Michael Andretti is relinquishing his ownership stake in Andretti Global, the motorsports company he has helmed since 2002, according to three people with knowledge of the move.
Andretti, whose racing teams have won the Indianapolis 500 five times and who is the son of legendary driver Mario Andretti, is listed as CEO and chairman of Andretti Global.
The company was rebranded as Andretti Global in 2023, less than a year after executive Dan Towriss and his holding company Group 1001 bought an ownership stake in the Andretti motorsports operations. The investment was in part to fund a potential Formula One team.
Andretti has for some time been eyeing a transition from his operational role.
“Michael’s goal has been to transition to a more strategic role with Andretti Global and focus less on the operational side of the race team,” Andretti Global said in a statement to Sportico. “He and Dan Towriss have been working on a structure of what this could look like and have reached a direction that Michael is very happy with and believes will bring a positive future. Michael remains engaged and will continue to serve as a strategic advisor and key ambassador. We will have more to share in the coming weeks after Michael and Dan have had an opportunity to speak to the team.”
Last year F1 Andretti Global was a bidder for an expansion F1 team. Andretti was vocal about his desire to land a team, an outspokenness which didn’t help the organization’s bid with the typically tight-lipped F1 governing body. F1 didn’t add any new teams.
Towriss did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In 2021, Andretti with his father Mario formed a special purpose acquisition company separate from Andretti Global called Andretti Acquisition. A SPAC is a business that raises cash in an IPO and then seeks to buy another business, bringing it public.
In March this year, Andretti closed a merger with Zapata Computing Holdings, a generative AI company. Based upon disclosures by Zapata in a filing two weeks ago, Andretti Global is Zapata’s largest customer, while Zapata is a sponsor of the motorsports team. Zapata is paying Andretti Global $9 million under the agreements while Andretti Global is paying Zapata $6 million, including $1 million contingent on Zapata paying the motorsports team $1 million.
All of the agreements expire at the end of 2024. Zapata, which Andretti’s SPAC took public at $10 a share, closed Thursday trading at $0.33. Michael Andretti continues to have a financial interest in Zapata with nearly 13% of the diluted equity of the company.
(This story has been updated with a statement from Andretti Global.)
