How good it is to hear 'Andretti' and 'Formula One' mentioned in the same sentence again. It's been a while, and last time the story was not a happy one. Michael Andretti, one of the great Indycar drivers of his age, failed to do himself justice at McLaren in 1993. But that's old history.
Now his 19-year-old son Marco is on the scene, and for any true enthusiast, it's good news. If (and surely when) the kid makes the jump to the sport's pinnacle, most of us will have our fingers crossed for him - to succeed where his old man failed, to add to the daunting legacy forged by his 1978 world champion grandfather, and to reconnect F1 to the US in a way Scott Speed never can.
But let's slow down a little bit. Yes, Andretti has tested for Honda and appeared to find his feet after just one day of running - 32 laps in the morning, 35 in the afternoon, and a respectable time around two seconds off the best set by regular tester Christian Klien. But this was a toe in the water, generating a good bit of PR for Honda. It doesn't actually mean very much.
What should be of greater importance to Andretti, if he is serious about F1, is plotting the right course to really get there. And that means leaving his homeland and the IRL IndyCar Series.