ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Michael Andretti was tanned and thinner when he made his way from his yacht to the starting grid for IndyCar’s season-opening race.
He was also relaxed.
Retirement is going better than expected for Andretti, who turned control of his race team over to Dan Towriss at the end of last season and no longer has any official role at Andretti Global. He wore an Andretti team shirt Sunday but after the national anthem did not head toward one of the teams' three pit stands to oversee the race on the downtown streets of St. Petersburg.
Andretti instead headed off in the direction of Andretti hospitality — or maybe he was going back to his triple-decker yacht docked near Turn 10. He has no responsibilities since selling controlling interest of Andretti Global to business partner Towriss, who has committed to retaining the team name and honoring the legacy of motorsports' most iconic family.
“No headaches,” he grinned of his Sunday afternoon. “It's weird that I have no schedule. I'm not used to it, like, I don't know what to do.”
The first race of the IndyCar season was won by Chip Ganassi Racing's two-time reigning series champion Alex Palou. Andretti drivers finished fifth, sixth and 16th.
Not Andretti's problem, these days. He is 62, is a new grandfather of two and has 11-year-old twins. He showed up in St. Pete and was seen earlier this weekend wearing shorts, a t-shirt and flip flops — an eye-popping sight to the team employees who had never seen their former boss so laid back.
“I'm happy. Everybody is telling me I look happy. I didn't know I was that miserable when I was here before,” Andretti said.
He blamed his former demeanor on the pressures of running the race team — particularly the final four years, when he was denied a Formula 1 team by that series' management and publicly feuded with IndyCar owner Roger Penske over Andretti's gripes as to how Penske was running the series.
Once Andretti was out of the picture, Formula One Management approved the Cadillac F1 effort for 2026. Cadillac F1 is owned by TWG Motorsports, of which Towriss is CEO.
“The Cadillac F1 Team is made up of a strong group of people that have worked tirelessly to build an American works team,” Andretti posted on social media when the effort was finally approved. “I’m very proud of the hard work they have put in and congratulate all involved on this momentous next step. I will be cheering for you!”
His father, 1978 F1 champion Mario Andretti, will be an ambassador for the Cadillac F1 team and told The Associated Press on Sunday that there are no lingering hard feelings with F1 management over its Andretti slight.
Michael Andretti isn't interested in any role and on Sunday wasn't even sure what other races he'll attend this season beside the Indianapolis 500 in May. He was nervous about stepping away from a full-time presence in motorsports but has embraced the freedom he has now.
“You're always tense. You're always thinking about what you've got to do next. Now it's not my problem,” Andretti said then added “I'm enjoying it a lot. More than I expected.”
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press
