BREAKING F1 News: Mario Andretti hints at major announcement (Update)

Andretti-Cadillac appears to be inching ever closer to its Formula 1 aspirations.

FBI officials are expected to be in Las Vegas this weekend as part of US government probes into why Andretti’s FIA-approved team entry was rejected by Liberty Media.

Insiders have also linked the stepping down of Liberty CEO Greg Maffei, who reportedly once told Mario Andretti that he will do “everything in my power” to stop his son Michael’s F1 bid, with a potential deal allowing Andretti to enter F1.

Michael Andretti has also stepped aside at Andretti Global, while F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali is linked with a move to MotoGP – which could also be part of a brokered deal related to Andretti-Cadillac.

“It’s a matter for my son Michael and his company, not me,” 1978 world champion Mario Andretti told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “I am not involved in any discussions.

“What I can say is that news and changes are coming, and my full support goes to my son for all the decisions and choices he has made during this period.”

Now, the Japanese source as-web.jp claims Andretti Global’s new F1 headquarters at Silverstone are suddenly ramping up operations, launching a campaign to hire 25 new Formula 1 specialists.

“These new hires will join around 200 staff who have been working on the project for quite some time,” the report said.

For comparison, Haas employs about 300 staff, while Red Bull’s junior outfit RB has 400 people. (GMM)

In this article, we wrote that those who colluded to stop Michael Andretti’s team from racing in F1 could possibly go to jail, and the only way out would be for the Andretti-Cadillac team be approved to enter F1 as soon as possible.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

There is the assumption that Greg Maffei is really stepping down as CEO of Liberty Media because he told Mario Andretti that he will do everything in his power to stop his son Michael’s team from entering F1.

There are reports that Stefano Domenicali, Lawrence Stroll, Toto Wolff and Christian Horner colluded in a WhatsApp Chat Group to block Andretti’s entry that was approved by the FIA.  Maffei may also have been part of those discussions, but that is only an assumption at this point.

It is reported that the FBI, or possibly the DOJ, will be questioning the four or five of them at next weekend’s Las Vegas GP, and if they are as guilty as rumors would suggest, they could be in serious trouble.

On home soil and in Europe, Andretti continues to build, intent on becoming a future F1 team. It still has hope of being on the grid in 2026.

Many employees of other F1 teams have been approached and switched to the Andretti-Cadillac team, firm in the belief it will one day compete. That belief is reinforced by intriguing words from Mario Andretti.

“It’s a matter for my son Michael and his company, not me,” he recently told Gazzetta dello Sport. “What I can say is that news and changes are coming, and my full support goes to my son for all the decisions and choices he has made during this period.”

Michael Andretti recently left his role as CEO of Andretti Global. Possibly, it was a strategic move until the legal matters get resolved, as Mario revealed earlier this year that Greg Maffei, the CEO of Liberty Media, had told him in Miami he would do everything in his power to prevent an entry.

It was announced this week that Maffei will be standing down from his role at the end of the year, fuelling speculation that a solution for Andretti and its F1 ambitions is now being worked on behind the scenes.

What’s that grin on Michael Andretti’s face? It would seem that the only way for the four to not spend time in jail would be if Andretti Global is suddenly admitted into F1 and <ichael awarded $1billion for his pain and suffering.