AN UNFAIR BENCHMARK? The Story of Michael Andretti's DISASTROUS 1993 F1 Season

[@markko17]

After Michael got let go, Senna, who was not exactly famous for sticking up for his teammates, held a press conference and said he didn't think Michael got a fair shot. The next year after Michael's win at the CART season opener at Surfers, one of the first calls Michael got was from Senna congratulating him.

[@PaperBanjo64]

They should've kept him and paired him with Mika Hakkinen in '94

[@alaricbragg7843]

@@PaperBanjo64 That would have been a nice idea. However politics would not have allowed it. Peugeot would not have liked an American driver spearheading their Formula One venture with McLaren because they were about to pull out of the US passenger car market. They actually wanted a French driver, Phillipe Alliot to replace Senna in 1994 and they resented Martin Brundle being chosen over Alliot. This lead to a lot of ill feeling causing the McLaren Peugeot partnership to quickly collapse. Even if Michael had been kept on he probably would have had an even more humiliating and painful Formula One season in 1994, given the engine fires and crashes McLaren had that year!

[@Villani_AV]

​@alaricbragg7843 but he would have also been driving a car much closer to what had been his kart machinery before the previous season

[@alaricbragg7843]

@@Villani_AV True to a point, however Ron Dennis was looking for a star driver - i.e. a race winner and F1 Champion to fill in Senna's shoes. Nigel Mansell would probably have replaced Michael like Brundle. Mario would have had an extra reason to dislike Nigel!

[@alaricbragg7843]

@@Villani_AV Furthermore had Andretti stayed for 1994, the Peugeot faction would have tried to sabotage him and push him out for Phillipe Alliot. Brundle recalls a bizarre testing incident where Peugeot Sport let Alliot cut the course so he would appear faster than Brundle!

[@DanoFSmith-yc9tg]

Those mid to late 90's Cart and indy cars are so sexy. I put them up there with the late 80's and early 90's F-1 cars as far as looks. The best looking open wheel cars imo.

[@nickporter574]

Totally. The CART cars in that era are so sweet. So glad i got to see them in Chicago. I even saw Frank Williams meeting with JPM at a race. I miss CART so much. IRL is so lame in comparison.

[@lewiskemp5893]

Me too. And they both had their own cool engine sound

[@Nismo-gy3wz]

@@lewiskemp5893 100%

[@ehudgavron9086]

Can't really argue with you... they were gorgeous. But then ... cars, boats, planes, women, donuts, everyone has their own taste. I find the 1992 Cannon/Williams cars to evoke some good joy. They had power. They had skill. They had drivers. They rocked. I also love the 1993 IC cars. PT on Road America, Nazareth, LB. That boring racetrack in midville America has never been a "spectacle" in as much as it's been nothing more than inbred central. But then that's why we have so many different series. Some like meat, some like vegan, some like blondes, some redheads, and while I love open wheel racing, there are people who think "fender banging" is a thaing. Honestly, to one extent or another, ALL those cars are sexy. Even the stupid looking midville-500 with exhaust headers sticking out of the front engine... if someone offered me the chance to take a few laps on a closed circuit (even an oval OR a roval ;-) I would. Would you?

[@markalbert9011]

And the real shame of it is Michael was that rarest of racing commodities...The son of a legend who was his fathers equal and proved it on track....and we all were denied an opportunity to watch Michael make a serious F1 effort.

[@GregBrownsWorldORacing]

All that's true, but Michael looked truly pathetic that year. It looked even worse when Hakkinen came in and was genuinely fast.

[@bogdanrusgp]

The odds were against him. But when they didnt, he usually either made unforced errors or brutally underperformed. This isn't a tale of what could've been. He was unlucky. But was also a little bit shit. Great racing driver, but not made for F1. Those cars even with electronic aids were fucking brutal, even compared ot the very bare bones indy cars. He wasn't Mario. I think a lot of people compare him to him unfairly. He did well in IndyCar in top tier equipment and won a title, which shows he was solid. He was talented, but he wasn't Mario talented..

[@markalbert9011]

@@W2HTLCA Mario drove at a time when drivers were poorly paid so they drove anything, anywhere by anyone who would pay. They drove in unsafe cars on dangerous tracks and very few lived to make it to the top. Corporate sponsorship changed that so Michael didn't have to diversify and risk his life as often and was well paid when he did. In career Indy car wins Mario is ahead 52 to 42. While competing in the same race Michael beat Mario 142 to 111 with plenty of DNF's for both. I can't locate the stats but I know they finished 1 & 2 several times with Michael coming out on top by a small margin. Michael was as fast as Mario but not as diversified a talent because he didn't have to be. I've never heard Mario say anyone was better than him but when asked about Michael he always gives that Mario mumble, smiles and says "Ya know" and shrugs. They talk of Kyle Larson being the most diversified talent because he races dirt and NASCAR and now a single Indy race. To be truly diversified he still needs to win an F1 title, at least 1 INDY win, win every endurance race worth naming except LeMans (where you finish second,) dominate your priority series, be considered a threat no matter what you're driving and finally to be a big enough celebrity that you only need your first name. Only AJ came close.

[@RRaquello]

Michael had an out--going back to CART. This isn't always a good thing for a driver, because he's not in a do-or-die situation. He knew he had somewhere to go if he failed. It always looked to me, from the beginning of his F1 efforts, that Michael couldn't wait to use his "Get Out Of Jail Free" card.

[@timaz1066]

Nice job on the video. It’s sad that liberty media a US owned. Corporation is doing their best to make sure Andy global doesn’t get into F1.

