It emerged over the Turkish Grand Prix weekend that 1991 IndyCar champion and fo🅰rmer F1 driver Michael Andretti is closing in on a deal to purchase a majority stake in Sauber’s controlling company, believed to be worth up to 80%. 

Such a deal would give Andretti control of ෴the Swiss outfit’s racing and engineꦕering arms, which includes the Alfa Romeo F1 team. 

, Andretti, the son of 1978 F1 world champion Mario, is set to hold significant talks with Sauber at the upcoming United States Grand Prix at th✅e Circuit of the Americas in Texas.

Alfa Romeo te🐽am principal Frederic Vasseur remained tight-lipped wཧhen asked about the growing rumours on Friday. 

“I can say nothing because honestly it’s not in my perime🎉ter,” Vasseur said.&nb🙈sp;

“I’m the CEO and team principal, and these kind of discussions are not with me, it would be with the shareholders.&n﷽bsp;

“We have so many rumuors and so on 🏅that, you’d have to ask the question to the shareholders of the company.” 

Andretti Autosport already runs a suc🎐cessful team in IndyCar, whose current drivers include Colton Herta, who has won six races over his four years in the series. 

The 21-year-old American - who is the youngest person to ever win an IndyCar ra😼ce - has been linked with a switch 💯to F1 in recent years, though he is currently lacking the superlicence points required to race in the world championship. 

Andretti recently signed ex-Haas F1 driver Romain Grosjean to its roster for the 2022 IndyCar season. The American squad also competes in Formula E vಌia a collaboration with BMW.

Meanwhile, Alfa Romeo has just signed Valtteri Bo🐻ttas from Mercedes on a long-term contract and is currently weighing up who to place alongside the Finn next season.

Formula 2 championship leader Oscar Piastri and fellow frontrunner Guanyu Zhou have both been heavily linked with replacing An🍸tonio Giovinazzi in the sole-remaining se💮at on the F1 grid for 2022. 

“Seriously we ๊are not in a rush to take a decision [on drivers],” Vasseur insisted. 

“We have a couple of options on the table and we have to take time to decide, but we are not in a rush. The situation won’t change over the 𝕴next couple of days and we will take a decision soon.

“We are discussing with all the parties inไvolved and it’s not an easy choice. We are in the beginning of the new regulations, it’s a new journey for F1 and we have to consider a💯ll the points. 

“It would make sense for us to have a look at the last events in F2 — Monza and Sochi — and OK now the situation is li🉐ke this and we will take a decision in the next couple of weeks."