Exclusive: Andretti blown away by 'unexpected' Cadillac F1 chassis tribute

The list is long and distinguished, but to the 1978 world champion Mario Andretti, having Cadillac's first-ever Formula 1 chassis named after him is right up there with one of the great honours of his career.

Andretti and his son Michael were key players in getting the championship’s newest start-up squad off the ground, even if the latter took a step back as the squad morphed into the Cadillac F1 team.

But Mario’s indomitable racing spirit has still been a huge inspiration to CEO Dan Towriss, team principal Graeme Lowdon and their brand-new outfit and as a show of respect, Cadillac's maiden chassis has been dubbed the MAC-26, short for Mario Andretti Cadillac.

The 86-year-old flew to Australia to witness the team's Melbourne debut first-hand, and the icon caught up with Autosport hours before the race to talk about what he said was a thrilling gesture from Cadillac's executives.

“Indeed it is,” he said, when asked if the chassis name was one of the great honours of his legendary career. “That's a first and it's quite a tribute, for sure. I certainly didn't expect that they would think of doing that for me. I already have the plaque they presented to me right next to my world championship trophy in my trophy case.”

Cadillac Chassis MAC-26 Mario Andretti Cadillac 26

Photo by: Cadillac Communications

"And the car looks very good! Once everything is settled down somewhat, I want to take a ride sometime in one of these. Secretly!,” he then chuckled. 

The American said he was proud the team made it into the Australian Grand Prix starting grid after an arduous journey to get there, praising the many staff members who committed to the project before it was even granted an official entry.

"I tell you what, the result that I've seen in this team is something to be admired, trust me," he beamed with pride. "There are some very experienced people that have taken the risk of coming to us before anything was approved, seeing the potential and the long-term commitment. That's why right now, we've got work to do. Let's concentrate on that. I'm only dwelling on the positives. I think everything is in a good place.

"The top management from Cadillac is here. There's a lot of pride that goes along with it and they're committing like you wouldn't believe, so that's good for the sport. That's what we want - the biggest auto manufacturer in the United States, for the first time in history, has committed to Formula 1."

That's also why Andretti welcomes fellow US giant Ford into F1 as a partner of Red Bull, having achieved some of his greatest successes driving for the Blue Oval. This includes the 1967 Daytona 500 and 12 Hours of Sebring, while his 1969 Indy 500 win also came in a Ford-powered car.

The long-running rivalry between Cadillac and Ford already ignited before the 2026 season got underway, and according to Andretti that can only be a good thing. "Yeah, that's all good stuff," he said. "That competition brings out the best in all of us, so we welcome that as well. It's more eyeballs on the sport."

"You can tell Colton Herta truly wants to do it"

Colton Herta, Hitech TGR

Photo by: James Sutton / Formula 1 / Formula Motorsport Ltd via Getty Images

Across the Australian Grand Prix weekend, Andretti also paid close attention to the team's development driver Colton Herta, who finished runner-up in the 2024 IndyCar standings for the Andretti Global outfit and is now trying to carve a path to F1 via Formula 2 at Hitech. 

Herta finished seventh with a controlled drive in Sunday morning's feature race to open his account in F1's feeder series, after finishing outside of the points in the partially-reversed sprint contest. 

"You can tell he truly, truly wants to do it," said Mario, as he passionately thumped the table with both hands. "And it has to begin there, with that passion inside and I like that. I respect that tremendously."

"It's tough competition," Andretti acknowledged. "And I thought he really used his head today. He just wanted to finish and get a feel for things. Practice and testing is limited and he's never been here, so I have a lot of respect for that decision."