[@mrterp04]

I’m an oddity in that JOHN is my favorite Andretti. Raced damn near everything, first to do the Indy/Charlotte double, and by all accounts a hell of a nice guy.

[@KR1736]

Currently reading his book, it's very good

[@angry_ike7628]

John was a racer and a hell of a good driver. Cancer sucks.

[@markalbert9011]

Indeed he was. I was at Eldora speedway with my sons about 2000 watching late models and struck up a conversation with two guys and a teenage boy. Then someone came up and asked for John's autograph. He signed it, said "thanks for asking" and went right back to our conversation.....I opened my cooler and offered a beer and can now claim I shared a beer with an Andretti.

[@mrterp04]

@@KR1736it’s a great read. The last chapter is a heartbreaker.

[@palm92]

Fantastic and versatile driver.

[@jamesprumos7775]

I'd definitely love to see a Jacques Villeneuve retrospective! Also, I believe Senna was sad to see Michael go, thinking he never really got the chance to succeed in Formula 1.

[@GreatCdn59]

i find Jacques' comments about Danny Ric hilarious, since he basically accused him of peaking early and then spending years being meh in meh machinery...... which is coming from a guy who peaked early and spent years being meh in meh machinery. lol

[@cyboticzombie]

@@GreatCdn59takes one to know one

[@joribremer5260]

@@GreatCdn59 he was pretty ok in the early BAR years.. the 1999 and the 2002 car “blewing up” while you looked at them… , 2003 was really bad , and Villeneuve also is a example of how important a driver/ engineer is (Jock Clear was his engineer at Williams / BAR ), and JV prefered some strange settings on for example the brake travel, and Jock knew that, his engineer at Sauber didnt work with him well, and costed some time to adapt , also he was team mates with Massa who became better and better

[@KA._.144]

@@GreatCdn592 wins in a season is a lot lower of a peak than a WDC. your acting like danny ric is comparable to JV when its not even close😂 and danny does suck, like really bad. yuki had had like 5 points scoring races while danny has had 1(im only counting actual races, sprints arent races and shouldn't been seen as equal)

[@AidanMillward]

@@GreatCdn59 cos Jacques knows exactly what he’s looking at. Himself. Thing is, he’s kinda right.

[@simonwilliams4514]

Michael got shafted at McClaren for wanting of a better word, he was a great talent but the combination of the unprecedented technical characteristics of those early 90s cars, the lack of track time he was given to familiarise himself and the fact that Dennis in a racerly way became besotted with Hakkinen (and understandably so - Andretti was a great driver but Hakkinen was a generational talent) meant that Michael didn’t get a fair shake of the stick. Any other team and any other era of the 90s and Michael Andretti was more than capable of being competitive in F1

[@craigcharlesworth1538]

I think Dennis knew Senna would be off like a shot in '94 and needed a driver of sufficient calibur to replace him. Despite his IndyCar pedigree it became quickly apparent that Andretti wasn't that guy, so he switched all his focus to Hakkinen. Which, ultimately, looked like the right decision considering he ended up winning 20-odd races and 2 world titles for McLaren. The other thing is that McLaren was about to enter a seriously lean period, with the Peugot deal not working out and Mercades taking several years to bed in to the point where they became regular title contenders. Even if he had been able to secure a future at McLaren, would Andretti - who was used to winning races and titles in IndyCar - have stuck around to lead them through the fallow times the way Hakkinen did? Probably not.

[@jimbryant2157]

I have been an Andretti fan (Mario/Michael/Marco) for as long as I have followed racing (the first Indy 500 I remember watching was 1971). With 24-hour sports news not available during Michael's F1 season, all I ever heard of was the crashes and non-finishes. Thanks for adding real details and a researched background story.

[@andrewpillinger3]

I'd love to see a retrospective on Jacques Villeneuve, especially during the BAR years. Whilst we're on the subject of CART champions coming to F1, maybe videos on Cristiano da Matta or Sebastien Bourdais would be fun or interesting too.

[@yak9989]

It been ages now, but I think James Hunt once referred to him as "Michael Andredful." Ouch!

[@peteanderson4395]

What???As if James Hunt would of come out with a comment like that!!! Don't believe that.... honest 😂😂

[@ricardoantonio5085]

At one of the earlier races, Michael was 2 seconds slower than Senna (at a track he never been on) prompting Hunt to state on air that Michael had no business being in F1. When Senna joined Damon Hill at Williams, he was promptly 2 seconds faster than Damon. Hunt kept his mouth shut.

[@osakaben83]

@@ricardoantonio5085Hunt died in June 1993, several months before Senna joined Hill at Williams.

[@JeffSherlock]

Hunt had a bad attitude towards everyone.

[@yak9989]

@@osakaben83 Well, I guess that would help explain why he kept his mouth shut.

[@arthurguitar]

He’s got serious unfinished F1 business. Wish the his team’s entry wasn’t being made so difficult.

[@nascarnational]

before i say anything, i'd just like to thank you for what you do for motorsport. my dad's girlfriend recently birthed my sister with him 1 & 1/2 months ago & got me thinking about the stuff going on now in racing that she wouldn't know about down the road since she's too young or wasn't alive to experience it, if she were to become interested in it. this has given me perspective on what 90s & early-2000s motorsport culture & circumstances were since i'm an '02 baby, and hearing stories like these in-depth from a person that sounds like they were involved in that era as a fan is nothing short of awesome. i've heard about this story before but i think i forgot just how bad it really was (and just fyi, michael was unlucky as hell & that pisses me off). stories like these make me understand 90s racing culture & the circumstances that took place & set precedent and standards or conceptions that've stuck around in the time since then. i can't thank you enough for this insight, it means so much to me as a near 20-year american racing fan that began with nascar in 2004. just subscribed!! i really hope you're able to put more retrospectives out like these!!

