Mario Andretti

Race driver

A racing car is an animal with a thousand adjustments.

Age doesn’t affect driving – how do you like that?

All of the courses that run through real streets are very demanding. There is no room for error, no shoulders to lean on. If you go off the road, you’re into somebody’s shop-window or front porch.

As far as I’m concerned, Parnelli Jones was the greatest driver of his era. He had aggressiveness and also a finesse that no one else possessed. And he won with everything he put his hands on, including off-road. Mario AndrettiAl Unser Sr. was one of the smartest drivers I’ve ever raced against. And I often said, I wish I could’ve had some of his patience. I know it would have worked for me many times.

If a neighbor is killed in a car accident, do you sell your car and stop driving?

Can the U.S. support two Formula 1 races? I think so.

I don’t have any feeling of accomplishment about anything unless there’s a lot of risk to it.

Circumstances may cause interruptions and delays, but never lose sight of your goal.

Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s the determination and commitment to unrelenting pursuit of your goal – a commitment to excellence – that will enable you to attain the success you seek.

Determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal – a commitment to excellence – will enable you to attain the success you seek.

Do it no matter what. If you believe in it, it is something very honorable. If somebody around you or your family does not understand it, then that’s their problem. But if you do have a passion, an honest passion, just do it.

Every NASCAR driver watches Formula One in the morning; they are well informed.

Everything comes to those who wait… except a cat.

From a prestige standpoint, the U.S. needs to host Formula 1. And I think Formula 1, they know they need the U.S. as well. So many companies that are global are based in the United States support Formula 1.

I count my blessings every day, quite honestly, because I take nothing for granted.

Not all teammates tell the truth.

I like to think that the Grand Prix helped Long Beach to pretty much change its image.

I love technology – yes, I have fallen in love with older cars, but I’m all for new technology.

I see all these old people who don’t have anything to do but eat, drink and sleep. I will never say ‘retired’ because that’s such a finality that I don’t want to be part of my life. I’ll work until they throw me in a box.

I wish we could be 100% shielded from danger, but nothing is in life.

I’ve always said, ‘I didn’t have a Plan B in life.’ I was in pursuit of my dream from the very beginning. It’s all about desire and passion. At all costs.

If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.

If the Indy Racing League didn’t have the Indianapolis 500, do you think it would have lasted more than six months? No chance.

In NASCAR, you can do a lot of banging around and get pretty serious and even get yourself upside down. All of those things can happen – and then you give an interview two seconds later.

It makes great conversation to discuss what’s wrong with open-wheel racing today.

It seemed like whenever I got a bona fide offer from Ferrari, I couldn’t do it. And vice versa – when I was ready, their seats were taken. We always had a relationship, but what’s important is that I pretty much started my F1 career with them and ended it there, too.

Long Beach is the best. I tell everyone that.

Love what you do. Believe in your instincts. And you’d better be able to pick yourself up and brush yourself off every day. While life is not always fair, it is manageable. It is a matter of attitude and confidence.

Motor racing is like one big family, ultimately, and when you come back to it, that’s really what it feels like.

My last race was at Le Mans in 2000, my first race was in 1959, so I dodged a lot of bullets along the way, I can tell you that.

Nobody had race savvy like Al Unser in his prime.

Nothing compares to the Indianapolis 500.

Of course now that I am retired I see it from a totally different perspective, the bad days just don’t look so bad to me, and I try to share that with Michael.

Quite honestly, I treat myself with cars I really want to drive, and I have some flexibility to do that.

Staging Formula One is incredibly expensive.

The day of parochialism in sports is over. The world is too small for what people like to call ‘the good old days.’ Fans want the best, wherever they come from.

The first time I fired up a car, felt the engine shudder and the wheel come to life in my hands, I was hooked. It was a feeling I can’t describe. I still get it every time I get into a race car.

The most important thing at Daytona is,are you going to have friends willing to work with you during the race as far as drafting? You’ve got to have friends out there. You can’t do it alone. You form those relationships as the race moves along.

There’s something special about racing in real streets. The ‘artificial’ circuits have a certain sameness to them. But every race conducted on real streets has a character of its own – Barcelona, Monaco, and now Long Beach.

I lived the true American dream, because I was able to pursue what I set as my goals at a very young age.

Unfortunately, we don’t educate drivers enough to be respectful on the road.

What I learned is that in business you must make decisions based on facts, not react with your heart.

Whatever the changes, from one era to the next, Pocono has maintained its character and significance to me, and it always will. My family shares this sentiment.

When a car’s ahead of you, as long as you can see it, you get a tow, just like the draft in NASCAR.
Even if it’s a long ways down the track, it punches a hole in the air that has to help.
When you’re running alone, you can feel the difference, and it shows on the clock, too.

I wanted to have a career that would last a hundred years if possible.

When you are losing it can seem like there is a black cloud following you around, but like they say there is a silver lining in every cloud.

When you start thinking you may get hurt, it’s time to get out of racing.

Whenever you’re aggressive, you’re at the edge of mistakes.

With tennis, you can go pick up a racket, take a lesson, and understand how much talent and skill it takes to be as good as the top pros. Same with golf: pick up a club. But not many can go out and get in a race car and experience a drive at over 200 miles an hour.

You do a period of go-karting until you’re at the age of qualifying for a ride in a ‘school-kart,’ then you qualify for driving school. And several of the driving schools have a competition series for their own students.

You do the best you can with what’s thrown at you, then you try again.

If you wait, all that happens is that you get older.

You feel for guys you know deserve it, that you know have the ability but will be considered less of a champion if they don’t get it done. That’s why the guy that wins it does somersaults.

You see people in the left lane, and as long as they are on the speed limit, they stay there. Get in the right lane and let people pass you – let the police worry about somebody who wants to speed. Don’t force them pass in the right lane and zig zag, which can create an accident, just because you think you’re correct.

You’re safer in the race car than you are in cars going to and from the track.