8/22/2023 0 Comments Download formula 1 mario andretti![]() I felt, really, immediately, I felt so good in a Formula 1 car. Actually, Chris Amon had tested with Ferrari at Monza the week before, I think. And he says, “Right.” So we went to Italy and I tested. Three years later in ’68, I said (to Chapman) I would like to do the last two races of the season, which was Italy and Watkins Glen. When we were saying our good-byes after the banquet I said, “Colin, someday I would like to do Formula 1.” And he said, “Mario, when you think you’re ready you call me and I will have a car for you.” Can you imagine that? How I felt? I felt like I was ten feet tall at that moment. ![]() At the banquet the following day, I befriended both of them personally because I was interested in Formula 1. Mario: In my rookie year in ’65, Jim Clark won Indy. #61 Mario Andretti wins 9 Indy-car races in 1969, including Indy 500.Whenever we negotiated contracts I never even worried about (the exclusivity they required) because I figured, “I’m gonna do it anyway.” So what was he gonna do? They gonna fire me? I’ll give you a for instance: In the championship year with Colin Chapman, he was paying me very well, and this contract, clearly, I was forbidden to drive anything else. Every contract I’ve had forbade me from doing something else. Mario: When it’s asked of various drivers whether they’d be interested in moving around, all I hear is, “Oh well, you know, my contract.” Every contract they want to own you. Q: You’ve won everything on four wheels, the Daytona 500, you’ve won your class at Le Mans, Formula 1 you have a world championship, you look at the kids racing today and they’re very focused on just one discipline. So I go back and I recount all these memories and in so many ways I know just how blessed I’ve been throughout my career. So that year I drove stock cars, Indy cars, Formula 1, Can-Am, midgets, and sprint cars in the dirt. And then the midget race after that at Houston Astrodome, and on and on. ![]() From Riverside I went to South Africa for the Formula 1 race. My first race that season was the Riverside Motor Trend 500 stock cars and then the last race was a Formula 5000 at Sebring. In ’69 I raced in seven different categories. At that point my career was on a pretty good swing. Mario: It brings back a lot of fond memories. Question: How’s it feel to be experiencing the 50 th anniversary of your Indy 500 win?
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