[@XemawthEvo2]

Great video Aiden. If one was to back and watch some of those 1991 CART races, the inevitably of Michael was undeniable. Following on from that, his driving style was pure aggression. I am always left wondering how exciting his F1 career could have been if things had worked out. Indycar to F1 and visa-verse is a topic that is extremely interesting to me. The people who seem to have had the most success: Juan Pablo, JV, and Nigel all not only shared driving talent, but also a very strong " I don't give a f-" mentality. Makes me wonder how much of the battle is stricktly the mental transition.

[@jamesdyer7960]

I don't believe Andretti is the 'go to' comparison for drivers switching from Indy to F1? Montoya and JV are the real benchmarks - they succeeded in both. Michael should have stuck it out into '94 he would have known all the circuits, although he may have finished even less races due to Pug engines grenading with alarming regularity!! 😂

[@arthuralford]

Michael didn't have a choice-Ron Dennis gave him the boot because he could put Mika in-a European with experience on most of the tracks who also worked cheaper

[@Andy_ATB]

One always felt he didn't do enough to immerse himself in the F1 community; not moving over to live Europe was a mistake. He didn't show the talent that he had, in F1...... And as ever with F1, whether the media, fans or insiders; there's a massive snobbery towards anything that isn't F1......

[@caphowdy666]

There has been more than two more CART champions to make the switch to F1 after Andretti. If we are ignoring Zanardi because he was just returning to F1, that is understandable, but there is also da Matta & Bourdais.

[@DuncanCunningham]

I was a F1 fan back then. I think part of the issue was that, even before he got into a F1 drive, people in were against him and didn't rate a Indycar driver. They were on high alert to look for any reason to say that an indycar driver just couldn't do it in F1. Everything he did they watched and mocked at every mishap. I think he knew this very much and he might have allowed this to add to his stress and he seems to shrink within himself and appear to lack confidence. But this wasn't true. He was doing great. Sure, he had to learn, but the potential was certainly there. I don't fell as though he fel the support he needed. I think he did a great job but for a few things, - getting into incidents early in races - not living in the UK during that first season - F1 changing the rules so that he had very little time in the car to learn it. He had the speed, but he had so much bad luck. That bad luck seemed to build upon itself and get worse each race. I think he could have been a great team mate to Mika and taken wins and a championship... unless he was always going to struggle in close racing incidents. We'll never know.

[@kuckoo9036]

I get that he wanted to defend his dad, but Marco Andretti's comments about the team "deliberately sabotaging" Michael's efforts were ignorant. For a team like McLaren competing in a series where the constructors championship is more important than the drivers championship, and paying what they were for Michael's services, they're not going to deliberately do anything that takes away potential team points just because "they didn't like him". Yes, Michael had issues with the car, but so did Senna. However, Senna won five races and finished second in the championship in the same car that Andretti couldn't figure out how to stop spinning and crashing with - only for Hakkinen to come in and immediately out-qualify Senna and keep him honest during the remaining races. I woke up at 0200 in the morning to watch those races, and let me tell you; it was painfully embarrassing to watch. Especially the start of the British GP. I was nearly in tears. Michael Andretti blew it. Period.

[@RACECAR]

The comments are made worse when Mario himself said that Micheal wasn't dedicated enough (Something multiple people have also hinted at). Definitely reeks more of young son emotion then anything factual while his Grandfather being the more experienced one pretty much knows Micheal better then anyone.

[@Ryzard]

To be entirely frank, there has been actual sabotage during these eras, and arguably was even later. Team bosses, especially of the time, were INSANELY egotistical, and teams regularly got beef with drivers.

[@nelsonschumacher7956]

as for the 1991 indycar season michael took pole in surfers, hounded al jr for half the race, got passed him and dominated. then with a handful of laps to go his master cylinder fell apart and he had to retire with damage due to no brakes he was running well, although i am not sure exactly where at long beach. he made a pit stop. he took off down pit lane from the start of the pit boxes, and just as he was getting near to the penske pit, they waved emmo out in front of him and two cars were eliminated detroit, both he and mario ran into the pace car - the flags were not being waved as they should have been, but no other driver hit the pace car, so they both need to take some responsibility for that one at the meadowlands, he was running behind rahal, and the two penskes for half of the race. he finally got into second, and within around 5 laps reduced the 5 second lead to rahal, and just as he was looking to pass, it stopped the engine blew at michigan and at indy, he was about to put a lap on rick mears, and then had got a puncture, so had to pit. guess who beat him in the 8 lap dash to the finish?? if he didn't get the puncture, then the odds were that rick would not have been able to gain a full lap on him

[@Phil00484]

Some other Indy/CART-F1 names with varied stories I didn’t recall being mentioned. Danny Sullivan, Eddie Cheever,Alex Zanardi, Christian DeMatta, Alexander Rossi.

[@qbertq1]

It's interesting you mention Mansell going F1 to Indy (CART), but Jacques Villeneuve did exactly the thing you led off with, going from the CART championship (and an Indy 500 win) to the F1 world title.

