{"id":503735,"date":"2026-02-27T20:13:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T20:13:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/503735\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T20:13:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T20:13:19","slug":"cadillac-hands-mario-andretti-unique-honour-ahead-of-f1-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/503735\/","title":{"rendered":"Cadillac hands Mario Andretti unique honour ahead of F1 debut"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cadillac<\/a> has revealed that its first-ever Formula 1<\/a> car has been named in honour of 1979 World Champion Mario Andretti, ahead of its debut season commencing next week.<\/p>\n

Andretti, who celebrates his 86th birthday tomorrow [February 28], was a crucial figure in the formation of the team<\/a>, as it previously attempted to enter under the eponymous team, headed up by son Michael.<\/p>\n

And the team, owned by the TWG group, which also owns Cadillac, has recognised Andretti, still the last American to win a Grand Prix, by naming its inaugural chassis the Mario Andretti Cadillac 26, or MAC-26 for short.<\/p>\n

\u201cRacing has been the joy of my life.\u00a0It is the ultimate compliment that the Cadillac Formula 1 Team sees those years as meaningful and worthy of recording with this honour,\u201d Andretti said in a statement. <\/p>\n

\u201cI cherish the opportunity that it gives me to have a lasting bond with F1 and am genuinely appreciative of everyone who continues to acknowledge my part in racing history.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MarioMario Andretti was integral in Cadillac reaching the grid<\/p>\n

Cadillac\u2019s Team Principal Graeme Lowdon said: \u201cMario Andretti is a legend of Formula 1. A true racer\u00a0who knows how to win and push the limits of what is possible. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut more than that, he is an incredible man with a gentle heart who believes in everyone\u2019s ability to shape their own path. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt the start of my own journey with the team, he asked me not to let him down \u2013 I hope that he will be proud to see the Cadillac Formula 1 Team car bearing his name finally take to the grid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andretti made his F1 debut in 1968, completing cameo appearances for Lotus over the next two years. A first victory, with Ferrari, in South Africa in 1971, set him off on the path to more established appearances in the sport.<\/p>\n

A further five seasons with Lotus beckoned from 1976, and won the Drivers\u2019 title in 1979, becoming the last and, so far, only the second American to win it.<\/p>\n

With his F1 journey over after 1982, Andretti switched to IndyCars, and completed 12 seasons with the Newman\/Haas team, winning the title in 1984.<\/p>\n

READ MORE \u2013 Keanu Reeves reveals \u2018intensity\u2019 of Cadillac F1 preparations in new documentary<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cadillac has revealed that its first-ever Formula 1 car has been named in honour of 1979 World Champion…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":503736,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[63812,49,4228,48,578,576,577,82],"class_list":["post-503735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-andretti","tag-ca","tag-cadillac","tag-canada","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=503735"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503735\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/503736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=503735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=503735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=503735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}