Mario Andretti

Biography of Mario Andretti

Mario Andretti is a legend of world motorsport with his accolades stretching across F1, IndyCar, NASCAR and Sportscar racing.

His chance in F1 came after a meeting with Lotus boss Colin Chapman during his first Indy 500 appearance in 1965, although it would take three years for him to appear in the sport.

Andretti underlined his talent with a pole position on debut at Watkins Glen but would continue to feature only sporadically in the world championship in addition to his commitments in America.

His first race win would come on his first outing for Ferrari at the South African Grand Prix in 1971, but it wouldn't be until 1975 that Andretti made the full-time switch to F1 for the American outfit, Parnelli.

The team withdrew two races into the 1976 season, with Andretti switching to Lotus. He lapped the entire field when winning in Japan in dreadful conditions, despite the lack of competitiveness shown by the Lotus early in the season.

In 1977, Andretti became the last American driver to the present day to win a US Grand Prix of any kind with victory at Long Beach - then known as the US Grand Prix West.

Andretti became world champion with Lotus in 1978 with six wins to his name, yet despite his talents, he would fail to win another grand prix thereafter.

He returned to a bit-part runner in F1 in the early 1980s and having left ahead of 1982, Andretti returned to fill in for Williams and Ferrari during the year.

His final two races would come in Italy and Las Vegas for Ferrari, with a podium at Monza a fitting send-off for a world champion.

Andretti's racing career would continue full-time until 1994 in IndyCar, with his last race coming in the Le Mans 24 Hours at the age of 60 in 2000.

With 12 race wins, 19 podiums and a world championship, Mario Andretti is a true legend of F1.