[@tjitse3916]

I’d love to see him on the podium as a team owner in F1 one day. A sort of coming full circle. Sad to see what some are willing to do to keep the team out. 😔

[@DanoFSmith-yc9tg]

Love the Toronto Blue Jays gear you always wear. Thanks, from a Canadian

[@AidanMillward]

@@marklittle8805 “I’ve seen my team win the Stanley Cup, have you?” Leafs fans: nope.

[@PuncakeLena]

That Lucca Conti shot of the black/papaya McLaren IndyCar is absolutely stunning

[@lmfsilva3000]

The Stefan Bellon joke at the end reminded me of the F1 game on the Mega Drive, where due to Senna (maybe) still being bound to the contract with Sega, McLarens drivers were Hakkinen and Andretti. Still on the same topic, I seem to recall at that time Newhouse heard from him how hard it was to adapt to all those new circuits other title contenders had years on, so he got GP2 to at least have an idea how the circuits felt like.

[@Ryzard]

7:25 - IMO it's important to mention all the tech on 90s f1 cars, because so many people slag off modern f1 drivers for being "not real racers/totally reliant on techy cars" - - and simaltaniously worship the 90s era of f1 racers as "true racers, all real grit, no assists" when in many cases the 90s cars had more tech like traction control, anti-lock breaks, suspension changes, etc. than later cars did since they got banned.

[@cosmostrek2001]

He had 3 problems he was supposed to have 4000 miles of testing but got zero. He commuted to work on the Concorde every week in stead of living at the factory. The team did not want him there. Senna said he was treaded fairly

[@danesorensen1775]

I do have race reports for three CART races - Portland '86, Surfers Paradise '91 and Surfers '92 - if you're interested.

[@ibex485]

Three Indycar champions, don't forget Alex Zanardi. The reigning double Indycar champion who came over. Although he of course had a few years in F1 before finding heading across the pond. nd Montoya was a diver already earmarked for & on the path to F1 before he went to Indycar on loan. So not quite the same as Villeneuve & Michael Andretti coming over to F1.

[@palm92]

WRT to Andretti's 1991 championship in CART - he crashed quite a bit (a common Michael issue) as well as a few mechanical issues.

[@danielhenderson8316]

Thanks for the video, Aiden. I'd always wanted a more indepth video on Andretti's 1993 career in one video. Rewatching the IndyCar races from 1991, there was a lot of talk about Michael moving to F1 then, but he signed another year with Newman-Haas. If he partnered Senna instead of Berger, he would have had a much better career. I don't think if he stuck around 1994 his career would have been any better as the McLaren-Peugeot as no one made that car look good. 1995 might have been better, but by then he would have been in his mid-30s and probably midpack at best.

[@gopeddle]

At the time Michael was driving for McLaren I was working for the ad agency which did all the advertising for Good Year. I got to know the race division engineers quite well and they told me that Ron Dennis had prevented Michael from entering the garage on some occasions. They had no explanation, they just saw it happen.

[@minibus9]

awesome video, really interestin to learn more about this

[@tsmitty777]

Michael’s F1 attempt was certainly a “death-of-a-thousand cuts” scenario. And like you said, if he had picked a few years opposite of ‘93 he would have had more of a capable chance. It’s also seemed like Michael may have been a bit of trouble to work with, but only McLaren and Senna know for sure.

[@thatguyfromcetialphaV]

At the time, my parents kept a tally chart of how many laps Andretti would do before he flew off the road. I met him in person in 2017 and he was one of the nicest people you could meet. I hope he does get into F1 just to rub the other team's noses in it.

[@Holden308]

For mine the pity of it is that Andretti didn't last into the 1994 season when a lot of the electronic gizmos on the cars were banned and the cars were more like what he was used to in the US, plus he would have already been to most of the tracks so he wouldn't have to learn a lot of them. Sure the Peugeot V10 wasn't great, but as probably team mate to Häkkinen I think Michael could have shown far better than in 1993.

[@nehylen5738]

He unfortunately didn't get much experience on a lot of them due to his various early DNFs. And while the MP4/9 chassis seemed to be good, the engine was breaking left, right and centre for 2/3 of the season. It would've been even more dreadful to the guy.

[@Holden308]

@@nehylen5738 Like I said, the Peugeot V10 wasn't great and it was one of the reason in the end that Senna actually left (he knew well before the McLambo tests that Ron Dennis was leaning in the Peugeot direction because they were promising $$$ to fight Renault). He knew that an engine based on an endurance engine wouldn't stand up in F1, and so it proved that year. But Andretti could have shown better with a more conventional car, even if the engine was a grenade waiting for the pin to be pulled.

[@jasonrushton5991]

Very interesting m8y, well done.

[@markoarkaina8656]

A podium a lap down is hardly worth it.

[@paolostrada93]

Great vid. Would love to see a JV (and JPM) retrospective!

[@ianwynne764]

Hello Aidan: You have done a good showing how difficult it can be changing between different kinds of open wheel cars. Have a good day.

[@solitaryclusterofneurons598]

Tbh with the amount of testing they did in those days, he kinda deserved to fail by staying in the US, even if it was more for his wife than anything. I'm sorry but McLaren is a top team that every driver on the grid would be hungry for a seat at given the opportunity, as shown specifically in this case with Mika. F1 isn't a part-time sport no matter how proven you are.

[@jdubvdub]

I have a friend that was an engineer for Neumann Haas in the late 90’s. He said Michael was extremely hard on the equipment and when Moreno was his teammate, they would have the same lap times in testing, but Moreno wasn’t to rough on the car.

[@n.b.5258]

F1 elitists always talk about how Mansell went to cart and won right away in 1993. I like to remind them of how his 1994 season went. He had 3 poles and no race wins. Michael Andretti had two race wins that year.

