170 Facts About Mario Andretti

In endurance racing, Mario Andretti is a three-time winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring.

Mario Andretti began dirt track racing with his twin brother Aldo four years later, with Andretti progressing to USAC Championship Car in 1964.

Mario Andretti contested stock car racing in his early career, winning the 1967 Daytona 500 with Holman-Moody.

Mario Andretti took his first major sportscar racing victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring that year with Ford.

Mario Andretti debuted in Formula One at the United States Grand Prix in 1968 with Lotus, where he qualified on pole position.

Mario Andretti contested several further Grands Prix with Lotus in 1969, when he won his third USAC title and the Indianapolis 500.

In 1970, Mario Andretti took his maiden podium finish at the Spanish Grand Prix with STP, driving a privateer March 701.

Mario Andretti signed for Ferrari that year, winning at Sebring again.

Mario Andretti took his maiden victory in Formula One at the season-opening South African Grand Prix in 1971, on debut for Ferrari.

Mario Andretti took his third Sebring victory the following year.

Mario Andretti moved back to Lotus in 1976, winning the season-ending Japanese Grand Prix and helping develop the 78.

Mario Andretti won four Grands Prix in 1977, finishing third in the World Drivers' Championship.

Mario Andretti won the title in 1978 after achieving six victories, becoming the second World Drivers' Champion from the United States.

Mario Andretti returned to full-time IndyCar racing in 1982, placing third in the standings with Patrick, amongst winning the Michigan 500.

Mario Andretti retired with 52 wins, 65 pole positions, and 141 podiums in IndyCar.

Mario Andretti is set to serve on the board of directors of Cadillac in Formula One from its debut 2026 season onwards.

Mario Andretti was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2000.

Mario Gabriele Andretti was born on February 28,1940, to an Istrian-Italian family in Montona, Istria, Kingdom of Italy.

Mario Andretti was born six hours before his twin brother Aldo.

Mario Andretti is the son of Alvise "Gigi" Andretti, who worked as a farm administrator in Italy and for Bethlehem Steel in the US, and his wife Rina.

Mario Andretti had an older sister, Anna Maria Andretti Burley.

Mario Andretti's family owned a 2,100-acre farm in Montona, but after World War II, the Treaty of Paris transferred the territory to communist-controlled Yugoslavia.

The Mario Andretti twins were interested in racing at an early age.

The twins visited Monza for the Italian Grand Prix, where Mario Andretti saw Ascari race against Juan Manuel Fangio.

Mario Andretti's father felt that moving to America would give his children the best opportunity to succeed in life, but did not want his sons to become motor racers, as the sport was extremely dangerous at the time.

Mario Andretti planned to become a welder, but racing was "the only passion [he] really had career wise," and he admitted that he might not have been able to become a racer if he had stayed in Italy.

Mario Andretti's father did not watch him race until Mario Andretti reached IndyCar in 1964.

The first car Mario Andretti regularly drove was his father's 1957 Chevrolet, which the twins did not race, but nonetheless upgraded with features like a glasspack muffler and fuel injection.

From 1960 to 1961, Mario Andretti won 21 out of 46 modified stock car races.

The twins raced against each other only once, at Oswego Speedway in 1967; Mario Andretti won, with Aldo finishing 10th after a brake failure.

Mario Andretti finished third in the 1963 ARDC season standings.

Mario Andretti attempted to secure a full-time URC ride, but received only spot starts.

Mario Andretti won one race at Salem and finished third in the season standings behind veterans Don Branson and Jud Larson.

Mario Andretti continued to race in sprint cars after progressing to IndyCar.

Mario Andretti entered IndyCar during the 1964 season, while still racing full-time in sprint cars.

Mario Andretti spent the first portion of the 1964 season trying to find a full-time IndyCar drive.

Mario Andretti met with DVL's chief mechanic, Clint Brawner, to ask for the drive.

Mario Andretti joined Lee Glessner's outfit, but was forced to sit out the 1964 Indianapolis 500.

Mario Andretti got his big break with DVL midway through the 1964 season, after the youngster impressed Brawner in two races: a sprint car race in Terre Haute, Indiana and an IndyCar race at Langhorne Speedway, where Mario Andretti finished ninth, just three places below Mathouser, who had the better car.

From 1965 to 1969, Mario Andretti won three USAC IndyCar titles.

Mario Andretti came within 93 points of winning five in a row; for comparison, at the time, 100 points was the difference between finishing sixth and seventh at the Indianapolis 500.

