Mario Andretti was born on February 28, 1940, in Montona, a city on the Italian peninsula of Istria, which is currently called Motovun and is in Croatia.
After World War II, Istria became Yugoslavia, and his family fled in 1948, spending 7 years in a refugee camp. Then finally, the Andretti family settled in Pennsylvania, USA.
In 1959 Mario started racing an old Hudson car on dirt tracks near where he lived. His brother Aldo, raced with the same car and on the same tracks as him, but left after an accident.
Mario made his debut at the United States Automobile Club (USAC) in 64 ‘, and won the tournament the following season, also competing in different categories, and by 1969 he had won the Daytona 500, the Indianapolis 500 and the 12 Hours of Sebring.
He won his first F1 race in 1971 with Ferrari. In ’77 he became the first American driver to win the United States Grand Prix. Andretti won six races in 1978 and took the title, although that victory was embittered as his teammate died.
In the 1980s he returned to Champcar and won his fourth title in 1984 and in 1993 it was his last victory, although Andretti continued to race to try to win the only major prize that was missing, 24 Hours of Le Mans.
He is considered by many people, particularly in the United States, as one of the greatest drivers of all time and in 2000 he was named “Motorist of the Century” by RACER magazine and the Associated Press.
His two sons, Michael and Jeff, are in the racing world. The former won the Champcar and Mario’s nephew, John, was very successful in Champar and NASCAR, and also his grandson Marco won the “Stars of Tomorrow” Karting championship at Champcar, with what we can consider was a true family of motorists.