The name Mario Andretti has become synonymous with excellence in motorsport racing. A true champion in almost every form of competitive auto racing, Andretti remains the only driver, to date, to win the Indianapolis 500 (1969), the Daytona 500 (1967), and the Formula One World Championship. In his entire racing career, Andretti won four IndyCar titles, the 1978 Formula One World Championship, and IROC VI (the 1978 - 1979 IROC). After Andretti permanently retired from racing, the Italian-American driver came to be regarded as one of the most successful Americans in the history of auto racing.

Mario Andretti was born on February 20, 1940 along with his twin brother Aldo, in the town of Montana in the then Italian province of Istria. After Istria was occupied and annexed by Yugoslavia post World War II, the Andretti family fled to a refugee camp in Lucca in 1948 where they were to spend seven hard years of poverty and starvation. However, these gruelling years at Lucca also introduced Mario and his brother to motorsport racing. The famous Mille Miglia road racetrack near Lucca afforded the two brothers a glimpse of various racing events over the years. Although, it was a visit to the 1954 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, which reinforced the ambition of the young Andretti to become a professional racecar driver. As Mario witnessed Alberto Ascari adroitly manoeuvre his demonic Formula One car, he turned into an instant fan of the Italian champion and continued to idolise Ascari in his own racing years that followed.

The year 1955 saw the Andretti family immigrate to America in search of a better way of life and settle in the Nazareth County located in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. By the time the Andretti brothers turned 18 they started racing in a self-prepared Hudson Hornet in stock car events. However, a crash in 1959 ended Aldo's racing career leaving Mario to chase his childhood dream alone and which he did, fervently, competing in almost every form of auto racing event from dirt track racing to racing sprint cars and midgets. On one occasion he won three midget races on 2 separate tracks in a single day in 1963. After conquering the short ovals, Andretti then turned to the giant speedways in 1964 when he participated in his debut race of the United States Auto Club (USAC) championship series at Trenton, New Jersey. In 1965, Andretti not only won the 'Rookie of the Year' award after clinching the third position at Indianapolis 500 but also secured his first USAC Championship, a feat he was to repeat again in the following season. His reputation as a true driving ace grew rapidly as Andretti dominated other forms of racing events too like the Daytona 500 for stock cars and the Sebring 12 Hours for sports cars.

Andretti finally made his Formula One (F1) debut in 1968 and immediately made his mark by qualifying on pole position for the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen in his Lotus 49. Despite making such a sensational start in the F1Championship, Andretti gave a higher priority to his booming racing career in America over F1 racing and hence for the next four years participated in occasional F1 outings that did not clash with his USAC commitments. During these sporadic four years he raced for different teams such as Lotus, March, and Ferrari. Among these, his partnership with team Ferrari in 1971 was by far the most successful which saw him clinch his maiden F1 victory in his debut race with team Ferrari at the 1971 season's first grand prix in South Africa. Andretti also won the non-championship Questor Grand Prix for Ferrari in the U.S. three weeks later.

A relatively unproductive few seasons in the USAC championships led Andretti to finally commit to F1 racing in the 1976 season. He returned to F1 with Team Lotus, the team he had already represented driven at the season-opening Brazilian Grand Prix. Andretti's return to F1 wasn't very successful initially, thanks to a rather explosive relationship with Lotus Boss Chapman. However, as the season progressed the two set aside their differences and developed a better racing car that handed Andretti his premier victory for Lotus in the last race of the season at the 1976 Japanese Grand Prix in Fuji.

A rejuvenated Lotus team led by Andretti, made a storming comeback in the next season by winning four races in 1977 in their new car, the Lotus 78 ground effect car. This impressive season further propelled the team to build an even better car, the Lotus 79 for the 1978 season. The engineering excellence of the Lotus 79 coupled with the mastery of Andretti finally secured Lotus the 1978 F1 World Championship. Mario Andretti became World Champion after taking six victories that season.

The 1978 season became the only highlight of Andretti's F1 career, as he was unable to achieve the same degree of success in the subsequent years. After winning the World Championship for Lotus in 1978, a string of unsuccessful seasons led him to change various F1 teams such as Alfa Romeo and Williams, which turned out to be just as unproductive. After his world title, his most successful performance came in his final guest appearance in the 1982 Italian Grand Prix at Monza when Andretti raced the Ferrari 126 Turbo to pole and a thrilling third finish.

The triumphant exit from F1 was just another feather in Andretti's cap that continued to prove, time and again, that he is indeed the true master of auto-motor racing.