IndyCar legend Bobby Rahal opens up on relationship with Mario Andretti: "I have tremendous respect for that"

IndyCar legend Bobby Rahal has opened up about his relationship with another legend of racing, Mario Andretti. The two racers went neck-to-neck in the premier American open-wheel racing series in the 1980s and early 90s.

Rahal debuted in IndyCar in 1982 with Truesports Co. and was on the money from the word go. He finished second in the championship in his rookie year, earning six podium finishes, including two race wins. The driver he idolized growing up, Mario Andretti, finished one place behind him, in P3.

Over the next decade, the Rahal versus Andretti rivalry intensified and carried on even after Mario retired from IndyCar. Bobby Rahal then battled with his rival's son, Michael Andretti, and produced equally mighty sparks, which included four championship battles.

Ahead of the IndyCar's 2025 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, where Rahal will be honored as the grand marshal, he spoke fondly of those rivalries and how he held Mario Andretti in high regard.

"I could compete against Mario any day (and) at the end of the race, I felt I had done something. It's weird when you race against your heroes, against these guys that you have respect for, and all of a sudden you're... I don't wanna say you're equal to them, but you're competing equally against them. That's kind of a weird deal," he said on the Pit Pass Indy podcast.

The 1986 Indy 500 winner further elaborated on Andretti Sr.'s journey from being in an Italian refugee camp during World War 2 to immigrating to America and charting a magnificent racing career.

"I have tremendous respect for Mario. He really made his own way. He came from nothing. Hard work, determination, brains, I mean, Mario is a super smart guy. I have a tremendous respect for that. I mean, we were always competitive - Rahal vs Andretti - whether it was Mario or Michael, it was an ongoing thing for a number of years."

Bobby Rahal's rivalry with one of IndyCar's most successful racing families also continued even after his retirement. His team, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, went head-to-head with Michael Andretti's Andretti Autosport (now Andretti Global) for over two decades in the series.

When Michael left IndyCar in September 2024 after four decades of involvement with the series, Rahal was disappointed. He felt it was "a shame" that it happened so abruptly in what was a "loss" for the sport.

When Bobby Rahal slammed F1 for 'insulting' Mario Andretti

Bobby Rahal at the Rolex 24 at Daytona - Source: Getty

Bobby Rahal was once furious with F1 when it rejected Cadillac F1's bid in 2023. The project was backed by General Motors and one of America's biggest racing names, Andretti Global. Michael Andretti was the man behind its birth.

However, in the early stages of the application, F1 didn't seem keen on getting the American team as an 11th team on the grid. Rahal, who worked as Team Principal of the Jaguar F1 team in the early 2000s, was highly critical of F1's stance.

Rahal called the pinnacle of motorsport a "closed society," one that didn't regard its fans' wishes. The three-time IndyCar champion said, via Autoweek:

"You’ve got General Motors, for God's sakes, wanting to go to Formula 1, and maybe it’s part of (F1’s) negotiations, which is to make the Andretti investors and General Motors pay even more than they already were willing to pay."

Defending the Andretti name created by Mario Andretti, Bobby Rahal added:

"But like I said, you’d think they’d be doing backflips to have Mario Andretti in the paddock area. And yet there doesn't seem to be that much interest. And it's kind of an insult to Mario, frankly."

F1 eventually approved Cadillac's bid in November 2024. The team will join the grid in 2026.