Michael Andretti on F1: Everybody's got their knife, ready to stab you in the back

Andretti's road to F1 will not be smooth...

Michael and Mario Andretti have been vocal about their intent to join Formula 1, but their efforts have received some cold responses from various corners of the paddock.

Several team principals have done little to hide their scepticism about the value Andretti can add to F1, whilst CEO Stefano Domenicali has generally been dismissive about the importance of adding another team to the grid.

In an interview with GQ, Michael Andretti spoke about the "snobbish" attitude of the F1 world:

"It's a very snobbish approach they're taking. Ultimately, we're going to bring more value than we're going to take away."

Andretti was asked about Toto Wolff's talks of inflation impacting F1's entry fee:

"He's using that as an excuse. But you can tell he's looking at it and thinking, I'm gonna have one less vote. 

It's gonna be one more vote against me. That's the way he's thinking about it.

I pretty much knew what we were getting into here. You're swimming with the sharks. So, you better make sure you have your harpoon on you. 

I'm not naive about that... Everybody's got their knife, and they're ready to stab you in the back."

Formula 1 has not welcomed a new team since Haas in 2016, so there is no concrete timeline for when the FIA will respond to Andretti's advances. 

The Concorde agreement, which led to the addition of a $200 million entry fee, means that joining F1 is a more difficult process than before.

However, a more significant concern than this for Andretti is the attitude much of the grid has shown towards them. 

Even McLaren's Zak Brown, one of the team principals most accepting of Andretti, has admitted their attempts to enter into F1 are currently "meeting resistance."

Despite the obstacles in their way, Mario Andretti has expressed his confidence that the team will be ready to compete in 2024. 

Still, there is some work to do, and there is a massive grey area regarding Andretti's ability to compete.