Mario Andretti will get to check off his ‘Bucket list’ as the 1978 F1 Champion will test a modern McLaren car at Laguna Seca this weekend.
At the 2022 inaugural Miami GP, Mario Andretti asked McLaren CEO Zak Brown for an unusual favour. The former F1 champion was interested in driving a modern, hybrid-era F1 car.
Andretti tested a couple of F1 cars a couple of years ago at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. There he confessed his love for the modern F1 cars to the McLaren boss in front of TV Pundit Martin Brundle.
Zak Brown and Andretti are pretty close outside of the grid. So Brown promised him a chance to drive one of the modern F1 cars at COTA.
Months passed since the Miami GP and Max Verstappen was crowned the 2022 F1 champion. But Brown and McLaren did not forget their promise made to the 1978 F1 champion.
Turns out the former Ferrari driver will be testing the McLaren at the infamous Laguna Seca circuit in Monterrey, California. And Mario Andretti cant holds back his joy, describing the opportunity as “It’s something that I have to check off my Bucket List.”
Mario Andretti reveals Zak Brown’s promise
Mario Andretti was present at the 2022 Miami GP. And naturally, he was hanging out with fellow American and McLaren boss, Zak Brown. And that’s where Brown said yes to his wish to drive the McLaren car for a couple of laps.
He says, “I said, ‘I’d love to give it a go in this, and Zak said, ‘Well, I’m gonna make it happen for you.’ But then we left it there. And we sort of kidded around a bit about it whenever we saw each other.”
Andretti adds, “And then at Miami, in front of Martin Brundle, he says it again, and now it’s in front of the world. So I guess he’s gonna have to pony up!”
And pony up he did! The Americans quickly shook hands sealing the deal. and now the 82-year-old will suit up again to drive an F1 car, 40 years since his last entry in an F1 Grand Prix.
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What McLaren car will Mario Andretti drive?
Mario Andretti has 128 F1 race starts and has won 12 races during his F1 carer. He raced with teams like Alfa Romeo, Williams and Ferrari and claimed the 1978 title while driving with Lotus.
Mario never drove for McLaren, but his son Michael Andretti did in the 1993 season. He teamed up with Ayrton Senna but failed to secure any wins. Mario shared details of the car he would be driving this weekend.
He said, “Zak organized it this weekend. I’ll have a couple of sessions. What he told me is that it would be a hybrid-era car, which would probably be from 2014 or something like that.
The American stated that he was curious to know how the modern hybrid cars felt. And for this gesture, he called the folks at McLaren “true professionals.”
The new cars will be much different from the old powerful F1 cars of the 70s and 80s. But for Andretti, this will be a memorable experience.
He joked, “It’s like a date with a 25-year-old. I’ve never done that, but yeah, I’m willing to experience it with this car.”
Andretti to date remains the only American to win an F1 title and the last American to Win an F1 GP. And we can’t wait to see him rolling in the modern machinery.
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