Summing Up Formula One Year, Michael Andretti Doesn’t Finish

Michael Andretti has cut short his disappointing Formula One rookie season and will return to the Indy car circuit next year, sources told the Associated Press on Wednesday.

Andretti, ineffective on the international circuit through the first 13 races of 1993, will leave Team McLaren without competing in the final three races of the season.

“It’s a done deal, they’ve just got to sign the contract,” said a source who spoke only on the condition that he not be identified. “He’s coming back to the States.”

Sources close to both Team McLaren in England and Chip Ganassi Racing in the United States said the situation will be clarified by Friday, with an announcement as soon as today.

Andretti, 30, will return to Indy car racing as a driver for the Ganassi team, the sources said.

Andretti won the Indy car PPG Cup championship in 1991, as well as finishing second in 1987, 1990 and 1992.

With three Formula One events left, Andretti has seven championship points, including four from a third-place finish Sunday at Monza, Italy. He also has a fifth and a sixth, but has failed to finish a majority of races because of accidents and mechanical problems.