Mario Andretti interview: 13 big F1 questions with 1978 World Champion

Elizabeth Blackstock
Mario Andretti Lotus F1 Argentine Grand Prix PlanetF1

Mario Andretti celebrates his well-earned victory at the 1978 Argentine Grand Prix.

From the moment he started racing on local dirt ovals in Pennsylvania back in the late 1950s, Mario Andretti’s life has been positively consumed by motorsport. Be it the Formula 1 World Championships or iconic events like the Indianapolis 500, he’s won it all.

PlanetF1.com recently had an opportunity to reflect on Andretti’s career with the man himself. We chatted about everything from prize money to his involvement with Cadillac F1 — and that also includes 13 big questions about his F1 career that we were keen to learn about!

13 big Formula 1 questions with 1978 World Champion Mario Andretti

Was there any F1 team you felt you worked best with?

“At Lotus, when we started winning, things were clicking because we somehow found something. And whenever you start producing results, you get the momentum.

“The momentum seems like an abstract but in all sports, it seems like once you start reaching that level, you’ll settle for nothing less; everybody just works a little harder.

“I [also] felt very comfortable with Ferrari because I knew they had the equipment that was capable of bringing in results.”

What F1 driver did you admire most during your career?

“Everyone around me. The Niki Laudas, the James Hunts. You always felt here was somebody better than you out there, and you’re always learning something.

“I always felt I learned something from somebody that helped me. There was always somebody better than you, and you just had to pay attention. ‘What in the world are they doing that I’m not’?

“I was fortunate to be mixing up with the best, and I learned something from all of them.”

What driver did you learn the most from?

“It’s hard to say, because it’s not anything as specific as ‘I learned five things from this guy, two things from that guy.

“You learn from your teammates. You’re learning when you’re just following somebody [on track]. ‘How’d they do that?’ Then you start paying attention.

“I was following Alan Jones at Watkins Glen at one point, and I said, ‘damn, I’m not doing that! I’m doing it very different!’ And when I tried his way, it was better. That’s how you learn.”

Did you have a favorite Formula 1 track?

“Anywhere I won.”

Did you have a least favorite Formula 1 track?

“I don’t know if I had any. I welcome any challenge before me. Some tracks, you have a tendency to have more success, and you don’t know why.

“Here’s the thing: I always approached every track the same way, [thinking] about the positive. If everybody was complaining that it’s too bumpy, well, I liked the bumpy because that’s just what you have to deal with and deal better than everyone else.

“It’s something you can really concentrate on. Anywhere you can get an advantage — whether it’s real or not — at least it’s something in your head, and that’s what you work for.”

What innovation was the most rewarding to be a part of

“I was part of the earliest development of ground effect. You can see that today, ground effect is everywhere — even NASCAR uses it. It’s in every level of the sport except for off-road.

“You can see that it’s a phenomenon that redefined the performance of a racing car, or any car for that matter, because you get downforce stability for free without the frontal area price you pay with surface wings.”

Did you ever get in a car and think, ‘this innovation is too far’?

“Hell no! It was never enough.”

More on Mario Andretti’s F1 career:

👉 Mario Andretti remembers convincing Colin Chapman to focus ‘100%’ on Team Lotus

👉 Meet the man who gave Mario Andretti his first full-time F1 ride

What was your favorite F1 car?

“The Lotus 79.

“I think, actually, the Lotus 78 was potentially even more satisfying for me than the 79. I should have had the World Championship in my hand easily in the 79.”

What was the most difficult F1 car you drove?

“The most difficult for me was the March. It was not pliable. There was a lot of understeer, and to be able to overcome that, then you had to put in a lot more front-end downforce — it was difficult to balance.”

What was the biggest hardship you were most proud to overcome?

“In 1970, in Spain with March.

“I’d just ran the 12 Hours of Sebring just before that race, and somehow I won — but because of the difference in height between me and my co-drivers [Ignazio Giunti and Nino Vaccarella], I was really overstretching my right leg to reach the pedal — and that’s a long, hard race.

“Anyway, all of a sudden when I’m in Spain, I have a sciatic nerve problem. I couldn’t even get out of the car on Saturday. I was embarrassed; I said, ‘Everybody, just get everybody away. Just help me; just go around so nobody sees.

“That night at my hotel, I asked if they could get a physiotherapist to my room. The doctor came over and gave me an injection of some sort; he said it was like B-12.

“All night long, I was sweating. I had a fever, and I had convulsions all night. My wife had to cover me up because I was shaking, all night the night before the race.

“Then the next day, I had my best race of the season.”

[Mario Andretti finished third at the 1970 Spanish GP.]

What makes you such a good racer?

“Desire. Just pure desire and love for what I’m doing. I mean, what the sport has done for me is something I could never have dreamed. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else in my life and having a tenth of the satisfaction I derived from the sport.”

Who was the most influential person on your F1 career?

“In Formula 1, for me, it’s just looking at accomplished individuals like Colin Chapman and Mr. Ferrari and having the opportunity to drive for them. That gave me everything — the desire to really reach as much as possible to satisfy them.

“I just remember, for instance, Mr. Ferrari — he was always somber, but at a test, whenever you set a quick time or something, he had this light smile. And I said, ‘Man, I want to see that smile.’ Things like that.

“Like Colin Chapman; when you won the race, he’d throw his hat up in the air, and you’d see the excitement that he experienced.

“Even when I won Indy, I went to see Andy Granatelli — the way he was celebrating, after having so many failures and so many close calls and trying so hard.

“Those are the things that influenced me and gave me the energy I needed to perform at the highest peak I could deliver.”

What was the most meaningful moment of your career?

“The most meaningful moment was of course clinching the World Championship, under dire circumstances because of Ronnie [Peterson].

“Going back, I was born and raised in Italy, and the first Formula 1 race I ever saw was at Monza at age 14. That’s really where my love and passion was sparked. My idol at the time was the current World Champion Alberto Ascari.

“As fate would have it, I placed the World Championship right there in Monza.”

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