F1 News: Andretti taking positive steps to become 11th team in Formula 1
Andretti's efforts to enter Formula 1 have been met with many obstacles and plenty of resistance, but there are indications that progress is being made.
Stefano Domenicali - F1 CEO - has previously downplayed the importance of an 11th team in Formula 1, arguing that the sport is currently in a strong position.
Several of F1's team principals have also - quite unsurprisingly - shown resistance to Andretti's advances, concerned with their profits and retaining the status quo.
Whilst the teams' opinions - guided by self-interest - shouldn't have any influence on Andretti's entry process, they represent the hostility the American group has faced.
Speaking in an interview with SoyMotor, Mario Andretti provided an update on the team's progress;
"We've been working to potentially buy some existing teams, but at the moment, those possibilities don't seem so clear, so we're still trying to be the 11th team.
"You'll see we have a good plan. Ultimately, the operational team would be in the UK, but the main hub would be in Indianapolis.
"Mainly because most of the equipment to build the chassis and everything would be there...
"I think 2024 is the target because you try to organise a lot of things before the new regulations of 2026 arrive. The sooner you start, the better.
"We are having discussions with the FIA, and I can say that there are a lot of things that are progressing."
Taking into account Andretti's generally negative reception at the start of the year, these quotes are certainly encouraging.
Andretti is also understood to have received significant financial investment to facilitate its F1 entry, further bolstering their chances of joining the grid.
It would be premature to declare Andretti's entry an inevitability, but the current indicators are becoming increasingly positive for the potential of another team joining the field.