Mario Andretti mourns 'loved' F1 and Le Mans winner Jochen Mass

Racing legend Mario Andretti has reacted to the death of former F1 and Le Mans racer Jochen Mass. The German driver passed away at the age of 78 in Cannes, France, owing to complications ensuing from a stroke in February this year.

Mass raced in F1 for 10 years for several teams, and earned his sole race victory with McLaren in the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix. He stood on eight podiums in his career, including the one before retiring from F1 in 1982. He raced against Mario Andretti in those years and was an active driver during the 1978 season, when Andretti won the championship with Lotus.

In 1989, Jochen Mass won the fabled 24 Hours of Le Mans with Sauber-Mercedes. It was his first attempt at the race with Sauber, after years of association with Porsche, and ninth overall.

The news of Mass' passing was shared by his family on Sunday, May 4. Andretti shared his heartfelt condolences to his family and paid a touching tribute to the late racer via an X post.

"R.I.P. Jochen Mass. A proper racer, great competitor and truly one of the good guys in our world. My sincere condolences to his family and to those who loved him; please know that we fellow racers loved him too," the 85-year-old wrote.

Mario Andretti was in the Miami Grand Prix F1 paddock the past weekend. He is the director of the Cadillac F1 team, which unveiled a teaser of its livery and a new logo for when it will enter F1 as the 11th team in 2026.

Mario Andretti finds a new "home" with the Cadillac F1 team

Mario Andretti at the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500 - Source: Getty

Mario Andretti's role as director of Cadillac F1 is limited to him serving in an advisory capacity. This was a voluntary decision, as he was never interested in the business side of racing. It was out of that disinterest that he never led or founded a racing team after retiring as a driver.

But because his son, Michael Andretti, was the opposite and bought an IndyCar team, Mario found a home in IndyCar, in the garages and on the pit wall of Andretti Global.

The Cadillac F1 project was also Michael's dream. Unfortunately, he had to step aside from his organization after sensing some 'personal' tension with Formula One Management. Nonetheless, his father found a new home as director of the F1 team.

"As I came out of the cockpit, the best thing is that my son Michael was continuing even when he stepped out of the cockpit as an owner. So I felt that I had a home when I went to the races, not just that [I] arrived there as a spectator or so forth.

"And that's what I like about the situation that we will have in Formula One. Finally I could go to a Formula 1 race and I will have a home, a place to be where, the team, that's part of us," he said via ESPN.

Cadillac had a launch party in Miami on Saturday for its 2026 entry. The team has yet to finalize its driver lineup, a job that Mario Andretti is tasked with.