Andretti family hoping to get answer on Formula 1 team entry by Christmas

Michael Andretti hopes the green light for his Formula 1 team aspirations will be "a nice Christmas present".

It is well known that the former McLaren driver, who now heads a US-based motor racing empire including a top Indycar team, is trying to convince F1, the FIA and the existing teams to approve an 11th team entry.

It would be partially financed by Group 1001 - a financial services company that already sponsors Andretti's Indycar team via the Gainbridge brand.

Group 1001 CEO Dan Towriss played down rumours that F1 as a block is opposed to Andretti's team debut.

"I think a lot of times, the quotes that get pulled out don't really tell the full story," he told the Indy Star newspaper.

"There's a lot of conversations going on, and we're not trying to get out in front of anything or use the media as a tool to influence anything. They have an expectation on approach and decorum that people should take in dealing with them, and we respect that."

Green light looming

Also involved in Andretti's F1 bid is Guggenheim, owner of the LA Dodgers baseball team, which is said to be backing the new Andretti factory and willing to pay the $200 million entry fee.

The green light from F1, therefore, may now be looming.

"We're hoping in the next couple weeks," Michael Andretti said. "That would sure be a nice Christmas present."

He also revealed that even after team owner Dietrich Mateschitz's recent death, the AlphaTauri team is definitely "not interested" in selling its team entry to Andretti.

"But we're working every day," said the 60-year-old, whose father Mario was F1's 1978 world champion.

"I'm still confident," Andretti added.

"We're getting close. We haven't gotten the okay yet, but we're getting really close. We want to do something that's