At the peak of his statistical dominance, Mario Andretti won 29 of 85 USAC championship races between 1966 and 1969.

Mario Andretti won his first IndyCar race at the Hoosier Grand Prix.

At age 25, Mario Andretti became the youngest IndyCar champion in history, a record he held for thirty years until Jacques Villeneuve won the 1995 title.

In contrast to his maiden title win, Mario Andretti won eight of fifteen starts and led 1,142 laps, nearly 1,000 laps more than his closest competitor.

Mario Andretti took pole at the 1966 Indianapolis 500, but retired after 27 laps with a mechanical failure.

Mario Andretti fought through broken ribs to stay in the title race.

Mario Andretti ran out of fuel with four laps to go and settled for third, costing him 180 points.

The estate sold the team's assets to Mario Andretti, who became an owner-driver under the name Mario Andretti Racing Enterprises.

In 1968, Mario Andretti lost the title at the final race of the season at Riverside, but this time in a reversal of the events of 1967.

Mario Andretti held a 304-point lead over Bobby Unser at the start and led Unser on track by 47 seconds at one point.

Mario Andretti borrowed Joe Leonard's car and then Lloyd Ruby's car for the final stretch.

Mario Andretti fought back to third, but received only 165 points instead of the usual 420 since only his laps in Ruby's car were counted.

Unhappy about being an owner-driver, and concerned that Firestone was cutting back its sponsorship budget, Mario Andretti sold the team to Andy Granatelli's STP Corporation before the 1969 season.

Mario Andretti won nine races in 1969, including the 1969 Indianapolis 500 and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

Mario Andretti won his third title and was named ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year.

Mario Andretti remained with STP, which agreed to sponsor him during the 1970 Formula One season in a privateer March.

Mario Andretti was particularly hurt that Andretti wanted to retire the old Brawner Hawk for a chassis from Lotus.

However, it was rumored that Mario Andretti forced out Brawner, which Mario Andretti denied.

Meanwhile, Mario Andretti settled for a fifth-place finish in 1970, and the STP Formula One team shut down after one season.

In 1971, Mario Andretti fell to ninth in USAC's paved track championship.

Mario Andretti scored no points in the dirt track standings, with a best finish of 13th.

Mario Andretti persuaded the team to hire Lotus designer Maurice Philippe, and Jim McGee joined the team.

Mario Andretti did better on dirt tracks, winning the 1974 title after winning three out of five races.

Mario Andretti nearly won the 1973 title as well, but teammate Al Unser beat him even though Andretti won two out of three races.

Mario Andretti made guest appearances in Formula One with Ferrari in 1972, and raced in Formula 5000 in 1974 and 1975.

In 1975, Mario Andretti stopped competing full-time in IndyCar, instead driving full-time for the Parnelli Formula One team.

At the height of his IndyCar career, Mario Andretti made thirty appearances in top-level stock car racing from 1965 to 1969.

In USAC, Mario Andretti scored one win and eight top-five finishes in sixteen races from 1965 to 1968.

Mario Andretti primarily drove for Ford works team Holman-Moody, securing the drive through his connections at Ford headquarters.

Mario Andretti generally did not get the first pick of equipment and pit crews, and said that a lack of technical support forced him to ask a rookie, Donnie Allison, for help setting up his car.

Sports Illustrated noted that Mario Andretti's setup favored oversteer to an extent that was considered extreme at the time.

Mario Andretti stopped competing in NASCAR after 1969, as race seats at teams of the caliber of Holman-Moody rarely came open after the 1960s.

Mario Andretti won IROC VI and finished second in IROC III and IROC V Mario Andretti won three races in twenty events.

At the 1965 Indianapolis 500, Lotus star Jim Clark won and Mario Andretti finished third as the top-placed rookie.

Mario Andretti was delighted by the Lotus 49B, saying that its handling was a major improvement over IndyCar.

Mario Andretti beat the Monza lap record in testing, but was disqualified after flying back to America for a contractually required race.

Mario Andretti later said that the Monza officials broke a promise to waive the applicable rule on his behalf.

Mario Andretti got his real start in Formula One at the 1968 United States Grand Prix and took pole.

Mario Andretti eventually retired with a clutch failure, but he had made a strong impression.

Mario Andretti declined, not wishing to give up his stable USAC career.

Mario Andretti signed with Scuderia Ferrari in 1971 and entered seven out of 11 races, completing two.

Mario Andretti won the non-championship Questor Grand Prix in California.

In each season, Mario Andretti won as many races as Redman, but his results were less consistent.

