Michael Andretti

Michael Andretti
Nationality	American
World Championship Career
Active years	1993
Team(s)	McLaren
Races	13
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podium finishes	1
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First race	1993 South African Grand Prix
Last race	1993 Italian Grand Prix

Michael Mario Andretti (born October 5, 1962 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) is an American former professional racing driver who now runs the Andretti Green Racing team in the Indy Racing League. He is the son of Mario Andretti, one of the most recognizable auto racing drivers of all time.

Michael Andretti started his racing career at the wheel of a 1980 Formula Ford. In 1982, he won six of the 11 Super Vee races and went on to win the championship. ^[1] After that, he went into Formula Atlantic, where he won the Formula Atlantic Championship. During that same year, he made his CART debut and also finished third in the Le Mans 24 Hours. In 1984, he won the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award. He went on to win his first IndyCar race in 1986, finishing as championship runner-up that year and the next year he took his sole CART IndyCar World Series (now the Champ Car World Series) Championship in 1991.

As a driver, he is remembered for being unlucky at the Indianapolis 500. In 1991, he led with twelve laps remaining, but finished second to Rick Mears. In 1992, he dominated the race but, with eleven laps to go, his fuel pump failed, and his car coasted to a stop. He wound up in 13th place. He also dropped out while leading the Indy 500 in 1989, 1995 and 2003.

He joined the McLaren Formula 1 team for 1993, alongside the great triple world champion Ayrton Senna. Unfortunately, the season was not a success. A string of collisions meant that he only completed three laps in his first three races, and he never fully got up to speed in Formula 1 cars. He commuted to races and test sessions from the U.S., which many feel contributed to his downfall. His third place at Monza was perceived as too little, too late, and he mutually agreed to leave the team and the championship.

After McLaren replaced Andretti with Finnish ace Mika Häkkinen, Andretti returned to the CART series, where he proved very successful, finishing as runner-up in 1996. In 2003, he bought into the "Team Green" squad Kim Green ran with his brother Barry Green in the Champ Car World Series. He renamed it Andretti Green Racing and moved the team into the Indy Racing League.

In 2004, Tony Kanaan won the 2004 IndyCar Series Championship for Andretti Green Racing. In 2005, Dan Wheldon won the Indianapolis 500, and the IndyCar Series Championship. Michael Andretti returned to the driver's seat for the 2006 Indianapolis 500 in an one-off effort to assist the development of his son, Marco, an IRL rookie in 2006. Michael led the race with four laps to go, falling to second behind his son Marco a lap later. Michael finished third, while Marco dropped to second after a last-lap pass by Sam Hornish Jr. He will run in the 2007 Indianapolis 500.

Personal life

Andretti was married to Sandra Spinozzi from November 1985 to 1996 and they had two children, son Marco (born March 13, 1987) and daughter Marissa (born October 31, 1990). He remarried on December 24, 1997, to Leslie Wood. They had a child, Lucca, born September 16, 1999. On September 7 2004, Andretti filed for divorce. On July 15 2006, Andretti announced his engagement to model, actress, and 2000 Playboy Playmate of the Year Jodi Ann Paterson. The couple were married on October 7 2006.

Michael Andretti lives on an adjacent tract of land to his father's mansion of "Montona" in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, where he grew up. Michael's sprawling modern design home may be viewed behind the iron gates of his own large estate bordered by a natural fence of tall pines.

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Indy 500 results

See also

• Michael Andretti's World GP

References

1. ^ Texaco/Havoline CART History Michael Andretti

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Wikipedia information about Michael Andretti This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Michael Andretti". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.