Michael Andretti is on a mission to get his hugely successful team onto the F1 grid, with the latest twist in the saga seeing US Congress members demand that Liberty Media explain why a position in the paddock was denied earlier this year.
Of equal importance to Andretti is positioning his team in feeder series including F2 and F3, but according to Michel, there have been no movements on this front.
“I read a few things on Andretti saying that they wanted to join F2 and F3, but we haven’t been in contact yet,” said Michel. “Probably it will happen.
“The second thing is that I understood that Andretti was looking also at possible programmes to Formula 1 which, at the moment, is still not decided.
“Now, if Andretti wants to join F2 and F3, they have to go through the same process as anybody else because that is the way it works.
“We have a selection process every three years in both categories. The one in F2 happened last year at the end of 2023, so the next one will be in three years time. For F3, the selection process is going to be this year.
“So if they want to join, they of course have to go through the process.”
Asked by Motorsport.com if Andretti may be able to shortcut the process due to its size on the international motor racing platform, Michel explained: “I think it’s a question of fairness to the other teams.
“Most of the teams have been with Formula 2 for many, many years now. There have been a few changes in shareholding of some of the teams over the last two seasons because F2 and F3 are becoming a very interesting business too for team owners.
“But I have to be fair to the existing teams.
“Of course, Andretti is a good name. Of course, Andretti in the case of a general motor racing programme is interesting. We don’t have an American team in F2, so it ticks a lot of boxes.
“But then, yes, it will have to go through the same process as everybody else because it would be completely unfair to the existing teams otherwise.”
Andretti recently opened its headquarters at Silverstone and has begun hiring in preparation for its expected F1 project, despite being told it will not be allowed to enter in 2026.
And despite the American team’s undoubted pedigree, a place on the F2 or F3 grid is far from guaranteed, with Michel stating that expanding the F3 grid beyond 30 cars is “completely out of the question”.
Despite conceding additional cars could be possible in F2, however, he added: “At the moment, I’m not so inclined to increase the number of teams.
“Which means that, to go back to Andretti, yes, they can try to do a deal with an existing team or they can apply. If they apply, there is always a possibility that one team will not continue or one team will not have done a proper job and, in that case, there is a chance to come in.”
