Former IndyCar driver Mario Andretti was questioned about the so-called “Andretti curse” in 2011 as he sat down with Car and Driver for an interview. The interview was published in the June 2011 issue as the 85-year-old addressed the curse which has plagued the family at the Indy 500.
Mario participated in 29 Indy 500 races during his four-decade-long racing career, his son Michael participated in 16, and his grandson Marco has to date participated in 19 races around the 2.5-mile oval. However, only Mario has managed to win the fabled race, that too only once in 1969.
Mario Andretti was questioned in the interview about the curse. The interviewer also questioned the former F1 and IndyCar champion about the origins of the curse and who it was that coined the term “Andretti curse”.
“Well, the term “Andretti Curse” did not come from us. I think my good friend, the late Indy announcer Tom Carnegie, came up with that. Obviously, there were some disappointments there, both on my side and Michael’s side, because we’d dominate the race but didn’t win,” said Mario Andretti.
“The one I did win was the most unlikely race for me to even finish. But looking at my entire history at Indianapolis, I’m very proud and very happy at the success I did have there,” he added.
Mario, Michael, and Marco have all finished the Indy 500 as the runner-up on at least one occasion. Mario finished P2 in 1981 and 1985, while also managing pole position for the Indy 500 on three different occasions.
Michael Andretti finished P2 at the 1991 Indy 500 and P3 at the 2001 & 2006 races. Marco made his Indy 500 debut in 2006 and finished as the runner-up. He would go on to finish on the Indy 500 podium thrice after his debut, but hasn’t bettered his P2 result.
Marco Andretti is still a semi-active driver. Although he retired from the full-time racing role at the end of the 2020 IndyCar season, he continues to race as a one-off entry for each year’s Indy 500.
Mario Andretti to attend the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed as F1 celebrates its 75th anniversary
The F1 championship began in 1950 and will be celebrating its 75th anniversary at the Goodwood Festival of Speed held from Thursday, 10 July to Sunday, 13 July. Mario Andretti, who won the 1978 F1 championship with Lotus, will be present at the venue.
The former IndyCar and F1 champion will be taking his championship-winning Lotus 79 around Goodwood on all three days of the festival.
“I have been to the Goodwood Festival of Speed many times… It’s a memorable experience with a wonderful community of car enthusiasts who bring the heart and the noise,” said Mario Andretti via Drive Spark.
Mario will be joined by four-time F1 champion Alain Prost at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
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Edited by Tushar Bahl
