Andretti admits Alpha Tauri not for sale

Michael Andretti admits buying Alpha Tauri will not be the ticket to revving up his own Formula 1 team.

Amid Andretti-Cadillac’s push to enter F1, it is believed the existing teams have voted essentially unanimously to see the current new-team entry fee raised from $200m to $600 million.

But there are also reports that, for a little more money than that, the American may simply be able to buy the underperforming Alpha Tauri from Red Bull.

Team boss Franz Tost denied that in an official statement days ago, and Red Bull chief Christian Horner also thinks it’s just "speculation".

"Anything like that would be ultimately down to the shareholders, and their commitment has always been absolute," he said. "So yes, it’s sometimes amusing to see how things get carried away.

"As far as I’m aware, there’s no changes planned."

And that ’no’ from Red Bull appears to have made it all the way across the Atlantic to the streets of St Petersburg, Florida - where the new Indycar season kicked off at the weekend.

Jenna Fryer, an Associated Press journalist, asked Michael Andretti in St Petersburg if Alpha Tauri is for sale.

"No," Andretti reportedly told her. When asked if he is sure, 60-year-old former McLaren driver Andretti added: "Positive."