Pat Symonds has served as chief technical officer with F1 since 2017. (Anthony Devlin/Getty Images for MSC Cruises)
- The Andretti Global motor racing team is continuing its push into F1 with the appointment of technical officer Pat Symonds.
- F1 recently rejected Andretti’s bid to join the sport due to concerns over competitiveness.
- Andretti, headed up by 1978 world champion Mario and his son, former McLaren driver Michael, had applied to become Formula One’s 11th team from 2025 or 2026.
- However, the door was left open for admission from 2028, when Andretti partner General Motors plans to produce its own engine.
- For more F1 news, visit our dedicated section.
The Andretti Global motor racing team has signed up former Renault and Williams Formula One chief technical officer Pat Symonds as they continue their push to join F1.
Englishman Symonds, who has served as chief technical officer with F1 itself since 2017, will join Andretti in an executive engineering consultant role.
“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Pat to the Andretti family,” said Andretti Global Chairman & CEO Michael Andretti.
“Pat’s keen understanding of aerodynamics, vehicle dynamics and Formula 1 power units will be instrumental as we continue to build a competitive team.
“I believe his expertise has been pivotal in shaping the narrative of Formula 1 and his vote of confidence in joining our effort speaks volumes. I’m really happy with this next step as our work continues at pace,” he added.
Symonds will officially join the team at the new Silverstone base of operations on completion of his notice at Formula One Management.
We are pleased to announce that British motor racing technical expert Pat Symonds will join the Andretti Cadillac team in pursuit of entering the FIA Formula One World Championship.
Symonds, who most recently served as Chief Technical Officer for Formula One, will officially… pic.twitter.com/DTVJYxUpsE
— Andretti Global (@AndrettiGlobal) May 21, 2024
In January, F1 said it had rejected Andretti’s bid to join the sport due to concerns over competitiveness.
Andretti, headed up by 1978 world champion Mario and his son, former McLaren driver Michael, had applied to become Formula One’s 11th team from 2025 or 2026.
However, the door was left open for admission from 2028, when Andretti partner General Motors (GM) plans to produce its own engine.
Andretti Global is the parent company to Andretti Autosport and other Andretti ventures, with teams currently competing in seven series worldwide.
They are most prominent in the IndyCar Series, in which the team fields four cars.
Since Michael Andretti’s involvement, the team has won the Indianapolis 500 five times (2005, 2007, 2014, 2016, 2017) and the overall championship four times (2004, 2005, 2007, 2012).
