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

Michael Andretti started his racing career at the wheel of a 1980 Formula Ford. In 1981, he won six of the 11 Super Vee races and went on to win the championship. After that, he went into Formula Atlantic, where he won the Formula Atlantic Championship. During that same year, he made his Champ Car 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 Indy race in 1986, finishing as championship runner-up that year and the next year He took his sole Champ Car championship in 1991.

As a driver, he is remembered for being unlucky at the Indianapolis 500. At the 1991 Indianapolis 500, he finished 2nd to winner Rick Mears. The next year, he dominated the race but with less than 10 laps to go, his engine blew up on turn 2, and he finished the 1992 Indianapolis 500 in 13th place.

He joined the McLaren Formula 1 team for 1993, alongside the great Ayrton Senna, but 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 being replaced from the McLaren team by Finnish ace Mika Häkkinen, Andretti returned to the Champ Car series, where he proved very successful, finishing as runner-up in 1996. In 2003, he began running his own Indy Racing League team, known as Andretti Green Racing, having bought into the "Team Green" squad Kim Green ran with his brother Barry Green, and moved it from the Champ Car series.

An Andretti Green Racing driver, Dan Wheldon, won the 2005 Indianapolis 500. Andretti returned to the driver's seat for the 2006 Indianapolis 500 in a one-off effort to assist the development of his son, Marco, an IRL rookie in 2006. He finished third, while Marco fell to second in a last-lap pass by Sam Hornish Jr.

Personal life

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Andretti was married to Sandra Spinozzi from 1985 to 1996 and with her he has two children, son Marco (born March 13, 1987) and daughter Marissa (born October 31, 1990). He remarried in 1997, to Leslie Wood.

Complete Formula One results

(F1 driver results legend)

Yr	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Team
1993	McLa	SAF ret	BRA ret	EUR ret	SMR ret	SPA 5	MON 8	CAN 14	FRA 6	GBR ret	DEU ret	HUN ret	BEL 8	ITA 3	POR DNP	JPN DNP	AUS DNP	McLa

Indy 500 results

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
2003	Dallara	Honda	13th	27th
2006	Dallara	Honda	13th	3rd

1962 births | Living people | American Formula One drivers | American racecar drivers | Champ Car drivers | Indy 500 drivers | Indy 500 Rookie of the Year | IRL drivers | Indy Racing League owners | Italian-Americans | Notable ice hockey fans | People from the Lehigh Valley | Roman Catholic sportspeople

Michael Andretti | Michael Andretti | マイケル・アンドレッティ | Michael Andretti | Michael Andretti