Mario Andretti 

Mario Gabriele Andretti is an Italian-born American former racing driver. Andrettti was born on February 28, 1940. One of the most successful Americans in the history of motorsports, Andretti is one of only two drivers to have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, the World Sportscar Championship, and NASCAR. He has also won races in midget car racing and sprint car racing. During his career, Andretti won the 1978 Formula One World Championship, four IndyCar titles, and IROC VI. To date, he remains the only driver ever to win the Indianapolis 500, Daytona 500 and the Formula One World Championship.

Andretti had a long career in motorsports. He was the only person to be named United States Driver of the Year in three decades. Mario was also one of only three drivers to have won major races on road courses, paved ovals, and dirt tracks in one season, a feat that he accomplished four times. With his final IndyCar win in April 1993, Andretti became the first driver to have won IndyCar races in four different decades and the first to win automobile races of any kind in five. 

Mario Andretti before F1

Andretti became a naturalized United States citizen in 1964. He competed in United States Automobile Club (USAC) stock car events in 1965, and finished twelfth in the season points. He won a USAC Stock Car race in 1967, and finished seventh in the season points. Andretti competed in fourteen NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup events in his career. He competed in Holman Moody cars for his final ten events. Andretti won the 1967 Daytona 500 for Holman Moody.

Andretti’s first racing experience was in a new youth racing league called Formula Junior in Ancona, Italy when he was thirteen years old. He raced midget cars from 1961 to 1963. Marioi won the 1964 Joe James-Pat O’Connor Memorial USAC sprint car race at Salem Speedway in Salem, Indiana. Andretti continued to race in USAC sprint cars after moving into champ cars. In 1965 he won once at Ascot Park, and finished tenth in the season points. He made his IndyCar debut on April 19, 1964, at the New Jersey State fairgrounds in Trenton, New Jersey. He started sixteenth and finished eleventh. 

F1 Debut and Team

Mario took the pole position on his debut at the 1968 United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen in his Lotus 49. Andretti drove sporadically in Formula One over the next four years for Lotus, March, and Ferrari, while continuing to focus on his racing career in America. At the 1971 South African Grand Prix, on his debut for Ferrari, he won his first Grand Prix. It wasn’t until 1975 that Andretti drove a full Formula One season, for the American Parnelli team. The team was new to Formula One, although it had been successful in both Formula 5000 and IndyCar racing in America with Andretti driving.  

Formula 1 Career Stats

Read more: Mclaren adds a permanent Senna logo to their car in honor of the legend

Mario Andretti Net Worth

According to the sources, Mario Andretti’s net worth is approximately $120 million, making him one of the richest racing drivers in the world. His racing career earnings have been the major contributor to his wealth. He earned substantial prize money from the various races he won and participated in. After he left racing, he owned businesses and became an electric entrepreneur. He is also a part owner of a gasoline company and still is a part of many online and TV gigs, appearing as himself in movies and television commercials.

Who is Mario Andretti’s Wife 

Mario Andretti met Dee Ann when she was just 15, she agreed to be the slightly older Mario’s English tutor. Mario and his family had emigrated from Montana, Italy, in 1955, making their home in Nazareth. They married in 1961 and moved into a house her parents owned because they couldn’t afford to rent an apartment. Dee Ann’s salary went toward paying for engine jobs on Mario’s overhauled race car. The couple’s first child Michael was born in 1962. They had two more children, Jeff and Barbie.

Brand Endorsements

Lotus 

Ferrari

Parnelli

Alfa Romeo 

Williams