By taking a step back from the daily management of the Andretti Global teams while retaining a role as strategic advisor, Michael Andretti is handing over control to investors and no longer dreams of Formula 1.
A restructuring of the Andretti Global group, which owns teams in IndyCar, Indy NXT, IMSA, Formula E, Extreme E and Australian Supercar, sees its boss and founder Michael Andretti hand over the reins of his empire to his partner Dan Towriss (at the center of the photo above, between Mario Andretti and his son Michael), appointed CEO with immediate effect.
This unexpected news was confirmed on the sly yesterday to the company’s staff, revealed a little earlier by the site specializing in the sports business Sporty, which is owned by Jay Penske, the son of legendary IndyCar owner Roger Penske.
Relations between Andretti and Penske have become strained recently after criticism of the lack of investment in the championship by the first, much to the chagrin of the second.
The wolf in the sheepfold
In this battle of leaders, it is always money that has the last word and Michael Andretti has found himself weakened since he brought businessman Dan Towriss, first sponsor of the team then shareholder with Gainbridge and Group 1001, its two insurance companies.
The $200 million injected by Towriss since 2018 has enabled the rapid development of Andretti Global in numerous disciplines while setting up a structure intended to raise money to finance the Andretti Cadillac project in Formula 1, including the construction of an impressive campus in Indianapolis and the acquisition of a factory in Silverstone to make it its European HQ.
But the failure of talks with Liberty Media to enter F1 and the aggressive attitude of the Andretti family in this matter stopped the machine, with the consequence of the seizure of power by the one who now holds the purse strings by pushing his associated to the output.
Zak Brown as a surprise guest…
The transfer of Michael Andretti’s assets involves a nebulous financial arrangement via a company based in the Cayman Islands, a well-known tax haven, in which appears… Zak Brown! The CEO of McLaren has been close to the Andretti clan for a long time and has a powerful network, including the father of Nolan Siegel, his latest recruit in IndyCar (to the detriment of Théo Pourchaire), based in the Cayman Islands, who specializes in finance.
What role Brown could play in these big maneuvers and what impact they will have on Andretti’s potential future in F1 remains to be seen, but we can trust the formidable American manager to pull the strings and possibly facilitate a rapprochement between McLaren and the new strong man of Andretti Global…
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