Mario Andretti tips new team Andretti Global HQ to be ‘bigger than Ferrari’s’

Mario Andretti suggested that the new Andretti Global headquarters will be a facility bigger even than the Ferrari base.

As the racing firm sets about expanding its reach via the Andretti Global project, a key component to that will be the brand new HQ which is under construction.

Based in Fishers, Indiana, this 575,000-square-foot facility, which has a targeted opening date of 2025, is set to cost in the region of $200 million.

Still, such money appears set to go a long way, with the facility to house a restaurant serving some Andretti-family dishes, the family museum and an outdoor amphitheatre among the perks.

One of the main target series for Andretti Global is Formula 1, with several routes onto the grid now having been explored.

Michael Andretti initially attempted to buy into Sauber, operator of the Alfa Romeo team, but issues with control caused that to break down. An approach regarding the availability of Red Bull’s sister team AlphaTauri was also knocked back.

Since then focus has shifted to starting the Andretti Global team from scratch, though outside of McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown, the reception to that possible Andretti Global entry has been rather cold.

The targeted entry date is 2024, and the year after that, the outfit hopes to have this new HQ ready to go, one which the 1978 F1 World Champion Mario Andretti told the Indianapolis Star will be “bigger than Ferrari’s” Maranello facility.

Michael spoke of how Andretti Global wants to cast its net across some of the most iconic events and series in racing, Formula 1’s Monaco Grand Prix included, with all of these projects housed under the one roof of this HQ.

“This isn’t about IndyCar,” he said. “With this, we want to do something that’s never been done before.

“We want to be in all forms of auto racing, from Le Mans to Monaco to the Indy 500 and the Daytona 500. And eventually in the future, we want it all to be under one roof. That’s our big goal, and we’ve got a lot of plans in the works to get there.”

The report also served to shed some light on the financial backers that Andretti Global have, which the outfit have eluded to in the past, and are now flexing those financial muscles.

As he thanked certain individuals for their contributions at the start of the ceremony to break ground on this facility, Michael would mention Guggenheim Partners CEO Mark Walter, who became co-owner of Chelsea Football Club in May of 2022, and has an estimated net worth of around $5.2 billion.

Group 1001 CEO Dan Towriss, who reportedly has a personal stake in the project, joined the names picked out by Andretti.

“We’re confident in the plans and what this means for our future,” said Towriss of the Formula 1 goal. “These plans run much deeper than a facility, and those are the plans we want them to see.

“I think a lot of times, the quotes that get pulled out (about the FOM’s reluctance on adding an 11th team) don’t really tell the full story.

“There’s a lot of conversations going on, and we’re not trying to get out in front of anything or use the media as a tool to influence anything. They have an expectation on approach and decorum that people should take in dealing with them and we respect that.”

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