Top 100 Mario Andretti Quotes
#1. If you think you're always in control, then you're not going fast enough.
Mario Andretti
#2. I count my blessings every day, quite honestly, because I take nothing for granted.
Mario Andretti
#3. As far as I'm concerned, Parnelli Jones was the greatest driver of his era. He had aggressiveness and also a finesse that no one else possessed. And he won with everything he put his hands on, including off-road.
Mario Andretti
#4. A racing car is an animal with a thousand adjustments.
Mario Andretti
#5. If you're so afraid of failure, you will never succeed. You have to take chances.
Mario Andretti
#7. I lived the true American dream, because I was able to pursue what I set as my goals at a very young age.
Mario Andretti
#8. The day of parochialism in sports is over. The world is too small for what people like to call 'the good old days.' Fans want the best, wherever they come from.
Mario Andretti
#9. Circumstances may cause interruptions and delays, but never lose sight of your goal.
Mario Andretti
#10. Age doesn't affect driving - how do you like that?
Mario Andretti
#11. My wife loves football, but I think she's resigned to the fact that I'll never make it there.
Mario Andretti
#13. My last race was at Le Mans in 2000, my first race was in 1959, so I dodged a lot of bullets along the way, I can tell you that.
Mario Andretti
#14. It makes great conversation to discuss what's wrong with open-wheel racing today.
Mario Andretti
#15. At Indy, we are the NASA of the production-car world, and that's clearly why manufacturers are involved - it's such a good testbed.
Mario Andretti
#16. I never personally name anyone. I am not comfortable rating other drivers.
Mario Andretti
#17. Foreign players is what makes golf so popular now.
Mario Andretti
#18. In racing, there is no question who is best - the first one to cross the finish line wins first prize. But with wine, even if you make the best wine in the world, someone isn't going to like it, because it isn't their style. Judging wine is very subjective.
Mario Andretti
#20. The only thing that happens if you wait, is that you get older.
Mario Andretti
#21. Sometimes you have to bring back only the steering wheel so the car owner will know that you're giving it all you have.
Mario Andretti
#22. The first time I fired up a car, felt the engine shudder and the wheel come to life in my hands, I was hooked. It was a feeling I can't describe. I still get it every time I get into a race car.
Mario Andretti
#23. Every NASCAR driver watches Formula One in the morning; they are well informed.
Mario Andretti
#24. Sebastian Vettel's brilliant talent will ultimately come forth and he'll continue to show what he's capable of. I will never ever degrade Vettel's ability. Sooner or later, he'll prove anyone so wrong
Mario Andretti
#25. A father-son relationship is strong, like no other teammates. You could be straightforward with one another.
Mario Andretti
#26. All of the courses that run through real streets are very demanding. There is no room for error, no shoulders to lean on. If you go off the road, you're into somebody's shop-window or front porch.
Mario Andretti
#28. My biggest concern during a race is getting bored. The biggest thing I have to combat is falling asleep while going around and around.
Mario Andretti
#29. Unfortunately, we don't educate drivers enough to be respectful on the road.
Mario Andretti
#30. The man upstairs is pushing the buttons, and if your name happens to be on that button, well, thank you.
Mario Andretti
#31. From a prestige standpoint, the U.S. needs to host Formula 1. And I think Formula 1, they know they need the U.S. as well. So many companies that are global are based in the United States support Formula 1.
Mario Andretti
#32. I don't want to go out there and do something 3,000 other people can do.
Mario Andretti
#33. Anybody who can drive and doesn't come out of it a rich man is a fool.
Mario Andretti
#34. I think social media really is a great tool. It fascinates me when I tweet something and right away you get a response almost immediately.
Mario Andretti
#35. I go to bed is around 11, and I do that for every race. I get good sleep. I don't lie awake for any race. That's my routine.
Mario Andretti
#36. It seemed like whenever I got a bona fide offer from Ferrari, I couldn't do it. And vice versa - when I was ready, their seats were taken. We always had a relationship, but what's important is that I pretty much started my F1 career with them and ended it there, too.
Mario Andretti
#37. Whenever you're aggressive, you're at the edge of mistakes.
Mario Andretti
#38. There's something special about racing in real streets. The 'artificial' circuits have a certain sameness to them. But every race conducted on real streets has a character of its own - Barcelona, Monaco, and now Long Beach.
Mario Andretti
#39. In NASCAR, you can do a lot of banging around and get pretty serious and even get yourself upside down. All of those things can happen - and then you give an interview two seconds later.
Mario Andretti
#40. When you start thinking you may get hurt, it's time to get out of racing.
Mario Andretti
#41. I like to think that the Grand Prix helped Long Beach to pretty much change its image.
Mario Andretti
#44. When a car's ahead of you, as long as you can see it, you get a tow, just like the draft in NASCAR. Even if it's a long ways down the track, it punches a hole in the air that has to help. When you're running alone, you can feel the difference, and it shows on the clock, too.
Mario Andretti
#46. If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough.
Mario Andretti
#47. Nobody is born with a steering wheel or a gear shift in his hand. It's something you choose to do or you don't.
Mario Andretti
#49. If you have everything under control, you're not moving fast enough.
Mario Andretti
#50. You're safer in the race car than you are in cars going to and from the track.
Mario Andretti
#52. I will always enter a race car from the left side. Always. Why? I have no idea.
