Mario Andretti on Cadillac’s “impossible” F1 dream, his role and Hamilton at Ferrari

You can retire from a job, but not from your passion. Mario Andretti is an easy pick for the Mount Rushmore of American racers, but at the age of 84 there is no way of keeping the winner of the Indy 500, Daytona 500 and a Formula 1 world championship away from the race track. Through his son Michael’s racing empire Mario always had a home at circuits around the world. And now Andretti Sr will also be reunited with the world’s greatest grand prix venues through his role advisory with the Cadillac F1 team.

Michael may have taken a step back from the day-to-day running of Andretti Global, which is now led by CEO Dan Towriss. But at the nascent, rebranded Cadillac Formula 1 team – a project initiated by his son – Mario is keeping his foot in the door. As a director on the board, Andretti is keeping a keen eye on the proceedings, staying in regular contract with team principal Graeme Lowdon in the UK as F1 prepares to receive an expansion 11th team in 2026.

Motorsport.com sat down with the racing legend to discuss his role in Cadillac F1 and the challenges the team is facing, Colton Herta’s potential both in IndyCar and F1, IndyCar’s new TV deal and leadership, and Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari. But above all, what really shines through is Andretti’s determined outlook on life, his enduring love for all things racing and his trademark perseverance against all odds.

Motorsport.com: Mario, I saw you were in London. How much did you enjoy the F1 75 season launch?

Mario Andretti: Oh, it was fantastic. That’s one way to describe it. Obviously, they left nothing on the table. It was all well done. And the dinner that we had at Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant the night before was also very quaint, with all the fossils from Formula 1 there. (laughs) It was a great ambiance.

Even 10 years ago an event like that would have been unthinkable. What does this say about the growth of Formula 1?

MA: It speaks volumes. If you look at the production that they had in place for the launch of the 2025 season… Of course, it’s a big celebration, 75 years and all that, but the scope of it all was just phenomenal in every way – and that speaks volumes for the state of Formula 1 today in the world. It’s unprecedented; great talents, great personalities.

Cars and drivers lined up at the F1 75 Live event

Photo by: Getty Images

Not everyone was that convinced. A lot of old-school fans weren’t too fond of the whole spectacle and felt it didn’t have anything to do with the racing.

MA: Well, you know, you can never please everyone. There’s always someone who will find fault, even with the most beautiful things in life. I’ve learned to look at the positive side of everything. Obviously, today’s world is a little different with social media, people just have strange ways of expressing themselves. But the event was a full house and you could just see the reaction of the fans when the teams were presenting the drivers. For us who live the sport it was very heartwarming, I’d say. Everything is definitely going in the right direction.

It sounds like a good time to start a team, right?

MA: Yes, absolutely. No question about it. The future is solid, the present is solid. So let’s face it, now is as good a time as any to be part of it, and we’re there.

Did you spend much time at the Cadillac F1 factory in Silverstone while you were over in the UK?

MA: No, I didn’t have the chance, unfortunately. It was pretty much in and out. But obviously, I’m in touch with them. And Graeme Lowdon, the team principal, he’s a great guy and he was in London for some meetings. I’m up to speed on everything. And I look forward to visiting when I have a bit more time to do so.

Lowdon was officially announced as a team principal in December, but he had been leading the project behind the scenes for a while. What has he been like? He obviously has a lot of experience in this sport.

MA: The best way I can describe it is ‘superb’. It really is. No nonsense, but an individual people can gravitate around because he’s a good man. Deep down, as you say, the experience factor is everything. He’s all in, although we loaned him to his family for a few days. And I said: ‘Don’t get used to that.’ (laughs)

Graeme Lowdon

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

No, the time that he spends there is amazing. If there were 40 hours in one day, he would be there for 39 of them. So, we’re very, very fortunate to have individuals like that, and he’s not the only one. There are many experienced individuals that have pretty much taken a gamble, if you will. It’s always a gamble to go with a new situation, but then I think it has other incentives too. Everybody obviously looks forward to making their mark, but the ambiance there is very, very positive. You know, I just love what I get out of the team there, it’s all good stuff.

We’re on the eve on the 2025 season, but in Formula 1 terms 2026 is also just around the corner. Will Cadillac be ready?

MA: We’ll be ready. Everyone knows what the responsibility is and there’s no question about it. This has been in the planning all along. As you can see, while things were still not official, we just put the faith in the system that somebody would reward us for all the work that has already gone in, the good intentions. In any business you have to really believe in what you’re doing. It’s going to take risks, and many risks were taken already by everyone here hoping that reason would ultimately prevail, and it did. But that’s what makes things that much sweeter.

Obviously, Cadillac has a mountain to climb to take on the 10 established teams, but on the other hand you also haven’t been constrained by the regulations while they could only start putting their 2026 cars in the wind tunnel from 1 January. How do you see that shake out?

