© P-H Cahier / F1-photo.com
The son of Mario Andretti made quick work of the junior ranks in America winning the Super Vee, Formula Atlantic and then graduating to Indy Car in 1984.
Michael Andretti finished second in 1986, 1987 and 1990 before winning the Indy Car title in 1991. These superb performances caught the eye of the F1 teams and with some encouragement from his father, Michael joined the F1 paddock in 1993 with McLaren. What a disaster it turned out to be!
Michael seemed to have a magnet that dragged him to the scene of an accident and was involved in incident after incident. Pace was an issue too as he was no match for his team mate. But that’s unfair as Michaels team mate was the legendary Ayrton Senna. In a car that was far from perfect, Senna took the fight to Williams but Andretti spent far too much time being entangled in midfield battles and collisions.
Andretti was often criticised for not devoting himself to F1 in the way other drivers did, instead opting to commute over the Atlantic from his home in the USA. The team never felt he was part of the outfit and replaced Andretti after the Italian Grand Prix with future champion Mika Hakkinen. Worth noting is that Andretti’s last race was also his best result with an excellent third place.
Michael switched back to the States to continue his Indy Car career, somewhere he always felt much more at home. Tellingly, he took victory in a Reynard in the marques first ever series race.
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