From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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.

Contents 1 Personal life 1.1 Complete Formula One results 1.2 Indy 500 results 2 See also 3 References

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.

(key)

Yr	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	WDC	Points
1993	Marlboro McLaren	McLaren MP4/8	Ford V8	RSA Ret	BRA Ret	EUR Ret	SMR Ret	ESP 5	MON 8	CAN 14	FRA 6	GBR Ret	GER Ret	HUN Ret	BEL 8	ITA 3	POR	JPN	AUS	11th	7

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish
1984	March	Cosworth	4th	5th
1985	Lola	Cosworth	15th	8th
1986	March	Cosworth	3rd	6th
1987	March	Cosworth	9th	29th
1988	March	Cosworth	10th	4th
1989	Lola	Chevrolet	21st	17th
1990	Lola	Chevrolet	5th	20th
1991	Lola	Chevrolet	5th	2nd
1992	Lola	Ford-Cosworth	6th	13th
1994	Reynard	Ford-Cosworth	5th	6th
1995	Lola	Ford-Cosworth	4th	25th
2001	Dallara	Oldsmobile	21st	3rd
2002	Dallara	Chevrolet	25th	7th
2003	Dallara	Honda	13th	27th
2006	Dallara	Honda	13th	3rd

Preceded by Al Unser Jr

CART Series Champion 1991

Succeeded by Bobby Rahal

• Michael Andretti's World GP

1. ^ Texaco/Havoline CART History Michael Andretti