Known for his involvement in the motorsports industry, Michael Andretti has made a shocking decision regarding his future. Andretti has been an active participant in motorsport his entire life with his father Mario Andretti, being the 1978 Formula 1 champion.
Michael Andretti himself used to be a racecar driver. He raced in numerous racing series, including a year in Formula 1. In 1993, he raced for McLaren before moving on to other series.
Similar to Andretti, Zak Brown has also been active in motorsports from a young age. Brown, however, only raced for 10 years before moving to the management side of the industry. He has now been with his current team, McLaren, since 2016. Brown is set to stay as McLaren’s CEO for the foreseeable future with a new contract having been signed this year.
Michael Andretti steps down from Andretti Global
Michael Andretti is now known for his business Andretti Global (formally known as Andretti Autosports) and for speaking out about his attempts to join the Formula 1 grid as the 11th team. While Andretti himself has not raced for a few years, he remains an influential figure in motorsports.
Since 2002, he has built Andretti Global into a successful motorsport company with racers in multiple series such as IndyCar, IndyNXT, and Formula E. Under his leadership, the Andretti brand has won multiple championships.
⚠️ | Just a few months after Andretti Global was denied entry into the Formula 1 paddock, CEO and chairman Michael Andretti is set to relinquish his ownership stake in the operation.
Michael Andretti however intends to remain with Andretti Global, albeit in a more strategic… pic.twitter.com/6RJ1ayOePC
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) September 27, 2024
In 2023, Andretti joined his company with Dan Towriss and rebranded to what it is known today. On Friday, September 27th, it was announced that Andretti would be relinquishing his ownership stake in Andretti Global.
In a statement from Andretti Global, they said “Michael’s goal has been to transition to a more strategic role with Andretti Global and focus less on the operational side of the race team.” (ESPN) Andretti will remain a key person and strategic advisor despite the recent move to step down while Towriss will take over.
Zak Brown joins Andretti Acquisition Corp. II
On September 5th, Zak Brown joined Andretti Acquisition Corp. II. Andretti Acquisition Corp. II is a special acquisition purpose company (SPAC) that works to merge businesses while giving the company more access to its funds. Brown will serve as an advisor while the main decisions stay with the investors. This venture does not come as a surprise because of his background with both partnerships and his friendship with Andretti.
An interesting little extra tidbit on Michael Andretti exiting his stake of Andretti Global:
On September 5th, Zak Brown was appointed to the Board of Directors of “Andretti Acquisition Corp. II”.
Andretti Acquisition Corp. II is incorporated as “a Cayman Islands exempted… pic.twitter.com/Ik2kVXM1Xl
— Jeppe H. Olesen (@jeppe_olesen) September 27, 2024
Just like Andretti, Brown is another outspoken figure in motorsports. Brown has been vocal about his dislike of Red Bull having two teams on the Formula 1 grid (Sports Illustrated)
While his original comments were made a while ago, he sparked interest in them after the Singapore Grand Prix when former Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo took the fastest lap from McLaren driver Lando Norris at the very end of the race. McLaren has recently seen an influx of Red Bull employees joining their company. Could McLaren be getting ready to follow in Red Bull’s footsteps making a junior team?
Andretti is a name with such a great history it would be amazing to see it back on the grid!!