[@jeffdaley8597]

JV video please. I grew up in the '90s with a dad still mourning the loss of Gilles Villeneuve and thus high hopes for Jacques to succeed. Followed him through Formula Atlantic, Cart and stayed up late as a 10 year old to watch the first race in Australia with the powerslide across the grass and the oil leak at the end. Been to the Gilles Villeneuve museum in Berthierville Quebec a couple of times too. Would love to see a video on him!

[@palm92]

Andretti likely struggled too as CART cars have always had the Ground Effect, which lent themselves to Andretti's aggressive style.

[@megawutt]

I always found it odd to mention Montoya when talking about transition from Indycar to F1. Do people forget that he was testing driver for Williams before going to CART? Prior to that he was racing in F3 and won the championship.

[@bshoke]

I enjoy your content quite a bit, especially the historical content. I’ve got some photos from the Unser racing museum, with Indy cars from quite a few decades, some pikes peak cars, up to the 90s, I’m not sure if I got the various engine displays, a wind tunnel test article of the Penske PC-22, some of the Unser USAC sprint cars. I also have some photos from the 2011 Texas IndyCar race, the nascar truck race from that 2011 weekend. And maybe some others I can’t recall at the moment. If they would be useful to you I’d let you use them no charge.

[@JeffSherlock]

Ron Dennis truly fouled-up the engine deal that year. That screw-up defined the season. The cars which Senna and Andretti drove, were not designed for the engine they were stuck with. The handling was horrible at most tracks, and where it was decent, the Saubers seemed to be on a Kamikaze mission to take-out other cars--including Andretti (look at Sao Paulo and Suzuka). Michael Andretti did quite a nice job at Monaco and Spain, despite starting back on the grid. Senna seemed completely disgusted, and then temporarily retired.

[@samuel_boivin]

Make that retrospective JV video about his offtrack commentary too! It's all part of the character! 😅

[@kifferseal]

I remember watching him in 1993 and we said ' damn , the guy sucks in a F1 car and then jetting from US to Europe every weekend ?' I didnt know then that it was his wife's idea . Ones again I learned something new here😄 , thank you 👍

[@johnclay3773]

As being around and following both series back then (for what it's worth I'm the same age as Michael Andretti and Al Unser Jr.) it seems like Michael's first wife wasn't super popular among the CART/IndyCar wives and girlfriends back then either - she seemed to act more like she married into the Gotti family than the Andretti family.

[@RRaquello]

@@johnclay3773 Watch the last laps of the 1992 Indy 500, when Michael's car blows up. The cameras go right away to Mrs. Michael. Just watching here you said, "Poor Micheal. When he gets home, he's gonna hear it from the wife. She's gonna be blasting him for blowing it again."

[@johnclay3773]

@@RRaquello Haha - well I didn't know about just how much friction there was between Sandy and the other wives; I read that about the time he divorced her and married #2. He's on #3 at the moment. But back in 1992 when I was watching it I was disappointed for Michael but ultimately happy for Al Jr. to get the win.

[@RRaquello]

@@johnclay3773 Just try to imagine her in a Formula One paddock with all those fancy Europeans and she comes over with her "Queen of the Suburban Mall" act. Hate to say such stuff because, after all, she is Marco's mother, but some people are just out of place in certain situations.

[@performanceoptimization5876]

I vividly remember that season and the absolutely miserable performance. It was painful and frustrating to watch.

[@detonator2112]

Andretti was in the worst position a driver can be. Teammates were Ayrton Senna and blisteringly fast young talent Mika Hakkinen I think he was under too much pressure.

[@carter83419]

I just remember him being rubbish at the time. I also laughed at what his son said, his dad must be proud. Anyways, this was interesting mate 👍🏻

[@lancraft]

Informed analysis 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@wenined9422]

For me it felt like michael was just doing it because of his father. The Interviews with mario kinda show how much this meant to him meanwhile Michael seems to not care that much. Was it the best/fairest shot in an F1 car? No, but I think with his attitude towards the entire F1 campaign he would have had problems with other F1 Teams as well. Michael had his comfort zone in the US and he should've stayed there. He was an amazing driver but after that F1 Stint it didn't feel the same.

[@nickjacobs1770]

I remember a documentary on the B.B.C. about McLaren on this year. I don't know if it's about.

[@geckowizard]

I remember a clip from it during a testing session and the engineers were annoyed at Andretti's lap because he wasn't pushing the car to the limits enough, making the data useless. In hindsight, I think their attitude was about as helpful as Andretti's lap. There was a lot of hubris on both sides.

[@Cramhead43]

would love to see a retrospective on JV!

[@carlrann9066]

There was another Cart champion who came to F1, Alex Zanardi. Although, to be fair he was a F1 driver who went to Cart and then came back to F1 and then went back again.

[@crunchyfrog555]

I think a large part of the myth of that McLaren not having the stuff that Williams had was largely down to the press and Chinese Whispers. Back in that day, I clearly recall people like Ayrton Senna saying that he was envious of Williams active suspension and how good it was at what it did. I think the press (or some of it) ended up rewriting a lot of these comments to the "trickery that the Williams car had" effectively meaning that the WHOLE of it's electronics. That certainly wasn't the case when I've looked back and read the old magazines of the time.

[@AidanMillward]

I think some of the senna tax has got something to do with it. Give that McLaren the extra 80hp and it probably wins the title.

