Andretti Global was founded in 1993 as Forsythe Green Racing by Gerry Forsythe and Barry Green. The team competed in the Atlantic series with Claude Bourbonnais and Jacques Villeneuve as drivers. After that season, Forsythe and Green parted ways, and Green made the step up to CART, enjoying immediate success with Jacques Villeneuve behind the wheel.
In 2002, Michael Andretti acquired a majority stake in the team, renaming it Andretti-Green Racing. He then lured Tony Kanaan and Dario Franchitti away from the rival Indy Racing League. Andretti himself raced in a few IRL events before retiring after the Indy 500, with Dan Wheldon taking his place. The team quickly became successful, winning IndyCar championships with Kanaan, Wheldon, and Franchitti in 2004, 2005, and 2007 respectively, with the latter two also winning the Indy 500 in their championship years.
A New Era and Continued Success
In 2008, Danica Patrick won the race at Motegi, becoming the first woman to win an IndyCar race. In 2009, the team changed its name to Andretti Autosport and continued to win races with Hunter-Reay and Kanaan in 2010. In 2012, Dan Wheldon was set to return to the team, but after his tragic death at the 2011 Las Vegas Motor Speedway season finale, James Hinchcliffe was chosen as the ideal replacement for the two-time Indy 500 winner.
Ryan Hunter-Reay secured the first title for Andretti Autosport since 2007 in 2012, and in 2014, Hunter-Reay won another significant victory at the Indianapolis 500. The 2015 season was a challenging one for Andretti Autosport, as the team struggled with the new Honda aero kit at the beginning of the season.
Eventually, Carlos Munoz secured his first career victory in a rain-soaked Belle Isle, and Ryan Hunter-Reay added two more wins at Iowa and Pocono toward the end of the season. However, the high of the Pocono victory was overshadowed by the tragic death of part-time Andretti Autosport driver Justin Wilson, who was struck on the head by debris from Sage Karam's crashed car during the 500-mile race at Pocono and died in the hospital a day later.
Good results, followed by declining results
Andretti Autosport continued to find success with Indy 500 victories in 2016 (Alexander Rossi) and 2017 (Takuma Sato), while Rossi remained in contention for the championship until the final race in both 2018 and 2019. However, from 2021 onwards, the team's performance began to decline. The low point came in 2023 when the team's highest-placed driver (Colton Herta) finished only tenth in the championship.
Rebranding to Andretti Global
Following the 2023 season, the team announced a name change from Andretti Autosport to Andretti Global, signaling its international ambitions. In addition to IndyCar, Indy NXT, and Formula E, the team aims to make its debut in Formula 1.
After the disappointing 2023 season, the first year as Andretti Global went much better. With two wins under his belt, Colton Herta finished second in the championship, the best result for an Andretti driver since Alexander Rossi also finished second in 2018. Kyle Kirkwood made significant progress with a seventh-place finish in the championship, while only newcomer Marcus Ericsson struggled, ending the season in fifteenth place.
Acquisition by Group 1001
Following the 2024 season, the big news broke that Michael Andretti had sold his shares in the team to Dan Towriss, owner of Group 1001. Towriss had already been involved with Andretti Global as an investor and, as the owner, took on a more influential role within the team. Michael Andretti’s role shifted with this acquisition to a more strategic position, in which he would continue to serve as an ambassador.
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