MA: Well, you try to take advantage of every opportunity in that sense. When we were not officially involved, we could delve into areas that otherwise you could not, you know. The bottom line is that if you’re going to enter something as challenging as this will be, to do it when it’s a clean sheet of paper from the regulations’ standpoint is probably the best time. You have a better chance of being up to par with all the experienced teams. You put all this into the equation, and hopefully it will work out.

Photo by: General Motors

So, Mario, your official job title is ‘director on the board’, but what do you actually do at the team?

MA: I do what I want! (laughs) And that’s what I always made clear to Michael, too. I said: ‘If I wanted a job, I would have started a team myself!’ I’m very happy to be part of it and try to chime in in areas where I think I need to. I’ll express myself openly. The only part that attracts me is the driver’s side. And for the rest of it… I don’t want to write any cheques (laughs). Some of the logistics, I don’t want to know about, so they take care of that. My role is exactly what I wanted. And if they don’t like it, they can just get rid of me. (laughs)

Let’s call it an advisory role.

MA: Yes, indeed, that’s pretty much the way I want it. I want to enjoy my life in the sport. Which I have, even when I came out of the cockpit. The fact that Michael has been pretty ambitious in all these different disciplines meant that, at least, everywhere I went I had a home to go to. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even go to the races, you know? If I didn’t have something of my own to be a part of. So, it’s all working very well for me.

That’s the thing, right? You don’t need to do any of this.

MA: Yeah, I mean, that’s my life, and nothing else gives me the satisfaction that the sport has done and still does, so that’s the way I look at it.

When you were once asked to describe your one key trait, I believe your answer was perseverance. If you look at the long road Andretti and Cadillac had to navigate to get allowed into F1, that’s a great example right there. It’s been quite the challenge.

MA: Well, you know, from the time I was capable of reasoning in my teen years, it always seemed like the impossible dream. But I pursued it and whatever I pursued, I never had a plan B. In other words, I don’t go in there with the idea: ‘Okay, if this fails…’ You don’t even want to think about that. I always said, everything worthwhile is not going to be easy, but you have to believe in yourself, and not just in your ambition but also what you can bring to the table. You fight for it.

Mario Andretti, March 701 Ford, at the 1970 German Grand Prix

Photo by: Rainer W. Schlegelmilch / Motorsport Images

In my life I’ve experienced pretty much all of it, quite honestly. I’ve experienced rejection early on, from the standpoint that I wasn’t supposed to be even physically built to drive those cars. Like, ‘You’re not large enough’, ‘You’re not big enough physically’. I said: ‘Okay, I’ll show you’. So, it started with that. It’s easy to be discouraged when you’re in a competitive environment, but when you’re driven by love and a burning passion you can get things done.

You certainly didn’t take no for an answer, and it paid off, even if Michael is now taking a step back from it as we previously discussed. At the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac finally received the go-ahead to enter F1 in 2026, with a big commitment from GM on the power-unit side. Just how much did that weekend energise everyone involved in the project, knowing for a fact you were actually going to be on the grid?

MA: I mean, let’s just look at what this really is. For General Motors this is a historic moment as a giant manufacturer to be officially involved in Formula 1 for the very first time. And I always tell the story about back in the 60s during the Can-Am days and Zora Arkus-Duntov, who was in some ways called the father of the Corvette. He and I, being immigrants, we sort of understood each other and we had quite a bit of communication. I would always say: ‘Zora, you have to get General Motors to Formula 1.’ And he said: ‘Mario, I speak but nobody hear me’ (imitates Russian accent). Now I’m sure he’s smiling down on all of us and it’s a wonderful thing. It’s an enormous, long-term commitment. And to have the faith in us to commit when we didn’t have a commitment [to be allowed in], that speaks volumes, also for their way of thinking how important it is for them to be showcasing their technical ability in the sport.

You were never someone that liked to settle for second place. So, what does success for Cadillac in F1 look like?

MA: Well, obviously, everybody will put their best foot forward. No question. We all know how important it is. You’re exposed to the world, so there’s so much to lose, but also much more to gain. You just put everything you can on the table and go for it. I think there’s no secret as to what everyone’s ambition is here. That’s all you can do. Just do the max that you can possibly do. And then the rest will have to take care of itself.

There are many elements here. When you look at competitive sports, there’s no other sport that compares to motor racing as far as having everything together. It’s not just one individual aspect of it, there are 1000 moving parts here. But we’ve been around, we’ve done all this, and they just have to put it all together properly.

As you said, your involvement also includes the drivers. Do you have a timeline of making those decisions?

MA: Yes, everything is ongoing right now. You think about those things every day, and that’s going to become official probably mid-year. There are many considerations. If you even read social media, people are just floating around certain names and so forth. But we are obviously looking at every aspect of every opportunity that’s there. It’s clear that the objectives are to have at least one American driver and then another experienced driver alongside and start like that.

Is it fair to say Colton Herta is still at the top of the list?

MA: I would say so.

