1978 Formula 1 world champion and four-time IndyCar champion. He was named Driver of the Century for his outstanding racing career spanning five decades. Andretti also stood out as a driver who could win on any track and in any car. He won on both sprint and Formula 1 circuits.
In total he competed in 14 Formula 1 seasons between 1968 and 1982. In total, he has 128 starts, 12 of which he has won and 19 of which he has been on the podium. He is known as an extremely versatile and successful driver.
He has won the United States Auto Club National Championship on numerous occasions.
Mario Gabriele Andretti was born on 28 February 1940 in Montona, Italy. Mario Andretti’s father ran farms near Trieste, but the family lost everything when the communists took over governance after World War II. They moved away, and opposite their temporary home was a garage,b whose owner became their friend’s. so Mario and his twin brother Aldo show interest and then love for cars and motor racing. Mario and Also attended the 1954 Italian Grand Prix as spectators and the race made them both excited. The family emigrated to America in 1955. The two brothers saved up enough money to buy a 1948 Hudson, which they soon won several local races in, although without their parents’ knowledge or consent, as their father was against of this sport. Aldo stopped racing in 1959 after an accident and the resulting serious injury (two weeks of coma). This time their father discovered the twins’ secret racing and became extremely angry.
However, Mario continued to race, often several times a week, sometimes even several races a day, with increasing success. Over the next two years he won 21 out of 46 races. In 1963, Andretti entered his first United States Auto Club (USAC) race, a sprint race that allowed him to compete in the ring with some of the champions, including A.J. Foyt. In 1965, he finished as third in the Indianapolis 500 and won the Rookie of the Year award. His versatility extended to as much racing as he could find in America (he won the Daytona 500 and the 12 Hours of Sebring, among others). Still, he retained a desire for his first love, Formula 1 racing.
In the 1966 season he scored eight victories, retaining his championship title. In 1967, eight more victories followed the earlier successes, although it didn’t take long for Foy to take the title away from him. In 1968 he was racing with his own team and although he won four times, he was not satisfied with the results.
In 1969, he took part three Grand Prix races in F1 for Lotus, but he thought that winning back the IndyCar championship was more important, so he only raced occasionally in F1. He focused on IndyCar racing again and won the Indianapolis 500, this was one of the biggest victories of his life. However, his 1970 season in IndyCar racing was not successful. In 1971, he joined the Ferrari F1 team and won the opening round in South Africa, this was his first Grand Prix victory in F1. Meanwhile, the IndyCar season had again a priority in his life, but after failing to win a single race, he left his team. Since 1964 it was the first occasion he finished an IndyCar season without a win.
The article continues with the second and final part, which tells us how Mario Andretti’s career as a Formula 1 driver developed, then we look at his subsequent races and results, and finally we take a look at the period after his retirement.