In 1975, Mario Andretti became a full-time Formula One driver for the first time.

Mario Andretti was disappointed by the Parnelli VPJ4, which he felt was derivative of the Lotus 72.

Mario Andretti finished third at the non-championship 1975 BRDC International Trophy Race.

Mario Andretti finished 14th in the Drivers' Championship, scoring five points.

Parnelli skipped the first race of the 1976 season, so Mario Andretti started the year with Lotus and returned to Parnelli for the next two races.

Mario Andretti only learned of the decision when a reporter asked him about it as the grid lined up to start the race.

The Lotus 77 was not competitive, and with five races to go, Mario Andretti had scored just five points, leaving him mired in 13th place.

Mario Andretti asked to switch to the next year's car in mid-season, but Chapman declined.

At the Dutch Grand Prix, Mario Andretti scored his first podium since March 1971.

Mario Andretti collected three podiums in the final five races and lapped the field in his victory at the season-ending Japanese Grand Prix.

Mario Andretti's timing was fortuitous, as he rejoined Lotus at the eve of the ground effect revolution.

Mario Andretti, who received praise on several occasions for his technical feedback, took a close interest in developing the car.

In 1977, the Lotus 78 was one of the fastest cars on the grid, and Mario Andretti won four races, more than any other driver.

At Zolder, Mario Andretti took pole by 1.54 seconds, infuriating Chapman, who wanted to hide the car's quality from his competitors.

At round four, Mario Andretti won the United States Grand Prix West.

Mario Andretti scored a dominant win at the Spanish Grand Prix, but held his own under close racing, winning the French Grand Prix after a dramatic last-lap pass on John Watson.

Mario Andretti won his first Italian Grand Prix after three attempts, an achievement in which he took great pride.

Mario Andretti concluded that the Lotus 78 was his favorite Formula One car, even more than the next year's title-winning Lotus 79.

Lotus had commissioned special engines, which proved to be unreliable, and Mario Andretti suffered engine failures while leading at Spielberg, in second at Silverstone, and battling for third at Zandvoort.

Mario Andretti won his first and only Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1978.

Chapman placated Mario Andretti by offering him a bonus of $10,000 a point.

At the season-opening Argentine Grand Prix, Mario Andretti took pole and led from start to finish.

Mario Andretti's smooth driving style suited the car, whose downforce was so great that the chassis might have buckled in the hands of a more choppy driver.

At Belgium, Mario Andretti took pole by eight-tenths of a second, led from start to finish, and won by ten seconds.

Mario Andretti dominated the rest of the season, winning five of the next eight races, while teammate Peterson finished second with two wins.

Mario Andretti clinched the championship at the Italian Grand Prix, with two races to go.

Mario Andretti did not celebrate, as Peterson had suffered a major crash and died later that night due to complications from leg surgery.

Mario Andretti scored a podium in the Lotus 80's debut at Jarama.

Mario Andretti finished 12th in the standings, with 14 points, 6 points behind Reutemann, who left for Williams after the season.

Mario Andretti picked the Italian team due to his friendship with one of their engineers and the higher salary on offer.

Mario Andretti finished fourth on his debut at the United States Grand Prix West, but the team was otherwise uncompetitive.

Mario Andretti finished 17th in the Drivers' Championship, with 3 points.

Mario Andretti joined Williams for the United States Grand Prix West after Reutemann abruptly quit.

Mario Andretti damaged his suspension after contacting a wall and retired.

Mario Andretti then replaced the injured Didier Pironi at Ferrari for the last two races of the season.

Mario Andretti took pole and finished third at the Italian Grand Prix.

Mario Andretti agreed to serve as Renault's reserve driver for one US race in 1984, but declined to be considered for a reserve role in 1986, effectively ending his Formula One career.

CART was formed because the larger and more institutional IndyCar teams, like Mario Andretti's Penske Racing, wanted the sport to emphasize technical innovation and a more structured commercial strategy.

Mario Andretti did not win a race, but recorded five top-five finishes in seven races; the other two results were mechanical DNFs.

At the 1981 Indianapolis 500, Mario Andretti was controversially stripped of the win four months after the race.

Mario Andretti finished third in the season standings, with six podiums in 11 races.

In 1983, Mario Andretti worked with the team to develop the uncompetitive Lola T700 into a decent car.

Mario Andretti won the season opener at Long Beach, but his Indianapolis 500 race was compromised by electrical issues, and his wheel fell off at the Milwaukee Mile.

Mario Andretti got out to a fast start, winning three of the first four races and finishing second in the fourth, the 1985 Indianapolis 500.

