Michael Andretti 'transitioning to a more strategic role' according to Andretti Global

(This story was updated to accurately reflect the most current information.)

Michael Andretti is "transitioning to a more strategic role" with Andretti Global and "focus less on the operational side of the race team", the team said in a statement to IndyStar on Friday. It was in response to a request for comment on Sportico.com 's report that Andretti is leaving his ownership position in team, according to three people with knowledge of the situation.

"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," the statement continued. "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.”

Andretti is still listed as the CEO and chairman of the company on its website and has led what is now Andretti Global since 2002 after a distinguished driving career. Andretti's team have won the Indianapolis 500 five times and he is the son of legendary driver Mario Andretti. The team competes in IndyCar, Indy NXT, Formula E, Extreme E, IMSA Sportscar, Super Copa and Supercars, according to its website.

Dan Towriss and his company, Group 1001, is believed to have bought an ownership stake in Andretti in May of 2022 as it was working to enter Formula 1 and the team name was changed in 2023. Towriss owns Gainbridge, which sports the Indianapolis 500.

Michael Andretti has been involved in a sometimes controversial effort to join Formula 1 . In January of 2024, Formula 1 rejected Andretti Global's bid for an expansion franchise for the 2025 or 2026 seasons, four months after FIA, F1's governing body, made Andretti the only finalist in the FIA's Expression of Interest process the body opened the previous spring.

F1 did leave the door open on Andretti's future hopes to enter the sport. The sport's officials proposed that General Motors' plan to supply engines in F1 in 2028 -- plans the company announced in November to help bolster Andretti's F1 bid after initially attaching themselves to Michael Andretti's project as a minor manufacturing partner in January of last year -- could sway them.

But F1's owners pulled no punches in its decision that Andretti's proposal, as it stood at the time, would fail to reach F1's competitive standards while providing little value to the sport and its current stakeholders, while at the same time serving as a burden to those currently invested in the sport but cutting their return on the money the series brings in.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Michael Andretti 'transitioning to a more strategic role' according to Andretti Global