"Guess it wasn't meant to be": When Michael Andretti felt 'numb' after pivotal Indy 500

Michael Andretti, the former racing driver, is a big personality in American motorsports. His last competitive outing on the racetrack came in the 2007 Indy 500, but back in 2003, the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway event turned out as one to forget for him.

In that year's event, Andretti started his 200-lap outing from Row 5 alongside Greg Ray and Shinji Nakano. However, on lap 94 of the race, a throttle linkage issue meant that he had to retire.

Following the culmination of the event, the 62-year-old was understandably frustrated, and in line with this, he had the following to say back then:

"I feel kind of weird right now, kind of numb. At least I know I could have won the last race of my career. I had a shot at it. If it's meant to happen, it's meant to happen. For whatever reason, it didn't happen for me. I guess it wasn't meant to be," Andretti said via The Ledger.

After the 2003 Indy 500, Michael Andretti went on to compete in two more Indy 500 events. One was in 2006, and his last was in the following year (as mentioned earlier). In the 2007 event, he was able to come away with a P13 finish.

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Michael Andretti 'congratulated' Cadillac on 2026 F1 entry

While Michael Andretti sounded extremely disappointed with his outing in the Indy 500 back in 2003, last year (2024), it was made public that Cadillac would join the Formula 1 grid in 2026.

The 62-year-old had himself tried extremely hard to get the Andretti name on the F1 grid, but he failed to do so for varied reasons. However, despite his disappointment, when it was made known that Cadillac would join the 2026 grid, he did not hold back from congratulating the General Motors-backed team.

In line with this, Andretti had the following to say in November 2024.

"The Cadillac F1 Team is made up of a strong group of people that have worked tirelessly to build an American works team. I’m very proud of the hard work they have put in and congratulate all involved on this momentous next step. I will be cheering for you!" Andretti said via Crash.

Interestingly, while Michael Andretti missed out on being associated with or joining the 2026 F1 grid, his father and motorsport legend, Mario Andretti, is at the heart of Cadillac's next year's F1 project.

Sometime back, Mario was appointed as a Director on the Board of Cadillac's F1 team. The 85-year-old's past experience of competing in the pinnacle of motorsport could prove pivotal for the American outfit in finding its feet in the initial races of the much-awaited 2026 F1 season.