Mario Andretti

Mario Gabriele Andretti was born on February 28, 1940, in Montona, Istria (now Motovun, Croatia), six hours before his twin brother Aldo. His family, Istrian-Italian, owned a 2,100-acre farm there. After World War II, the Treaty of Paris transferred the territory to communist Yugoslavia, forcing the Andrettis to join the Istrian–Dalmatian exodus in 1948. They lost everything, taking only one truckload of possessions, and spent seven years in a refugee camp in Lucca, Italy, living in a former college dormitory without running water.

As young boys, the twins raced hand-crafted wooden cars through Montona’s streets. In Lucca, they parked cars at a local garage, and the owners, noticing their passion, took them to watch the 1954 Mille Miglia, where two-time Formula One champion Alberto Ascari became Andretti’s idol. They also snuck into Monza for the Italian Grand Prix, mesmerized by the speed and sound of Ascari and Juan Manuel Fangio.

After a three-year wait for U.S. visas, the family sailed into New York Harbor on June 16, 1955, aboard the SS Conte Biancamano, with $125 in cash. They settled in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, where Alvise Andretti’s brother-in-law lived. Andretti opposed leaving Italy, but his father believed America offered better opportunities—though he forbade his sons from racing, given the sport’s danger. Andretti planned to become a welder, but racing remained his only passion.

He began dirt track racing in 1959 with Aldo, progressing to USAC Championship Cars in 1964. Andretti won back-to-back USAC titles in 1965 and 1966, finishing runner-up in 1967 and 1968. In stock car racing, he won the 1967 Daytona 500 with Holman-Moody. That same year, he took his first major sportscar victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring with Ford. He debuted in Formula One at the 1968 United States Grand Prix with Lotus, qualifying on pole. He contested several more Grands Prix with Lotus in 1969, when he also won his third USAC title and the Indianapolis 500. In 1970, he earned his maiden Formula One podium at the Italian Grand Prix with STP, driving a privateer March 701, and signed for Ferrari, winning Sebring again.

Andretti’s first Formula One victory came at the 1971 season-opening South African Grand Prix on his Ferrari debut. He won Sebring for a third time the following year. After part-time roles with Ferrari and Parnelli in 1972 and 1973, he joined Parnelli full-time for 1974, following a runner-up finish in the SCCA Continental Championship. He returned to Lotus in 1976, winning the season-ending Japanese Grand Prix and helping develop the Lotus 78. In 1977, he won four Grands Prix, finishing third in the World Drivers’ Championship. He claimed the title in 1978 with six victories, becoming the second American World Drivers’ Champion. After winless 1979 and 1980 campaigns with Lotus, he moved to Alfa Romeo in 1981. Following fill-in appearances for Williams and Ferrari in 1982, he retired from Formula One with 12 wins, 18 pole positions, 10 fastest laps, and 19 podiums.

Andretti returned to full-time IndyCar racing in 1982, placing third in the standings with Patrick Racing, including a win at the Michigan 500. He finished third again with Newman/Haas in 1983, then won his fourth IndyCar title in 1984—15 years after his previous—this one sanctioned by CART. He won the Pocono 500 in 1986 and stayed with Newman/Haas until 1994. His victory at Phoenix in 1993 made him the oldest winner in IndyCar history at age 53, and the first driver to win a race in four different decades. He retired from IndyCar with 52 wins, 65 pole positions, and 141 podiums. Across multiple motorsport disciplines, his 111 official victories on major circuits made his name synonymous with speed in American popular culture.

His sons, Michael and Jeff, both became racing drivers; Michael won the CART title in 1991 and previously owned Andretti Global. Andretti serves on the board of directors of Cadillac in Formula One from its debut in 2026 onward. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2000.