As the sport ponders whether to allow new teams on to the F1 grid, Michael Andretti admits to regretting one of his previous comments.

As the teams, and F1 itself, appeared to circle the wagons, raising all manner of reasons why a new team wasn't needed, whilst demanding an 'anti-dilution' fee of $600m, Andretti accused them of being "greedy", a move which even disappointed FIA president, Mohammed ben Sulayem, an obvious supporter of the American's bid.

As the sport considers expressions of interest from five potential entrants - Andretti, Carlin, Hitech, Formula Equal and LKY SUNZ - Andretti admits that he regrets his previous comment.

"I probably used the wrong word," he says. "I shouldn't have said 'greed' but everybody's been looking out for themselves.

"When I said it I got criticised," he continues, "but if I was in their situation, I'd probably do the same thing.

"I don't blame the teams, they all are going to look at it for themselves, because that's what they need to do to be competitive.

"It's a very, very expensive sport," he adds, in a masterpiece of understatement. "There's a lot involved, and there's a lot of commitment from every team. They've got to make sure that they protect that, and I understand that's what they're trying to do.

"But in the end, they're not going to be the ones that make the decision. It's going to be up to the series and the FIA to decide if it's the right individual."

The sport's hardly concealed contempt for the Andretti bid, took a knock however when GM brand Cadillac was announced as a partner, however even then some insisted that this was merely a rebadging exercise, in reference to the claim that Andretti would be using Renault engines.

"General Motors is very, very involved," insists Andretti. "People are trying to say, well, 'they're just putting their name on it'. No, it's a very, very integral part of the whole team.

"I think once everything goes public and people see what we submitted, they'll see it's a big involvement," he adds.

Speaking at Silverstone, Toto Wolff suggested that Andretti should buy an existing team, a path that the American went down with Sauber, but to no avail.

"We've tried, nobody's interested, nobody's selling," he says. "We've been to every single team. People keep saying, 'well, buy a team' but nobody wants to sell.

"You go there and they're not even interested in talking. I've been there, done that, it's not happening."

Ahead of the decision, which is thought could be announced by the end of the month, Andretti insists that he's still feeling positive.

"I feel good. I think we checked every box, but the reality is we'll just have to wait and see what happens. I think we have everything we need to go in, be competitive, be respectful and add to the series."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Chester, 15/07/2023 17:24

"I view fielding an F1 team as I do starting an airline (And I have spent many years talking prospective airline entrants off the ledge of wasting their money).

Andretti could just as easily lose his butt or maybe even easier than printing a lot of money.

I think pride of his craft is equally at work. The Andretti family has been fairly successful over the years at managing teams, and Michael may fancy another bite of the apple after his less-than-Andretti-like F1 debut in the 90's."

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2. Posted by Max Noble, 15/07/2023 9:29

"@Kenji! Acceptable cynicism! Lord no! I’m off to kiss a tree frog, hug a whale and adopt a dolphin right now to make up for my clear transgressions…! :-) If I’ve energy left I’ll chop down a few shark nets, and release some tins of tuna back into the wild…
"

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3. Posted by kenji, 15/07/2023 6:49

"@Max Noble ....and I thought that socially acceptable cynicism was 'mort'!!!"

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4. Posted by Max Noble, 15/07/2023 6:35

"The amusing thing about this “humble” retraction is that it is naked self interest (a.k.a. Greed) that is making him say he should never have said it… The capitalist world is built on advancing self interest… yet if anyone says that out loud it is considered rude. We are all saving the wombat, hugging the whale, and kissing the trees. Making money is just an amazing coincidental by-product of all that selfless love… Really…

Andretti simply wants to join F1 because it will make Americans feel better, and foster unity between Democrats and Republicans… nothing to do with getting (another) money printing machine into the Andretti family. It’s all for the love of others… which is exactly why Toto, and the gang do it. Because they love us, the fans.

"

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5. Posted by jo6pac, 14/07/2023 21:09

"He just said the truth out loud;-)"

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6. Posted by Defiant, 14/07/2023 16:33

"Couldn't have written it any better @Endre"

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7. Posted by Endre, 14/07/2023 14:05

"Yes, he should have said it, it is true. Corporate greed in general is at an all time high these days and politicians have never been more under corporate control.

For F1 to retain any resemblance of a sport, it needs to have a clear way into it and teams should have absolutely no say in this. It is like cops policing themselves. As I said before, if money is the issue, they should restrict prize money to the top 10, but allow unlimited entries and maximize number of cars on the grid for the race (24-26 would be a good number). This way serious teams would have a chance to enter and the weak would be weeded out. Under the current regulations what incentive do teams like Haas have to improve? Any team can consistently finish at the bottom and still be profitable. This is ridiculous and not how any sport should function. They are trying to copy the American model (NBA, NHL, NHL, etc.) where a team can be bottom performer like the Maple Leafs for decades yet still be among the highest earners. I wonder when F1 will introduce their version of the draft and driver trades."

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I shouldn't have said "greed", admits Andretti

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