At round five in Portland, Mario Andretti beat Michael by 0.07 seconds, setting another record for the closest finish in IndyCar history.

In 1987, with an Adrian Newey-designed chassis and new engines designed by Ilmor, Mario Andretti picked up eight poles but converted them into two wins.

Mario Andretti dominated the Indianapolis 500 but dropped out with a blown engine late in the race.

In 1988, Mario Andretti finished fifth in the season standings, one spot ahead of Michael.

Mario Andretti picked up two wins, but continued to suffer from reliability issues and was involved in several costly accidents.

Ahead of the 1993 season, Michael Mario Andretti left CART for Formula One.

Mario Andretti wanted to return to the old one-car system, but the team replaced Michael with the reigning Formula One champion, Nigel Mansell, and gave Mansell number one driver status.

Mansell and Mario Andretti raced as teammates for two years, but did not get along, owing to their mutual competitiveness and personality differences.

Mario Andretti scored his last IndyCar win during the 1993 Phoenix race.

Mario Andretti finished sixth in the season standings, while Mansell won the title.

At his 407th, and final, IndyCar race, at Laguna Seca, Mario Andretti's race was initially derailed by a flat tire, but he weaved his way back up to seventh.

Mario Andretti won once at the Indianapolis 500 in 29 attempts, despite three pole positions and seven top-three grid placements.

Mario Andretti won the 1969 race, but benefited from good luck: he completed the race in the team's backup car, a now-outdated Brawner Hawk, and on just one set of tires.

Mario Andretti was the first driver to exceed 200 miles per hour, during practice for the 1977 race.

Mario Andretti won three 12 Hours of Sebring endurance races, and a 6-hour race at Daytona in 1972.

Mario Andretti signed with Ferrari in 1971, and won several races with co-driver Jacky Ickx.

Mario Andretti competed in 25 North American Can-Am races in the late 1960s and early 1970s, with a best finish of third place at Riverside in 1969.

Mario Andretti competed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in four decades.

Mario Andretti crashed, broke several ribs, and was left exposed to oncoming traffic, but Roger McCluskey pulled him to safety.

Mario Andretti did not return to Le Mans until ending his full-time Formula One career.

In 1995, the team qualified third, but Mario Andretti was brake-checked by the car in front of him and crashed, forcing him to pit and costing the team six laps.

Mario Andretti later said that the team "lost [the 1995] race five times over" through poor organization, including a botched pit stop, an ill-considered switch to wet-weather tires, and a two-minute pit stop to wash the car to clean up the sponsor decals.

The 60-year-old Mario Andretti drove the Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S to a 15th-place finish.

Mario Andretti's name has become synonymous with speed in American popular culture.

An extremely versatile driver, Mario Andretti stands alone, or close to it, in several lists of drivers to win in multiple categories:.

Mario Andretti was named Driver of the Century by the Associated Press and RACER magazine.

Mario Andretti was named the US Driver of the Year in 1967,1978, and 1984, and is the only driver to be Driver of the Year in three decades.

Mario Andretti has been inducted into a variety of motorsports hall of fames, including the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2000.

Indianapolis renamed a portion of a street "Mario Andretti Drive" in 2019 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his 1969 Indianapolis 500 win.

Mario Andretti has been honored by the Vince Lombardi Cancer Foundation and the Simeone Foundation.

In 2008, Mario Andretti was named the honorary mayor of an association of Italian exiles from Mario Andretti's birthplace of Montona.

Mario Andretti's late wife Dee Ann was a native of Nazareth.

Mario Andretti was US Driver of the Year in 1991, and was third on the all-time IndyCar career wins list when he retired.

Mario's nephew John Andretti competed in CART and NASCAR, winning one CART race in 1991 and two NASCAR races in 1997 and 1999.

Mario Andretti serves on the board of the Cadillac Formula One team, which will join Formula One in 2026.

Since 2012, Mario Andretti has been the official ambassador for the Circuit of the Americas and the United States Grand Prix.

Mario Andretti participated in the 2006 Bullrun Rally from New York to Los Angeles.

Mario Andretti was interviewed about his winemaking activities for the documentary A State of Vine.

Mario Andretti drove an IndyCar in the IMAX film Super Speedway.

Mario Andretti appeared in the documentary Dust to Glory, which discusses a race in which he served as grand marshal.

Mario Andretti has made cameo or guest appearances in other media, generally associated with racing.

Mario Andretti cameoed in Bobby Deerfield ; Pixar's Cars ; and DreamWorks' Turbo.