For a long time, Michael Andretti has been planning his entry into Formula 1. Recently he even made a gigantic bid by partnering with Cadillac to bolster his entry into the sport.
However, most teams, especially the top sides, voted against it due to the further division of the revenue getting to the 10 sides. Red Bull was one of the crucial opposition to Andretti entering the sport amidst the conflict.
But now Red Bull could end up facilitating the move, as a recent AMuS report suggests, the F1 side can sell their sister team owing to unaffordable operations costs.
Andretti offering to buy Alpha Tauri #F1 #F1Testing https://t.co/5WKcEd7w2n pic.twitter.com/YOb0nNULmM
— F1 Portrayed By Top Gear (@TopGearFormula1) February 25, 2023
Also read: Four-Worded Mercedes Confession Should Sound Alarm Bells for Lewis Hamilton & George Russell
Andretti-Cadillac, a prospective buyer
Operating an F1 team is not an easy task. The sport, even after a cost cap, is highly expensive. Therefore, seeing the money being fuelled in it isn’t seeing enough return for the Red Bull-owned team due to their constant finish in the heart of midfield.
Therefore, the Fonza-based team could be sold. There are three prospective buyers presently. The first and biggest party is the Andretti, followed by HitechGP, and Indian billionaires Ameet Harjinder Gadhoke and Navjeet Gadhoke, who own Mumbai Falcons, the side that gave a push to Jehan Daruvala for the McLaren test, could also put in a bid.
But at the same time, Red Bull could avoid selling their sister team. Another option is to displace the team from Fonza and settle them in England to reduce the operation costs by a margin. That way, things could remain as it is.
AlphaTauri is still essential for Red Bull, allowing their academy drivers to enter F1 without making alliances. If it goes away, then Red Bull’s academy, considered the best in the business, might lose its attraction, as the aspirants have hope with the energy drink company holding four seats on the grid.
What would happen to AlphaTauri?
Provided Andretti manages to buy the Italy-based team, the first question would be who’ll be axed by the American party. Andretti, since the beginning, made it clear that they would bring an American driver if they got in F1.
Colton Herta is their primary candidate, and currently, AlphaTauri has drivers in Yuki Tsunoda and Nyck de Vries. If Herta has to take the position, both drivers must fight for the 2024 seat like Sergio Perez, and Esteban Ocon did at Racing Point in 2018.
pre-season testing line-up! ✌️
thursday morning – Yuki
thursday afternoon – Nyck
friday morning – Yuki
friday afternoon – Nyck
saturday morning – Nyck
saturday afternoon – Yuki pic.twitter.com/5Ye3NzGSNY— Scuderia AlphaTauri (@AlphaTauriF1) February 22, 2023
So, it all depends on whether Red Bull chooses to go with the sister team. But it would be ironical to see anyway if Andretti gets his hands on the Fonza-based team, considering it was Red Bull who led the attack preventing the American side’s entry into the sport.