Arrivederci

The farewell to Formula 1 of Mario Andretti took place in Las Vegas in 1982 in a Ferrari 126C2, a nice symbol for the little boy who had discovered racing during the 1954 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, while admiring his idol Alberto Ascari, a Ferrari driver.

After 25, not always complete, seasons in Grand Prix, the Italian-American drove his last F1 lap on the parking of the Caesar’s Palace, where he was forced to retire without glory, suspension broken.

He had nevertheless left his mark in the Grand Prix preceding this last one, when he captured pole position at the wheel of the #28 Ferrari at Monza and finished third, in doing so contributing to the World Constructors’ title won by the Scuderia.

Of course, his career was far from over, as he continued racing in IndyCar and in endurance racing till the end of last century, with another title in CART in 1984 and two podiums at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (3rd in 1982 and 2nd in 1995), where he had the pleasure to race with his son Michael and nephew John (recently deceased) in a Porsche in 1988 (picture here under).