Michael Andretti has claimed Formula 1 teams his view operation as a "bunch of hillbillies" as he continues commercial talks to try and secure a spot on the grid. Andretti was accepted by the FIA last month having met the technical and financial requirements demanded under the Expression of Interest process F1's governing body launched in January. The General Motors-backed bid was forwarded to Stage 3 of the process, commercial talks with the Commercial Rights Holder - CRH, which is F1 itself. Both F1 and the 10 existing teams have been reluctant to welcome Andretti's chances, with the preference being to stick to the existing outfits, with Audi set to join by taking over Sauber in 2026. The push-back has been fierce, with Andretti now claiming that his entirely US-based operation is seen as "hillbillies" by the existing teams.
Andretti "hillbilly" claim
"We have got to realise what we're getting into," Andretti claimed in a Bloomberg Originals video on YouTube. "We're getting into a lot of politics and things like that. It's just the way it is, and we'll just deal with it. "I didn't think it would be this hard to get in, but we'll prove our weight. "They think that we're a bunch of hillbillies over here, and that we don't know what we're doing. "[But] because we have a lot of experience in racing (in championships such as IndyCar and Formula E) we might come at it from a different angle than everybody else, and it might work." "We're still not there yet, but we feel like we have a fantastic plan. We have GM and Cadillac behind us, which is huge. "So, I think we have all the ingredients to be a competitive team one day and then hopefully we can come to terms with Formula 1 to be able to be there. 'If we do get in there, it's going to be great for the sport."
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