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Takuma Sato left Michael Andretti’s IndyCar team at the end of the 2017 season and signed with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. The former IndyCar driver and team owner was left blindsided by the Japanese driver's decision to step away from the team and join RLL.
Takuma Sato raced with AJ Foyt Racing in the early to mid 2010s but didn't have many considerable results finishing out in the Top 10 of the championship in all four years with the team. The Japanese driver made the switch to race for Andretti Autosport (now Andretti Global) for the 2017 season.
Sato did incredibly well in his first year with the team finishing P8 in the IndyCar championship and also winning his first Indy 500. Despite the success, he decided to make a move yet again and joined Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing for the 2018 season.
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Speaking about the switch and how Sato didn't give Andretti a single chance to make him an offer, the American said (via Indystar):
“His management basically had made up their minds that they were leaving (for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing). To this moment, I don’t understand the move. They never even gave me a chance to come back and figure out what I could do to keep Takuma here. The whole thing was a little unfair.”
“He really fit in with this team well. He was starting to gel. ... We really enjoyed having him as part of the team. Obviously he won the Indy 500 for us, so it’s disappointing he won’t be defending his title for us,” added Michael Andretti.
Takuma Sato previously raced for RLL at the beginning of his IndyCar career in 2012. The Japanese driver then completed a four-year stint with RLL from 2018-2021 and won the Indy 500 with Bobby Rahal's team in 2020.
“I'm happy”: Michael Andretti on resignation from the Andretti Global role
Michael Andretti resigned from the role of leading the IndyCar team at the end of the 2024 season. The former IndyCar driver is now in an advisory role within the team but will not be overseeing the day-to-day operations. Speaking about how the change feels, Andretti said (via Motorsport):
“No headaches. It's weird that I have no schedule. I'm not used to it, like, I don't know what to do.”
“I'm happy. Everybody is telling me I look happy. I didn't know I was that miserable when I was here before," Andretti admitted. "You're always tense. You're always thinking about what you've got to do next. Now it's not my problem. I'm enjoying it a lot. More than I expected,” added Michael Andretti.
