"It's a tough name to have sometimes": When Michael Andretti stepped out of Mario's shadow to shape his own path

The Andretti family has been a big name in motorsports. It was brought to prominence by the former F1 world champion, Mario Andretti, and carried forward by his son, and founder of Andretti Autosport, Michael Andretti.

Michael's son Marco is also a well-known race car driver. However, the kind of success Mario Andretti was able to amass was simply phenomenal. To name a few, he's the only driver to win the 1978 F1 world championship, the Daytona 500, the 4-time IndyCar champion, as well as a winner of the Indy 500.

Michael also had a decent career in IndyCar. He won the world title in 1991, and before hanging up his boots permanently in 2002, he secured 52 race wins.

The 62-year-old has been running Andretti Autosport (first started as an IndyCar team only) since 2009. In 2015, he took the time to talk about the Andretti legacy and his attempts at building it further.

"It’s a tough name to have sometimes. There are a lot of expectations when you have a famous last name. But it’s not something that you don’t see other places. We’re all out here just trying to win," Michael Andretti said via Autoweek.

Michael's Andretti Autosport has over the years grown massively in America and takes part in various racing categories.

Michael Andretti's take on Andretti Autosport's growth in racing

While Michael Andretti talked about living up to the huge Andretti name in 2015, in the same interview, he also took the time to talk about his plans to grow his team even further.

In line with this, Michael had the following to add:

"It’s funny how it’s just evolved. When I first did this deal, I had two partners. I thought, ‘Oh, they’re going to run the team and I’ll be able to just show up at the races. It didn’t work out that way. I’m here every day, from morning until night. It’s not planned. It’s about looking around and saying, ‘What’s out there today?’ We were very close to being in sports cars this year. We were very close to being in the Pirelli series," Andretti said.

Andretti Autosport has achieved decent success in its various ventures. To name a few, specifically in IndyCar, it has so far amassed four world championships in IndyCar and has also, tasted success in the iconic Indy 500 six times.

The 2024 season of the sport was also a success for them as its 24-year-old driver Colton Herta secured the runner-up spot. In the ongoing 2025 season, they have fielded three entries with Herta, Kyle Kirkwood, and the former F1 driver, Marcus Ericsson.