[@KGmodels]

Ngl,I am not scrolling down as I hate these bots! Interesting subject,and I literally found out that Michael went into F1,literally this morning!

[@mikekadlcak1963]

fact is that Micheal had a deal 1992 with Ferrari... Haas tho did not let him go...

[@richardsummers2035]

A worth while watch is.. 1993 a season with maclaren.. a series of episodes... I remember watching it at the time.. very worth while.

[@stewartbailey1653]

If McLaren had an engine with the same power as the Renault McLaren would have walked the championship. Andretti's main problem was coming from a then Indycar to an F1 car, at that time, was like going from flying a biplane and being put straight into an F35, and with minimal training told off you go. I know they had open testing at the time, but Senna and Mika did most of the testing, as Andretti raced, went back to the States, and only flew into testing for a day. If he was in Europe McLaren could have given him a lot more testing, meaning he could have had a lot more time to adapt his driving style. As you pointed out, he didn't finish most of the races he started, so he wasn't getting much driving time where he could actually get on top of the car. It's a shame that he didn't leave it a year to try to get into F1 with the cars a lot less advanced, and a lot more like the Indycar he'd stepped out of, maybe he'd have been more successful

[@stewartbailey1653]

@@marklittle8805 which was kinda my point, if he'd of committed more, gotten used to the car to adapt his driving style, he might have done better. Also, once most of the tech was removed from the cars for 94, he may have done better. They were more of an analogue car, with only the semi-automatic gearboxes kept, so were more like an Indycar to set up and drive

[@danielhenderson8316]

@@stewartbailey1653I don't think he would have done much better in '94 in part because no one was going to be the hero in a McLaren-Peugeot, and both Williams and McLaren had issues going back to a pure mechanical setup for most of '94. If he made it in for '92 replacing Berger which was rumored on the IndyCar broadcasts in 1991, he'd have a much better chance to show his value.

[@villehursti]

Michael Andretti couldn't hold same line from lap to lap. Keke Rosberg's words from 1993 Hungarian Grand Prix.

[@scotts7907]

If I remember correctly, 93 was a long time ago, but McLaren did not have active suspension and they were at the forefront of the active suspension argument.

[@prutz9092002]

I don't think many contend that the MP4/8 "wasn't as advanced" as the FW-15C, but a hard fact was the McLaren that year was down approx 80+HP against the Williams. So yes, Senna did deserve much of the kudos for bringing that car up that season. Was there anyone else at McLaren that came close in '93?

[@AidanMillward]

I mean I did give him the credit for doing some good things in that car…

[@prutz9092002]

@@AidanMillward Three wins and leading the championship through Monaco against Prost in the Renault-powered Williams? Yeah, I suppose that's some good things. I guess. Maybe. Kinda.

[@kekepiket9153]

According to Ron Dennis , Mclaren had a better active suspension and chassis than Williams in 1993. It was a very good car .

[@ilionreactor1079]

Sebastian Bordais was another multi-time IndyCar/CART Champ who was brutalized when he went to F1.

[@RACECAR]

I'd argue you don't get more brutalized then driving in Red Bull's program (Unless Horner or Marko like you and you bring serious top dollar, something very few will say no to).

[@RRaquello]

By the time Bourdais was winning all those races and championships in CART, it was a dead series. I'm surprised F1 even took his CART results seriously enough to give him and opportunity.

[@nelsonschumacher7956]

michael did not have a chance when he signed, mclaren had honda engines . . . a few months later, they had customer engines when he signed, testing was unlimited . . . a few months later, it was severely limited when he signed, the cars were running 18 inch wide tyres . . . a few months later, they were reduced to 15 inch as well as aero changes that took away grip that would have helped him adjust to a brand new car when he signed, he was going to partner senna . . . senna was always going to drive, but he and ron pretended that he wasn't to get more money from marlboro - perhaps why marlboro went fully behind ferrari not long after ron had 3 drivers and one who he promised seat time to, but no race seat - therefore, mika was always going to get the testing that senna didn't want. there was no point in michael staying in europe because he was not going to get any testing at all in south africa, the lack of standing starts mucked him up and he went back towards the rear of the field - he hit warwick, but who hasn't in brazil, wendlinger swerved over towards him, so he took avoiding action and then took the innocent berger with him in donnington, he was passing cars like senna was, until wendlinger did it again even in france, the electronics made him lose multiple positions at the start, but he came back to 6th michael may not have been any good in f1, but he had absolutely not chance at all - none and hill did not dominate monza. prost did, but had his engine break with a handful of laps to go :)

[@eddieconroy212]

I remember at the time I really felt for Andretti, he just couldn’t get a break. He was signed for a reason, and that was because he was a very aggressive and fast driver. If he was in a midfield car such as the Arrows he wouldn’t have had the same pressure and spotlight and could have just got on with his job. I’m sure he would have been a great F1 driver in time.

[@Nismo-gy3wz]

I remember the same thing, just couldnt have that normal, consistent weekend. Wish he got more time.

[@JeffSherlock]

The handling was so bad in that car, that it effectively was midfield at best.

[@dazuk1969]

You would think that driving one of those F1 cars would have been easier for Andretti. All the gizmos those cars had are not called driver aids for no reason. Did McLaren stitch him up ?...I don't know about that, I think it was a combination of factors as described in the vid.

[@AidanMillward]

It's a mentality thing. Andretti had gone from cars that needed babying on throttle and through the corners because they lacked downforce and had a lot of power versus mechanical grip, and then gone to cars that needed to be lobbed into corners and yeeted out the other side to go fast. He couldn't adapt. Or didn't, given that commuting from Pennsylvania was a thing.

