Interview
Mario Andretti confirms: 'Will be driving McLaren at COTA'
- GPblog.com
Undoubtedly, he will become the oldest driver ever to compete in a (modern) Formula 1 car during a Grand Prix weekend: this coming weekend, Mario Andretti (82) will do some demo runs at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in the 2013 McLaren, he exclusively confirmed in conversation with GPblog. The most successful, American driver in history will drive the same car he drove a few laps in at Laguna Seca last Sunday.
The weekend in Austin is largely dominated by Andretti. For instance, the circuit is naming the final corner after the motorsport icon, who was the first to drive a lap on the then newly constructed COTA in 2012. The ceremony is Thursday, but fans will also see Andretti on the track thanks to demo runs.
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At Laguna Seca - the place where he once fought his last IndyCar race - Andretti drove a few laps with the McLaren on Sunday. "It was very very interesting, everything That I was hoping for. We had some issues getting fitted up properly, couldn't move things about. We might be doing a little better for COTA next week. I think I'll get to drive it there a couple of times. I just couldn't get to hustle the car the way I wanted to, I couldn't."
It was a first introduction to a modern F1 car for Andretti. Almost immediately, he felt at home in the cockpit. "It's amazing how quickly you can adapt to something, when you've done as much as I've done something like driving different cars and I just wanted to get the feel of what the latest I've driven, you know Michael owns some Indycars, some tested nobody knows so I have some feel."
No vintage events
Unfortunately for Andretti, it was no hybrid-era McLaren. But driving at Laguna Seca and soon COTA gives him great satisfaction. "I'm always interested in the latest, I'm not soo much interested in the cars from the 80's or 90's. I could have a lot of these opportunities at these vintage events. I owe a great deal to Zach Brown, to McLaren for making this available for me and then also giving me the opportunity to drive at COTA."