Racing Legend Mario Andretti and his First Love, the Formula One circuit
As World War II gathered storm across the European continent in 1940, Mario and twin sibling Aldo were born on February 20th in the war ravaged Italian town of Montona. Till the age of seven, the Andretti siblings lived in an encampment for dislodged citizens, where the household persevered through acute dearth of food and excessively crammed circumstances. At the conclusion of the war, young Mario’s hometown had fallen to the Communists and got merged into what at that time was Yugoslavian territory. It was when the Italian family had resettled in Lucca, central Italy, that little Mario became acquainted with the sport that would soon become an overwhelming fascination.
The Andretti brothers would often frequent a patch of the renowned Mille Miglia race circuit that ran in close proximity to Lucca where they would note with fascination the multitude of sports cars whizzing past the winding Italian vista. Yet is was a trip to Monza for the 1954 Italian Grand Prix that cast an irrevocable motorsport fanatic out of the little Mario as he watched with wide eyed enchantment the absolute class of racers like Juan Manuel Fangio and Alberto Ascari amidst the peregrine music of the hurtling Maserati, Ferrari and Lancia Formula One machines. An immediate adherent of the talented Ascari, young Mario was overwrought when the Italian legend died in action at Monza the very next year.
In 1955, the Andrettis moved to the U.S.A. in the hope of reviving their fortunes. With Ascari as his motivation and paragon, Mario, along with his brother Aldo, began to look for an opening into the professional motorsport world. Settled in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, the twins initiated their foray into racing at the age of 18 after whipping a Hudson Hornet into race-worthy shape. It was in one of those Hudson Hornets that Aldo was critically hurt in 1959, never to compete again. Yet Mario did not forfeit his ambitions and hurtled on, contesting local events with a burgeoning confidence and accomplishment. The daring American’s popularity shot up dramatically as his driving took on an even more aggressive edge.
Together with the American great AJ Foyt, Andretti became a motor-racing force to be reckoned with. After proving his calibre on the concise ovals, Mario then took the gargantuan expressways by storm to win the prestigious Indianapolis 500 event. The unstoppable virtuoso also went on to take the USAC (United States Auto Club) championship title more than once, in addition to thriving at numerous other moulds of racing. However, in spite of his extraordinary conquests, Mario yet maintained a thirst for his very initial infatuation - the Formula One circuit.
Andretti seized his opportunity following the 1965 Indianapolis event when he salvaged a future race seat guarantee from Lotus premier Colin Chapman. It was in 1968 when Andretti finally made his Formula One appearance in spectacular style at the US Grand Prix, where he brilliantly steered his Lotus 49 to the pole in the qualifying round. Chapman then invited the American to take on a permanent role at Lotus to fill the void left by Jim Clark’s fatal accident earlier in the season. However, reluctant to forsake a thriving career back in the U.S., Andretti declined the offer. For the next few years, the American took only a desultory interest in Formula One until a decline in his USAC fortunes in 1976 instigated Andretti to moot a move to Team Lotus.
Although fazed by Chapman’s rather high-strung and unreliable Lotus 77, Andretti was nevertheless able to land a memorable triumph at the year’s ultimate event in Japan. After a highly successful 1977 campaign, Andretti was crowned World Champion in 1978 after sealing five remarkable victories in his state-of-the-art Lotus 79. Following the triumph, Andretti lost much of his fervour for the sport and after four more unyielding years in the game, he decided to quit Formula One for a return to his career in the U.S. Andretti made one last appearance on the Formula One track at the 1982 Italian Grand Prix event at Enzo Ferrari’s request. There, on the very grid that he had first fallen in love with motorsport as an effectible youngster decades ago, Mario Andretti raced his Ferrari 126 Turbo from the pole to a dramatic third place finish.
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