Portugal Colonial - Andretti sign up Symonds to strengthen F1 push

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.

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).

E.Borba--PC