Colton Herta, Andretti Global w/ Curb-Agajanian Honda

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images

Speaking about Colton, he’s probably had his best year yet in IndyCar. He was more consistent and won the season finale on the oval in Nashville. How do you rate his and Andretti’s chances to carry that momentum into the upcoming IndyCar season?

MA: I think they’re good. They’ve shown that they’re up there in some of the pre-season testing. The team is feeling very positive about where it’s at and they made some gains. It’s very difficult, everybody seems to know everything there is to know about the equipment. But there’s always something, even a tenth of a percent makes a difference in that. Everyone is working hard, and we’ll know soon just where we stand, but it’s a fairly long season.

I feel that looking back at the way the way Colton has trained from the very beginning of his young career; as you know he started in Formula 3 and so on with the likes of Lando Norris and he’s done some F1 testing. Actually, Zak Brown gave him a good test at Portimao in Portugal [in 2022]. You should see the report that we got from Andrea Stella. And Andrea Stella is an individual that says it like it is, so again he’s a great candidate for this. And all of this has to be proven, of course, but going in I think he is a good bet in my opinion.

Colton has always had the talent and the speed. Do you think he showed a different side to his game last year? Is he more of an all-round, consistent driver now?

MA: Well not only that, but he’s also very versatile. He’s good in every area, like the ovals, short ovals, superspeedways. He’s competitive everywhere, so he’s definitely championship material. Some mistakes were made last year that cost him a championship, and unfortunately that happens. Sometimes you put too much pressure on yourself and then you make that mistake. But when you look at the ingredients that were there, you had the ingredients of a champion. But for just one of those instances, he could have been champion. So, when you look back and assess all those things, you’ve got to feel pretty good.

There is a lot happening at the moment in IndyCar with Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Doug Boles stepping in as series president. FOX has also come in as broadcaster and is showing a different side of marketing the series. We’ve been talking a lot about how exciting F1 was last year, but that’s pretty much what IndyCar is any day of the week, right?

MA: Yes, I there’s a lot to look forward to and it’s well presented. I think FOX has so far done a phenomenal job in actually exposing the series. Even at the Super Bowl, the incredible audience that we had, there were some really nice spots on TV about IndyCar and there’s personalities that need to be actually exploited more.

Quite honestly, the talent level is unprecedented in IndyCar at the moment; some of the veterans are still at the very top, but there are plenty of young challengers. It’s in a good place. It’s an extremely competitive series, and because of the characteristics of a spec series, every driver has an almost equal chance, if you will, deep down in the field, because everybody’s driving a Ferrari or a Mercedes. All the ingredients are there, so there’s a lot to look forward to.

Zak Brown also wrote a manifesto about what he wants to see from IndyCar on the marketing side and fan engagement. What would you like to see from Doug and the team at IndyCar to take that excitement and tell everybody about it?

MA: Well again, it’s all about beating the drums, you know. It’s exposure, exposure, exposure – let people know what we have. So, everyone just needs to contribute in some ways. You have great personalities. You mentioned Zak Brown, I have a great deal of respect for the man and what he has accomplished, the true love that he has for the sport and what he contributes to the different disciplines and so forth. When you’re called a racer, you’re at the top, and I call him a racer for one thing. And I don’t use that lightly, quite honestly. So, when you have people like that around, everything has a chance of doing very well.

Mario Andretti with its title-winning Lotus 79 from the 1978 F1 season, alongside Zak Brown

Photo by: United Autosports

With your heritage and your history, before we wrap this up, I have to ask you about Lewis Hamilton in a red suit and a Ferrari. How much does that mean to you and to Formula 1 as a whole?

MA: I think it’s awesome, quite honestly. I fully understand what Lewis’ objectives are. He’s been with McLaren and won; he’s been with Mercedes and won, and he did all these things. He’s at the twilight of his career, no question, and he wants to say that he drove for Ferrari and also won with Ferrari. And I think that’s almost something every Formula 1 driver wants deep down.

I’ll give you an example. I first met Sebastian Vettel in Bahrain [in 2009] when he first went from Toro Rosso to the top level [at Red Bull], and we were at the airport just chatting. And he said: ‘Mario, my ambition is some day to drive for Ferrari as well.’ And he just got the top-level job with Red Bull, but he’s already thinking that in his career he wants to drive for Ferrari! (laughs) So there you have it, that says it all.

And can you imagine the interest that the fans have just to see what’s going to happen there? How is he going to fare vis-a-vis Charles Leclerc, who has been there for a long time and is very experienced and so forth? But I’m sure that Lewis is not shy of embracing challenges. I’m going to I call him Luigi from now on. (laughs)

So, how do you think he will fare against Leclerc?

MA: It’s going to be a challenge for both of them, and that’s what the sport is all about. Ferrari is ultimately the one that’s going to benefit the most. You have two individuals that I feel are both capable of winning, no question, and what better place to be in if you’re on a team?

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