[@caseyf14483]

Damn these bots

[@AidanMillward]

They are very persistent...

[@yodaslovetoy]

​@AidanMillward no we're not.... oh wait... er....

[@_GuestFive]

I don’t know how complicated F1 is currently compared to Indycar but I suppose they’d be met with similar problems as Michael was? Not saying they couldn’t do it though. I do wonder how a prime Dario Franchitti, Will Power, Scott Dixon or Scott McLaughlin would get on in F1.

[@danielhenderson8316]

Like everyone else, it would depend on what team signed them.

[@PaperBanjo64]

Dario Franchitti was a McLaren test driver in 1997.

[@jimiverson3085]

Dennis wanted Hakkinen, but he also wanted the top tier Ford engines. He was hoping that the Andretti relationship with Ford would put McLaren in line for the same engines Benetton was using. But Benetton had been a Ford customer while McLaren was winning with Honda power. And Ford of Europe apparently didn't care about the Andretti connections, so McLaren got the same B engines as the dying Lotus team. When the good engines weren't coming, Ron didn't have any use for Michael, so ignoring him was a quicker path to getting Mika in a seat.

[@nilesanders5110]

All those '91 Indycar races are on KZbin.

[@Draconianoverlord55]

What's that program for looking at the Indy car mate?

[@sanderscheffer74]

Andretti was most of all unlucky with making his debute with a F1 star next to him (Senna) amd most likely in a car that was not equal. Same like what happened to Jos Verstappen in 1994. Unlike Andretti, Jos continued his career but his career was basicly reuned before it began. A retrospective on Jos Verstappen could be really good. The "son of", Max is an absolute once in a generation superstar, but Jos was the one who "formed" him, and although he might not have been just as good.. "what if" Jos was more lucky at the beginning? And did Jos show some of his brilliance during the rest of his career? What if Benneton signed him to stay for 1996, or Jordan or Mclaren for 1997, what if the Honda project would not have been cancelled?

[@PaperBanjo64]

And Max's mom was a carting champion, combine that and you have the unstoppable force of nature that is Max!

[@chadwickstephens4843]

F1 is a machine that has a driver as a component, IndyCar is a perfect blend of man and machine with the driver being the main component

[@413TomaccoRoad]

Check out the race results of the 1983 LeMans.

[@alaricbragg7843]

...and when Michael Andretti returned to Indycars he promptly won first time out in an unripe Reynard. He also upstaged Mansell and Villeneuve. Think.

[@caphowdy666]

I wouldn't exactly say he "upstaged" Villeneuve seeing as JV was a rookie at the time, not the experienced Indy car racer Andretti was. JV finishing 6th in his first year was damn impressive.

[@danielhenderson8316]

@@caphowdy666JV was still the '94 Rookie Of The Year and had prior experience at Surfer's Paradise. Everyone else was new to Reynard as well, and Chip Ganassi didn't turn into a SuperTeam until 1996 with the magical Reynard/Honda/Firestone combination.

[@caphowdy666]

@@danielhenderson8316 JV had no experience of Surfers in an Indy car. You can't compare races in lesser series at tracks as it is a totally different ballgame. And yes I know he was rookie of the year, which is why I say he was not upstaged. New chassis or not, racing in the series before vs racing in the series for the first time, is worlds apart.

[@aoife1122]

Well, the cars may have been different to anything Andretti has driven before... but other rookies, equally strangers to these "rocket ships", did not embarrass themselves as Andretti did that year, in far inferior machinery, take Barrichello or Irvine in the in the Jordan, for example.

[@neildutton8077]

Mansell went to Indy as a rookie and won the championship... He didn't just beat the regular competitors, he humiliated them.

[@ryklatortuga4146]

But Nige had that "Aero tache" - 25% more adjustable downforce - totally unfair.

[@nickb2049]

Newman-Haas was the dominant team, it would be like putting someone in an early 2000s Ferrari. then the next season came and he didn't do much of anything.

[@sophiaevans9908]

Bruins and Blue Jays? Interesting combo 🤔🤔🤔

[@fintonmainz7845]

His talent as a driver in F1 isn't relevant to his proposed management of a team in F1. What IS relevant is that he did not show commitment when he drove for Mclaren

[@MrSniperfox29]

Interestingly while Mario got pole position at his first attempt, he wouldn't get another pole position for another 8 years, a record that lasted until 2017 when Kimi got pole at Monza

[@justinsetchell6935]

Zanardi was another CART champion that came over (ok returned) to F1 and failed to replicate his success on the other side of the pond. The Williams he was driving wasn't that great but even so, I seem to remember him being out classed by Ralf almost every weekend. I'd love to see a video talking about why things didn't come together for him or what went wrong, because I think at the time many people were expecting him to be the next Villeneuve and instance by up to pace.

[@rogeeeferrari]

He wasn't fully committed to the team, the opportunity was there and Hakkinen jumped at it...

