ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Michael Andretti looked tan and thinner Sunday when he made his way from his yacht to the starting grid for the opening race of IndyCar’s 2025 season.
He was also relaxed.
Retirement is going better than expected for Andretti, who turned control of his race team over to Dan Towriss at the end of last season and no longer has any official role at Andretti Global. He wore an Andretti team shirt Sunday but after the national anthem did not head toward one of the team’s three pit stands to oversee the race on the streets of downtown St. Petersburg.
Andretti instead headed off in the direction of Andretti hospitality — or maybe he was going back to his triple-decker yacht docked near the 10th turn of the course. He has no responsibilities since selling controlling interest of Andretti Global to business partner Towriss, who has committed to retaining the team name and honoring the legacy of motorsports’ most iconic family.
“No headaches,” he said with a grin regarding his afternoon. “It’s weird that I have no schedule. I’m not used to it, like, I don’t know what to do.”