Michael Andretti Says Current F1 Teams Think He And His Team 'Are A Bunch Of Hillbillies'

Michael Andretti is very close to getting a team on the Formula 1 grid, but to do it, he'll need the okay from the current grid. That could be tough, especially when he says the current teams don't exactly think highly of him or his operation.

In a video posted by Bloomberg Originals, Andretti talked about his quest to bring his family's name back to Formula 1.

"We have got to realize what we're getting into," Andretti said, per Motorsport.com. "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 to get in."

The FIA recently approved Andretti's joint bid for an F1 team with General Motors' Cadillac Racing. Still, despite that backing, F1 and its teams haven't welcomed the idea of Andretti joining the grid with open arms.

"First of all, they think that we're a bunch of hillbillies over here. And we don't know what we're doing, Andretti said."

" because we have a lot of experience in racing, we might come at it from a different angle than everybody else, and it might work."

Of course, that's his assessment of the situation, but if that's the case, it's insane. Mario Andretti was a Formula 1 champion. Michael Andretti raced in F1. Andretti Global currently fields teams in IndyCar, Formula E, and more.

Running a Formula 1 team is a tall order for anyone. But if any group could pull it off, it's the combined might of Andretti Global and General Motors.

Andretti said his team would be a "true American team" and would operate in a vastly different way than Haas, the only American team currently on the grid. (Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Andretti Says Being A 'True American Team' Would Spark Additional Stateside Interest In F1

The main sticking point for a lot of teams is the way an 11th team will cut into the series' revenue pool. Andretti addressed this.

"We feel that adding more cars, I think is only going to help the sport," he said. "Yeah, it's going to take a piece of the pie, prize money and things, but we feel like we can bring more to it than what we're going to take out of the pie."

He chalked this up to being a "true American team." Haas is currently the only American team in F1, but they get a lot of their parts from Ferrari and do most of their business in Italy and the UK.

"I think having a true American team: you have an American driver, you have a car that's built here in the US, and you have an American engine built here," he said. "I mean, I think that's going to create a ton of interest for the US."

The US is an important market for F1. They know this. That's why there are three races in the United States this season. The inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix is just two weeks away.

That makes a lot of sense, but it's all a matter of whether this line of reasoning will convince the ten current teams and F1 itself to give Andretti a spot on the grid.

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