The new-look Andretti Global takes shape

What does Andretti Global look like after Michael Andretti took a step back?

That has been the question many have wondered ever since Andretti, 62, stepped down as Chairman and CEO in September, handing the reins off to Group 1001 CEO Dan Towriss while becoming strategic advisor of the organisation he co-founded in 2002.

The perception was that it was the last key to unlock the Formula 1 door for the Andretti-Cadillac effort, which happened in late November as Liberty Media approved General Motors as the 11th team from 2026. GM, under its Cadillac banner, will start as a customer team before making its own power units by the end of the decade, using the existing Andretti Global project in Silverstone as the pillar.

While the Cadillac F1 programme continues to take shape, there is also a focus on Andretti’s IndyCar branch ahead of the forthcoming 2025 campaign.

Despite all of the changes within Andretti Global, Kyle Kirkwood, driver of the No. 27 Honda-powered entry, still feels the presence of his former team owner and legendary racer.

“We only see it as positives within the team,” said Kirkwood. “Obviously Michael is still around. It’s not like he’s vanished. I think he’ll still play a role in the team, and for us, obviously I have that connection with not only Michael but with everybody on the team.

“We’re excited to go forward, and obviously Dan and Michael have a plan, and their plan seems to be coming together, so we’re excited.”

And hopes are high for the organisation after a stout 2024 season, which saw Colton Herta elevate his game and capture two wins, six podiums, 11 top fives and three poles en route to a career-best second in the championship.

For his part, Kirkwood also put together a respectable campaign, finishing a career-high seventh in the standings courtesy of one podium, five top fives, 13 top 10s and one pole. Marcus Ericsson, the 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner, was an outlier among the trio, suffering an underwhelming first year with the team by finishing 15th in the championship. 

“I think with last year’s results, it gave me even more motivation to work even harder,” said Ericsson, driver of the No. 28 Honda. “I’m not a believer in bad luck. A lot of people would say to me ‘sorry for last year, bad luck’. I don’t really believe in that. I think you make your own luck.

“I just didn’t do a good enough job last year, so I want to make sure I’m better this year. I put in a lot of work with my mental trainer. We have weekly sessions. I put on 10 pounds of muscle on my physical status.

“I’m stronger than I’ve ever been before and I’ve started working doing simulator work on my own, so I’m driving simulators almost daily just to practice that since we don’t have much driving in the off-season, trying to finesse my craft in the simulators.”

Although Herta brought back the bravado of Andretti in 2024, he stated that it “really sucks” to finish second – only 31 points short – to Alex Palou for the championship. Andretti Global has not won a title since 2012 with Ryan Hunter-Reay, as Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske have captured the last 12 IndyCar crowns. 

In reflection of what worked to unlock that next step for the team, Herta was quick to note the gains made on the short and medium ovals.

Colton Herta, Andretti Global w/ Curb-Agajanian Honda

Photo by: Geoffrey M. Miller / Motorsport Images

“We’ve been good on superspeedways for the most part, but that was kind of the missing piece for us, especially when you look at the championship – we dropped a lot of points in those places,” said Herta, who will make his 100th IndyCar start in the season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on 2 March. 

“But we turned it around having a podium and basically a top five in Milwaukee and a pole in Iowa. [At] Gateway, we came from 25th to fourth and the win in Nashville. We improved a lot on those medium and shorter ovals, and that was kind of the difference maker for us.

“So that fills me with a lot of confidence because I don’t think our problem has really ever been the street courses, and for the most part we were very good at most of the road courses. But those ovals have kind of — for me, too, just haven’t been my best, and I think they started to show that they can be some of my best for this coming year.”

And when it comes to Cadillac F1, which Herta has not only been linked to but also tabbed by 1978 F1 world champion Mario Andretti, who is now on the board of GM’s racing programme, there isn’t much distress over the situation by the 24-year-old.

“Yeah, I don’t really have a concern with it at all,” Herta said. “I’ve kind of been dragged around in this talk for, it feels like, half a decade now. I’ve had the carrot in front of me for a while.

“I’m kind of tired of that being the case, and I just want to drive at this point and focus on IndyCar this year and focus on winning a championship, and if something arises out of that, I’d have to think about it. It’s still not a for sure thing. 

“All my friends and family are here in the U.S., and I don’t know where I’m going, so it’s a big decision to make if I have to make that decision.”