1 entry and potentially NASCAR as well.

“We want to be in all forms of auto racing, from Le Mans to Monaco to the Indy 500 and the Daytona 500,” Michael Andretti said. “And eventually in the future, we want it all to be under one roof. That’s our big goal, and we’ve got a lot of plans in the works to get there.”