

Now he has completed three full seasons, has six career victories and, with some consistency from Andretti’s cars, would be a championship contender. Herta had a full-time seat two years later and became Ind圜ar’s youngest winner at age 19.


But he never got a fair shake and returned to the U.S. Is this what Herta wants, though? He tried the F1 route once already and moved to London alone at 15. Alexander Rossi, now an Ind圜ar driver for Andretti with an Indianapolis 500 victory, in 2015 was the last American to start an F1 race.Īn Andretti and Herta pairing would undoubtedly be appealing to Liberty and its long-term North American goals. Mario Andretti raced under “Old Glory” and his 1978 win at the Dutch Grand Prix is the last F1 victory by an American. They both believe the red, white and blue needs proper F1 representation and a driver racing under the American flag. Mario Andretti won 12 F1 races and the 1978 world championship Michael Andretti drove a miserable 13 races for McLaren in 1993 before he was sent back to the U.S. He hired rookies Mick Schumacher of Germany and Nikita Mazepin of Russia this year, but the team has nose-dived from a mid-pack operation to the worst in F1. The series has gained valuable American exposure through the popular Netflix behind-the-scenes “Drive To Survive” docuseries, and next May’s inaugural race in Miami around the Dolphins’ NFL stadium and will give F1 four North American stops in 2022.į1 has one American team owner, but Gene Haas since 2016 has shown no desire to commit to the development an American driver.

Liberty Media, a U.S.-based investment firm, took over F1 in 2017 and has slowly been gaining a foothold in North America. The globetrotting series needs American representation and an Andretti-Herta combo is a money-making play. His father, Mario, has been banging the drum for Herta all year, so it would be no leap to assume that if Andretti gets an F1 team he would want Herta. leader, hired after Nassar scandal, quitsĪndretti was frustrated at the lack of American representation in the series and rattled off some names of drivers in current F1 seats or in reserve roles that he rated below Herta.
