Andretti poaching technical departments of Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull. Andretti has already attracted staff members from Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull.

Andretti is already “stealing” from the technical departments of Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull even before entering F1. The American team is making moves in the engineer market to build a competitive structure in anticipation of a potential debut in the most important motorsport series. The verdict from the commercial rights holders is expected in the coming months, but the plans of the Americans are clear.

The future of Andretti in Formula 1 is hazy, but it cannot be denied that they are putting in a lot of effort to achieve their goal. Assisted by an automotive giant like General Motors, the Andretti team is working hard for 2026. The goal is to have a chassis ready by mid-2024 to conduct tests for homologation.

The moves of the American team were revealed by The Athletic: Andretti currently has a team of 120 employees, with about fifty coming from General Motors, which is providing significant technical support. Nick Chester, technical director of Andretti, also emphasized how easily the new team is attracting personnel from future rival teams.

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised, in a way, at how easy it has been to attract people to our project. The name Andretti is a real draw for a new team. A blank sheet tends to be potentially very proactive. We’ve had people coming from Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren. All looking for a new challenge.”

Andretti Global CEO Michael Andretti has been particularly realistic: “It takes time to build a winning team,” he told The Athletic. “We don’t underestimate our mission. The benefits we will bring to Formula 1 are evident.”

The final word will rest with other teams, who will also need to carefully analyze the situation related to the Haas team: will the upheaval of this January and the technical conditions in which the American team might find itself play in favor of Andretti?

Source: f1ingenerale