Mario Andretti
#53. You do a period of go-karting until you're at the age of qualifying for a ride in a 'school-kart,' then you qualify for driving school. And several of the driving schools have a competition series for their own students.
Mario Andretti
#54. Everything comes to those who wait ... except a cat.
Mario Andretti
#55. Can the U.S. support two Formula 1 races? I think so.
Mario Andretti
#56. From the driver's standpoint I had the same horrors, the same satisfactions, the same everything. The speed is relative. It's faster and things are happening quicker, but you have the equipment to handle it.
Mario Andretti
#57. The most important thing at Daytona is, are you going to have friends willing to work with you during the race as far as drafting? You've got to have friends out there. You can't do it alone. You form those relationships as the race moves along.
Mario Andretti
#58. Quite honestly, I treat myself with cars I really want to drive, and I have some flexibility to do that.
Mario Andretti
#60. I'm so thankful that I've had such a long and uninterrupted career. I count my blessings every day for that because it was so fulfilling.
Mario Andretti
#61. Do it no matter what. If you believe in it, it is something very honorable. If somebody around you or your family does not understand it, then that's their problem. But if you do have a passion, an honest passion, just do it.
Mario Andretti
#62. I see all these old people who don't have anything to do but eat, drink and sleep. I will never say 'retired' because that's such a finality that I don't want to be part of my life. I'll work until they throw me in a box.
Mario Andretti
#63. You can't take a vacation from speed. I probably could have taken more time off and not driven in all the different disciplines, but I wanted to drive, drive and drive.
Mario Andretti
#64. When you are losing it can seem like there is a black cloud following you around, but like they say there is a silver lining in every cloud.
Mario Andretti
#65. It is amazing how may drivers, even at the Formula One Level, think that the brakes are for slowing the car down.
Mario Andretti
#66. I had no problems staying motivated because things that were happening were things I looked forward to.
Mario Andretti
#67. I always say that every win has something that is special.
Mario Andretti
#68. If a neighbor is killed in a car accident, do you sell your car and stop driving?
Mario Andretti
#69. A goal isn't something you just arrive at and stop.You have to stay curious and hungry and foolish ...
Mario Andretti
#70. If everything's under control, you're going too slow.
Mario Andretti
#71. You do the best you can with what's thrown at you, then you try again.
Mario Andretti
#72. What is golden is miles under your belt, miles, miles, miles.
Mario Andretti
#73. The crashes people remember, but drivers remember the near misses.
Mario Andretti
#76. Al Unser Sr. was one of the smartest drivers I've ever raced against. And I often said, I wish I could've had some of his patience. I know it would have worked for me many times.
Mario Andretti
#77. If you don't feel out of control, you're not driving fast enough.
Mario Andretti
#78. I still have the competitive spirit, which is good.
Mario Andretti
#79. I don't remember as a kid wanting to do or be anything else but drive something, be a race driver.
Mario Andretti
#80. Motor racing is like one big family, ultimately, and when you come back to it, that's really what it feels like.
Mario Andretti
#81. Whatever the changes, from one era to the next, Pocono has maintained its character and significance to me, and it always will. My family shares this sentiment.
Mario Andretti
#82. I think it's counterproductive in many ways to pretend to know things you don't. You surround yourself with people who are the real experts.
Mario Andretti
#83. Speed is relative. You have to live it. You can't just jump into it. You have to live it all the time.
Mario Andretti
#84. The banked oval tracks are obsolete tracks for Indy cars.
Mario Andretti
#85. I don't have many superstitions, just dumb things I don't talk about. I will not sign an autograph with a green pen.
Mario Andretti
#86. With tennis, you can go pick up a racket, take a lesson, and understand how much talent and skill it takes to be as good as the top pros. Same with golf: pick up a club. But not many can go out and get in a race car and experience a drive at over 200 miles an hour.
Mario Andretti
#88. Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.
Mario Andretti
#89. Speed takes a little bit of getting used to, but rules have to be followed. At any speed, the more you run, the more you get used to it.
Mario Andretti
#90. There is so much more demand for Formula One than it can supply. You have governments investing in circuits all over the world, and the private sector sometimes has a tough time competing with that.
Mario Andretti
#91. If you weren't on Chris Economaki's radar screen, you probably weren't on anybody's.
Mario Andretti
#92. I wish we could be 100% shielded from danger, but nothing is in life.
Mario Andretti
#93. I wanted to have a career that would last a hundred years if possible.
Mario Andretti
#94. Young drivers are supposed to be hard on equipment. That's how you learn.
Mario Andretti
#95. You should never get away from where the real foundation of Formula One has been, which is Europe. Of course, there is nothing wrong with the expansion to countries like Asia, China, Malaysia.
Mario Andretti
#96. Love what you do. Believe in your instincts. And you'd better be able to pick yourself up and brush yourself off every day.
Mario Andretti
#97. I've always said, 'I didn't have a Plan B in life.' I was in pursuit of my dream from the very beginning. It's all about desire and passion. At all costs.
Mario Andretti
#98. If the Indy Racing League didn't have the Indianapolis 500, do you think it would have lasted more than six months? No chance.
Mario Andretti
#99. What I learned is that in business you must make decisions based on facts, not react with your heart.
Mario Andretti
#100. If you don't come walking back to the pits every once in a while holding a steering wheel in your hands, you're not trying hard enough
Mario Andretti
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