Mario Andretti

Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an American racing driver, arguably the most successful US citizen in auto racing. During his career, he has won four Champcar titles, and the 1978 Formula One World Championship. Andretti is the only person ever to win the Indy 500, the Daytona 500, and the Formula One World Championship.

Formula One career

He also started taking part in Formula One, taking the pole for his first race at Watkins Glen in 1968, and winning his first race in 1971 for Ferrari. By the mid-1970s, Andretti started to focus on Formula One, driving for Colin Chapman's Lotus team. In 1977, at Long Beach, he became the only American to win the United States Grand Prix. With the revolutionary "ground effect" car, Andretti won 6 races in 1978, and took the title - a bittersweet victory in light of the death of teammate Ronnie Peterson. However, Andretti would find little success after 1978 in Formula One, failing to win another race in that series.

Related Topics:
Watkins Glen - Ferrari - Colin Chapman - Lotus - Long Beach - United States Grand Prix - Ground effect - 1978 - Ronnie Peterson

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