[@nowind37]

can you do a video about williams's flywheel tech in late 2000's

[@ssadonnelly]

I would love to see Graham Rahal or Sting Ray Robb in F1 for the LOLZ they would have to box to ask what direction the others went in 🤣

[@cyberfutur5000]

In Schumachers times I think it would have been a step down, indeed. At least it very much seemed that way, with a history of F1 people being successful there, and people who drove f1 in the 70s still being in the mix, while on the other end there was Andretti. Throughout the 90s it looked like Indy was where you go if you are to old for F1 and if you are good enough in indy you'll end up in F1 anyway. But odiously some of the Indy car drivers would be good enough for F1 and probably successful. Montoya certainly was and with others there are rumors that if you gave them (basically Sennas seat in) a Newey built car, replaced their World Champion team mate with a guy who doesn't fit in the team and let the Michal have a brain fart in the right moment they could even win a title. They should think about letting an 11th team from the states into the sport, maybe with close ties to indicar, so we could see. (And to be fair, as far as I remember, Ron and McLaren didn't rally want Andretti, but Marlboro put a lot of pressure on the to sign a big name. Always bad if your Boss doesn't wan't you there to beginn with, good think that won't happen again)

[@chrisguardiano6143]

After Michael Andretti, the next American to race in F1 would be Scott Speed with Toro Rosso in 2006 & only lasted 28 races across two seasons before being replaced by Sebastian Vettel. Speed then went to NASCAR where he was absolutely terrible driving for Red Bull (yes Red Bull did enter a NASCAR team which was much less successful than their F1 team). It wasn't until Speed entered rallycross that he began to find success winning multiple races across various championships.

[@youturbo2478]

Michael was so dominant in Indy that I was afraid that he could overshadow Senna's brilliance. The figures he was getting in F1 tho were not on par with his talent, what IMO is an evidence that something could be happening in the backstage. And I'm a Senna fan from Brazil.

[@LiamNI]

I'm gonna guess being 10 years out was a very easily explainable typo. It may be 10 years out, but 6 is beside 7 on most keyboards. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

[@ic3man]

Indycar drivers, I think would do well in F1: Ganassi: Scott Dixon (probably no chance of opportunity because of age)/Alex Palou Penske: all three drivers (Power probably no chance of opportunity because of age) Arrow McLaren: all three drivers (Alexander Rossi never had a chance with Manor) Andretti Global: Colton Herta/Kyle Kirkwood RLL: Graham Rahal (probably no chance because of age)/Christian Lundgaard Meyer Shank: Felix Rosenqvist/David Malukas Juncos: (neither, Grosjean already raced F1 with respectable success despite not winning a race and Agustin Canapino would probably end up lasting only a season) ECR: Rinus VeeKay Foyt/Coyne: neither 15 of Indycar’s 25 drivers I think could have at worst a respectable career.

[@jacekatalakis8316]

Back in the day, circa early 2000s, Dario was linked with a drive at Jaaaaag as well and one of the races, I think it was Michigan one year had an interview about it and a clip of Dario testing. I'm wondering how up to speed in the car he was and how well he meshed with the Jag team. As we know Franchitti stayed in CART around that time though it does make me wonder how he'd do with the early 2000s Jaaaag cars, probably not too wellwas.

[@danielhenderson8316]

I'm not sure about David Malukas. So far, he's only shown that he can over perform with lesser equipment on ovals. He still hasn't shown he's a threat on road/street courses, and as much as I like Graham Rahal, he'd likely qualify last and finish 11th if his current form would transition.

[@nickb2049]

@@jacekatalakis8316 both Dario and Dixon had F1 tests in the 2000s and both did very well. both turned down taking things further because they were happy with where they were. Dixon just came off winning the title and tested for Honda, I think he made the right choice staying put lol

[@jacekatalakis8316]

@@nickb2049 I think Dario made the right choice to, but now not sure if it was 2000 or 2001, and with hindsight knowing how awful the Jag team was I think he made the right decision too

[@daveblock4061]

Michael's dismissal to living in England and being accessible daily to Woking cost him in 1993 and is costing him even more now.

[@DanoFSmith-yc9tg]

Is it really costing him? What is the tax rate in your monarchy? I'd much rather live in a southern United state than England. Don't blame the guy. I think British arrogance robbed the sport of one of the greatest drivers on the planet, and cost their sport millions for nearly a decade, while fans were split between 2 series.

[@AidanMillward]

@@DanoFSmith-yc9tgfor the wages he’d have been earning? 40%

[@palm92]

@@DanoFSmith-yc9tg Andretti's arrogance cost him. He was one of the greatest CART drivers ever, sure (in my opinion THE best.) Are Eric Bernard and Aguri Suzuki also some of the greatest drivers ever? Because they have the exact same number of podiums as Michael does, and they never had McLarens. His time in F1 was a disaster, almost entirely self-inflicted. He refused to live in the country and test. He totally wasted a fantastic ride. It didn't cost F1 anything (they had insane growth in the Schumacher era.) and CART was at it's zenith in the 90s/early 00s.

[@Woodie-xq1ew]

@@DanoFSmith-yc9tg60% of F1 amounts of cash is better than 100% of nothing

[@palm92]

Very annoying that (some) think that McLaren intentionally throwing results to screw over Michael.

[@AlisonCreech]

I think you missed Christiano DaMatta as an Indycar Champ who went to F1. Also a disaster.

[@energyracing1]

Please do one for JV, I’ve met him a few times in Montreal

[@robertpuffer9721]

I just want to note the 26 car fields in 1993 meaning their were 13 teams. Perhaps that should be the amount of teams F1 should allow.

[@danielpooley7148]

Yeah I don’t think Ron Dennis wouldn’t of been to thrilled about sitting on the pit wall

[@FMAlchemist2006]

Also Christiano Da Matta went to F1 to drive for Toyota the year after he won the Champ Car championship.

[@Ryzard]

People looking down on indycar/its drivers typically also are very uneducated about it.

[@zeeshanhaque]

Michael Andretti is my favorite driver, think he could have been a successful F1 driver if things worked out on the engine front & had some more testing