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| MYSPACE |
ANDRETTI, MICHAEL
10/05/1962, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA
Starts: 13
Points: 7
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest Laps: 0
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Most drivers face daunting tasks when entering the world of GP racing. The pressure is great, especially from the 80’s on, with multi million dollar contracts, high powered managers, attorneys, sponsors and merchandising involved. I reckon few had a worst deal than Michael Andretti, though. To begin with, few drivers had a living legend for a father, who just happened to have won the championship a mere 15 years before. Second, few were recognized as the ultimate fastest driver in a category that was often faster than F-1: most drivers come from F-3, F-3000 or other lower, slower formulae. Third, few would go into a top team that just dominated the sport a couple of years before, but was now relegated to second in its own engine suppliers’ list. And last: having Ayrton Senna as team mate! In hindsight, everything was going against Michael, who only made matters worse by commuting from the USA to races. McLaren was in a unique crisis for a company that had called the shots for many years: it was left hanging by Honda, the secondary Ford engines were not fast enough, and it was knowingly shopping for a new engine supplier. Michael also had to bear the responsibility of being an American driver in F-1, a rarity in the 90’s; worse yet, he was acknowledged as the best American driver of his generation, so he COULD NOT fail. And Ayrton Senna had his own way of dealing with the McLaren situation. Rather than committing to a full year’s contract, he did race deals, which would enable him to drop out should the car become totally uncompetitive. One final problem: a certain Mr. Mika Hakkinen was just waiting for a race seat…And the pressure showed on Michael. He always qualified in the top 10 in his first 6 races, but had accidents in the first three. He spun off in San Marino, and his first points came in Spain, for 5th place. By comparison, teammate Senna had amassed three wins and two second places in these same 6 races! From Canada on, Michael’s qualifying performances got worse and the next time he broke into the top ten was in his final race, in Italy. He did manage a 6th place in France, although he started 16th. In fairness to Michael, Senna also went into a slump during the period, getting only three 4th place finishes, but no one talks about that. By Italy the writing was on the wall. Michael did qualify relatively well for that race, and despite an early spin, finished an excellent 3rd place, at least having the honor of getting a podium in F-1. He then packed up his bags and went back to the USA, leaving the ride to Mika. The rest is history.