Michael Andretti's "weird" IndyCar exit draws frank reaction from McLaren boss Tony Kanaan

Michael Andretti stepped down as chairman and CEO of his team, Andretti Global, in September 2024. Since his move came after the 2024 IndyCar season ended, reactions from the sport's prominent entities didn't roll in until before the 2025 season this year. Arrow McLaren Team Principal Tony Kanaan has now shared his feelings about Andretti's exit.

During his illustrious driving career, Kanaan recorded the majority of his success with Andretti Global. The Brazilian driver scored 14 of his 17 career race victories and won the 2004 IndyCar championship under Michael Andretti's leadership.

In a recent interview with reporter Bruce Martin on the Pit Pass Indy podcast, Tony Kanaan expressed his feelings about his former boss' exit from the premier American open-wheel racing series.

"It's weird. Obviously, Michael is a big part of my career," he said [6:56 onwards]. "I've won pretty much everything with him apart from the Indy 500. But I guess we can still have Mario (Michael's father, a racing legend) around and the Andretti name is still in the team. But yeah, it's gonna be an adjustment."

Arrow McLaren promoted Kanaan to Team Principal just over a week before the 2025 IndyCar season began at St. Petersburg. Instead of getting an opportunity to go head-to-head as a team boss against his former boss, it was Andretti Global's new owner, Dan Towriss, who was on the rival pit wall.

Andretti Global had a better day on the streets of St. Petersburg. Kyle Kirkwood, Marcus Ericsson, and Colton Herta secured P5, P6, and P16, while Arrow McLaren's Christian Lundgaard, Pato O'Ward, and Nolan Siegel got P8, P11, and a DNF.

Michael Andretti soaks in a relaxed retirement at IndyCar's season opener at St. Petersburg

Michael Andretti at the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship 2024 Portland E-Prix - Source: Getty

Michael Andretti attended IndyCar's Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 2, not as a team owner, but as a fan. He spoke about how relaxing it has felt since his IndyCar exit six months ago. However, the 1991 CART champ couldn't wrap his head around having no schedule.

"No headaches. It’s weird that I have no schedule. I’m not used to it, like, I don’t know what to do," Andretti said via AP News. "I’m happy. Everybody is telling me I look happy. I didn’t know I was that miserable when I was here before."

Elaborating on how tight his schedule in the high-pressure world of racing was, he said:

"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."

Michael Andretti's father Mario recently admitted how his son had stepped down from the ownership of his namesake organization because he had a "personal" conflict with F1, which was preventing the team's F1 bid with General Motors, the Cadillac F1 team, from moving ahead.

On Friday (March 7), the Cadillac F1 team was officially approved for a 2026 F1 entry as the grid's 11th team.