Mario Andretti on his favourite cars, circuits, races and rivals

America’s best-known racing driver is still flat out at 85 – we catch up with him to reflect on his astonishing life

America’s greatest racing driver? It’s subjective and depends entirely on your perspective.
But what we can state for certain is, in terms of worldwide fame, stature, personality, longevity of career and relentless achievement, they don’t come much bigger than Mario Andretti. Just that name alone… he’s a sporting colossus.
Andretti won in pretty much everything he drove across four decades, from the mid-west dirt tracks of the early 1960s on to Indycar, Formula 1, sports cars, Formula 5000, Nascar… even Pikes Peak, which he won in 1969.
The headline achievements require a deep breath: F1 world champion in 1978 in harness with 12 grand prix victories; Indianapolis 500 winner in 1969; four Indycar titles; a Silver Crown dirt oval title in 1974; Daytona 500 winner in 1967 (where he also won the Florida track’s big sports car race in 1972); three Sebring 12 Hours wins