Michael Andretti

Andretti was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the son of Mario Andretti, a four-time IndyCar champion and 1978 Formula One World Champion. His brother Jeff competed in IndyCar; his cousin John Andretti raced in both IndyCar and NASCAR; his son Marco became an IndyCar Series driver. The Andretti family became the first family to have five members — Michael, Mario, Marco, Jeff, and John — compete in the same series.

Andretti graduated from Formula Ford, winning the SCCA Northeast Division championship in 1981, before taking the Robert Bosch US Formula Super Vee Championship title in 1982. He also won the FIA Formula Mondial North American Cup in 1984 before graduating to CART. His international sports car career included an appearance at Le Mans with his father, the pair finishing third in a Porsche 956 entered by Porsche Kremer Racing in 1983.

Andretti made his CART debut in 1983 with Kraco Enterprises, progressing steadily and winning his first IndyCar race at the 1986 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. He was runner-up in the championship in both 1986 and 1987, losing both times to Bobby Rahal in close battles. The 1986 runner-up campaign included a heartbreaking moment at Portland when he ran out of fuel on the final lap while leading, allowing his father Mario to pass him for the win by 0.07 seconds. He finished runner-up again in 1990 behind Al Unser Jr.

His championship breakthrough came in 1991 with Newman/Haas Racing. He won eight of seventeen races, took eight poles, and led more than half of all laps during the season. Despite a slow start and two early DNFs, he won four of the final five races; with rival Rahal retiring in the season finale at Laguna Seca, Andretti clinched the title. He followed that with a runner-up finish in 1992, losing by just four points to Rahal once more, before departing for Formula One.

For 1993, Andretti signed for Marlboro McLaren to partner triple World Champion Ayrton Senna in the Ford HBD V8-powered MP4/8. The pairing attracted enormous attention but new restrictions on practice laps hampered his preparation at circuits he had never visited. He struggled through the opening rounds, finally completing a race at the 1993 Spanish Grand Prix in fifth place. His season's highlight was a third-place finish at Monza — his last Formula One start — before he and McLaren parted by mutual agreement with three races remaining. He scored points on three occasions across the year but never fulfilled expectations alongside Senna. Mika Häkkinen replaced him for the final races.

Andretti returned to CART with Target Chip Ganassi Racing, winning immediately at the 1994 Australian FAI IndyCar Grand Prix at Surfers Paradise while leading every lap. In 1995 he rejoined Newman/Haas, finishing fourth overall. He subsequently ran as runner-up to Jimmy Vasser in 1996 and continued racing in CART until 2003, when he made a farewell Indianapolis 500 start alongside his son Marco at Team Green before retiring from driving. He holds the record for the most laps led at the Indianapolis 500 without a victory, and the Andretti family's persistent misfortune at Indianapolis is widely referred to as the "Andretti curse."

After retiring from driving, Andretti purchased a stake in Team Green in 2002 and eventually acquired full ownership in 2009, renaming the organisation Andretti Autosport. Under his stewardship, the team won the IndyCar Series championship four times (2004 with Tony Kanaan, 2005 with Dan Wheldon, 2007 with Dario Franchitti, and 2012 with Ryan Hunter-Reay) and the Indianapolis 500 five times. The team also expanded into Formula E, winning the drivers' championship in the 2022-23 season. In 2024, Andretti sold the team to Mark Walter's TWG Global holding company, though the organisation continued to carry the Andretti name as it pursued and ultimately secured a Formula One entry beginning in 2026 under the Cadillac banner.