Andretti confirms Renault deal for F1 "quantum leap"

Mario Andretti has confirmed son Michael's proposed entry to F1 has reached a formal agreement to run Renault power units if its bid to join the grid is successful.

The 1978 champion revealed in a tweet last week the former McLaren driver had submitted a proposal to the FIA over joining F1 from 2024 onwards under the name Andretti Global.

It was confirmed the headquarters would be near the team's IndyCar home in Indianapolis with a 'race-base' in England in order to operate mid-season.

Speaking to David Land, who hosts a YouTube channel dedicated to motorsport, Andretti Sr confirmed: “We have a formal agreement now on the engine supplier and it’s out there, it’s going to be Renault and I’m allowed to say it now.

“There was a lot of speculation from Toto Wolff [Mercedes team principal], he was concerned about potentially it being Ferrari, Ferrari would have more votes than he would have, so on and so forth.”

The arrival of Andretti Global into F1 would be a welcome boost to Renault, which has only supplied one team [Alpine] since breaking ties with McLaren and Honda.

The Andretti Group is a leading brand in IndyCar, Formula E, Extreme E whilst also taking part in rallycross and Australian Supercars yet despite the experience of the squad, Andretti Sr believes a move into F1 would be a "quantum leap".

“There’s a lot of steps to take here and I understand that," he added. "It’s a huge undertaking. But we’re ready for it. We have incredible partners on our side, Michael does, and we’re there for the duration.

“Myself, I’ve been at it for 67 years now so we know what goes on on all sides of the Atlantic and this is a great undertaking, a wonderful undertaking on Michael’s part.

"This shows that he’s very, very ambitious in the sport. That’s his business, period.

“We live and breathe motor racing only and he’s at the age now that he has to make the quantum leap, if you will, to be able to give it at least 20, 25 years, a good 25 years in a business.

"And that’s it, so we’re all in and we’re ready to go.”

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