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In 2019, on the Tonight Show, three generations of Andretti drivers were present on the panel, and Michael Andretti and his father talked about their infamous 1986 Portland Grand Prix result. Mario Andretti had pipped out his son by 0.07 seconds to win, and Michael claimed that it was Father's Day, so he gifted his father the victory.
The 1986 Portland Grand Prix saw the Kraco Racing driver Michael lead the race with a comfortable lead in hand. However, this lead started to shrink as his car started to run into fuel pickup problems.
The 62-year-old still had a three-second buffer to his father in P2. Anyhow, his car started sputtering, and lost huge chunks of time on the final lap. This allowed Mario Andretti to close up on him and win the race by a 0.07-second margin, which was the closest race finish in IndyCar history back then.
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The race was held on Father's Day, and Michael Andretti snubbed the opportunity and claimed he had to let his father win on the occasion, and said (via Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon):
"It was Father's Day. That's why I let him win. I had to let him win." (1:52 onwards)
The 62-year-old further made a sarcastic statement on how he gifted the win to his father for Father's Day, as he said:
"Right at the last minute, I thought, 'Oh, it is Father's Day. I didn't get him anything.'"
On the other hand, the 1991 IndyCar champion left the day-to-day operation of the Andretti team last year.
Michael Andretti is happy for Cadillac/GM getting into F1
Michael Andretti made huge efforts to establish Andretti as a staple of the IndyCar paddock since the team debuted in 2003 as Andretti Green Racing. With his open-wheel racing ambitions staying on the right track, he moved over to the F1 world to get the Andretti name on the F1 grid.
However, his F1 ambitions got the best of him as Formula One Management (FOM) rejected his bid to get an 11th team on the grid. Despite this, Andretti Global kept on trying to get the green light from FOM, which led General Motors to join on board the project as the primary stakeholder.
Witnessing the changing tides and F1's initial reluctance, the 62-year-old announced his departure from the team. Moreover, when General Motors was provided the green flag to join the grid for the 2026 F1 grid, Michael Andretti shared his happiness on X (formerly Twitter), as he wrote:
"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!"
Michael's father, Mario Andretti has a role in the General Motors F1 project as he is an advisor on the board of directors for the Cadillac F1 Team.
