F1's rumored "political" fight against Michael Andretti bluntly addressed by Cadillac F1 boss

Cadillac F1 boss Dan Towriss has pulled back the curtain on Michael Andretti's exit from Andretti Global to ease the team's entry into the pinnacle of motorsport. The IndyCar legend's presence had reportedly created friction with Formula One Management, leading to Cadillac's F1 rejection in early 2024.

Andretti sensed that he was an "obstacle" to the team's F1 bid and stepped down as chairman and CEO of Andretti Global in September. He handed the full ownership to partner Dan Towriss, who restarted their F1 talks and finally got official confirmation for a 2026 entry in March this year.

In a recent interview, Towriss, CEO of TWG Motorsports, the racing wing of the investment group that oversees Andretti Global's racing properties, spoke about the reason behind Andretti's exit.

"He started to express a desire to step away and that it wasn't fun at that point," he said via Indy Star. "At that point, it's like, 'Okay, let's figure out how to do that.' But obviously, we've had a lot invested in Andretti Global and (IndyCar) as a whole. So how do we make this as smooth a transition from that standpoint?

As someone on the inside, the (F1) pressure was intense. There were some very difficult meetings with F1 and other things happening outside, and when you put these other motorsports series together, it's a big operation, and so I think it kinda brought us to that place. It just got very political. There were aspects of the bid that weren't well understood (by Liberty Media), and it was just difficult. They felt strongly about certain issues."

When a reporter goaded him about whether Andretti was one of those "issues", Towriss replied:

"You just have to go back to (former Liberty Media CEO) Greg (Maffei's) quote. He said what he said."

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Mario Andretti revealed Greg Maffei's crude confession about never letting Michael Andretti's team into F1

Michael Andretti with father Mario Andretti and Jenson Button at the F1 Grand Prix of Miami - Source: Getty

In January 2024, F1 rejected Cadillac's bid, citing concerns about competitiveness and value addition. In May, Michael Andretti's father, Mario, got the US Congress involved. The lawmakers demanded an explanation from F1 owners Liberty Media for their "anti-competitive" rejection of two American companies, General Motors and Andretti Global, coming together to enter F1 as the 11th team.

Later that month, Mario Andretti exposed the then-Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei for holding a grudge against his son Michael. The 4x IndyCar champ spoke about his interaction with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali at an invite-only breakfast event during the Miami GP weekend. He said:

"I was asked to go there. And just as I was trying to explain that to Stefano, Greg Maffei, Mr. Maffei, broke in the conversation and he said: 'Mario, I want to tell you that I will do everything in my power to see that Michael never enters Formula 1.'"

In September, after the 2024 IndyCar season ended, Michael Andretti left his namesake organization. Within two months, F1 unofficially confirmed Cadillac's 2026 entry.

Andretti attended the 2025 IndyCar season opener at St. Petersburg as a fan and looked much happier and more relaxed than before.