Mario Andretti slammed Mercedes boss Toto Wolff accusing him of being disrespectful to Andretti Global’s bid to enter Formula 1, and demanded more respect.
Mario Andretti’s son, Michael, has been pushing hard in a bid to start an F1 team, and was present in the Miami Grand Prix paddock back in May talking to the FIA and teams in order to raise support for his project.
However, Toto Wolff is not happy about seeing another team joining Formula 1 and previously said: “All teams have invested considerable sums over the last ten years to get there.
“If a new team is able to bring us more than it costs, we should look at one Sit down and talk about it. But until now, that proof hasn’t been provided,” he claimed.
However, Mario Andretti, the 1978 F1 Champion, found Wolff’s claims offensive when speaking to Auto Motor und Sport.
“Toto Wolff has spoken very openly about our credibility,” he said. “However, he speaks to me in a different way.
“I find the criticism very disrespectful because we have been active in motorsport much longer than he has,” the American added. “I respect his success so far, but he has no reason to look down on us.”
Andretti waiting to know how much money to pay
The 82-year-old revealed that Andretti Global has met all the requirements of the FIA, and are just waiting to know how much money they have to pay to pacify the existing ten F1 teams.
“The FIA is very open to us and we have fulfilled all the requirements,” he insisted. “Now we are waiting for them to give us a number what it costs to pay the teams to let us in.”
Andretti shot down questions about how his son, Michael, plans to compete at a high level saying: “They always ask how we want to be competitive.
“I say: ‘let that be our problem! You don’t know our preparations’.
“We don’t have to hire any new people, we have absolutely experienced people who have the necessary knowledge.
“On the financial side, we have credible partners who are aware of the size of the project,” Andretti added. “We’ve been planning our program for a long time because it’s all we want.
“We deserve more respect,” the 12-time F1 race winner demanded.