"We've been around much longer" – Andretti Global finds objections from F1 teams about possible entry 'very offensive' – Sportskeeda

Former F1 world champion Mario Andretti has been offended by some F1 teams opposing the possible entry of the Andretti Motorsports team into the series.
Mario’s son Michael Andretti has long harbored the intention of racing in F1 and has been pushing to join the sport as a new constructor for some time now. Earlier in the year, the 1978 world champion confirmed that Andretti Global had applied with the FIA and was awaiting their decision.
Their bid has received mixed responses, with some teams welcoming the American outfit and others remaining skeptical about the value addition they could bring to F1. Primary among the latter has been Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
In an interview with MotorLAT, the 82-year-old hit out at the Austrian for a double standard with talks of Audi looking to buy an F1 team and join the sport. Andretti said:
The American went on to add:
Andretti has taken umbrage with those questioning the credibility of his team’s intentions, saying:
Mario Andretti is not willing to let sleeping dogs lie and wants those F1 teams opposing his team’s entry to give clear reasons for doing so.
Red Bull, Williams, McLaren, and Alpine are in favor of Andretti joining the F1 grid. Alpine could also end up sharing the same Power Unit (PU) with the Americans should a deal materialize.
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When asked if he had the backing of teams on the grid during the aforementioned interview, Andretti said:
F1’s popularity has grown exponentially since Liberty Media Group’s takeover of the sport. With their heavy presence on social media and the Netflix docu-drama series ‘Drive To Survive’, the sport has managed to reel in scores of new fans in the USA.
The 2022 calendar has two races in the country with a third to be added next year. There is, however, still only one American team in Haas on the grid and no American drivers. Andretti and Co. are very keen to change that.

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