Renault's boss Luca De Meo has confirmed that there are talks ongoing with Andretti Global for an engine supply deal for the American motorsport team's mooted entry into F1. Michael Andretti has plans of entering F1 which is facing stiff resistance from many of the incumbent players. Andretti has revealed that he had a deal for engine supply already on the table which was confirmed to be Renault. This is something Alpine boss Laurent Rossi also indicated and now it has been confirmed by the Renault group boss Luca De Meo. Meo has said that the negotiations are being led by Rossi who is the CEO of Alpine and the works face of the Renault group in F1.
"I think there are discussions, I'm not the one who manages this, it's rather Laurent Rossi who does it. It's interesting because there's a good project behind it, there are competent people who have the means and it can do Formula 1 some good. Obviously, in the current context, we are looking for the possibility of joining forces with someone. At one point we were selling engines to Red Bull and McLaren, but that's not the case anymore," he said.
Started by the son of former F1 world champion Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti's venture is a well respected name in motorsports
De Meo also shouted down the idea of the Andretti team becoming a potential B-team for Alpine which has been a matter of angst for many constructors in F1.
"I'm not necessarily a big fan of this idea of having 'pairs'. I think Formula One deserves ten teams that do the job from A to Z, that's what I think," he said.
This year, eyebrows have been raised with the performance of the Haas F1 team that was last in constructors in 2021. It is now competing with Mercedes which is third right now. Its links to Ferrari have come under the microscope. Haas has a deep technical relationship with Ferrari as it sources its engine and gearbox. Apart from that many ex Ferrari staff shifted to Haas after the F1 cost cap came into place and Haas also has taken over a facility inside the Ferrari campus in Maranello as the Italian team now has no use for it.
Previously, ties between Mercedes and Aston Martin have come under the shade. In the 2020 season, the former avatar of the Aston Martin project, Racing Point was dubbed the pink Mercedes and was on balance the third-fastest car in the season.
