"Oh my god": When Mario Andretti nearly broke his wrist celebrating grandson Marco's historic Indy 500 pole

American motorsport legend, Mario Andretti, back in 2020, was amazed by his grandson, Marco Andretti's heroics in the Indy 500 Fast 9 qualifying session. The latter secured a sensational pole at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ahead of IndyCar veteran and six-time champion Scott Dixon.

Before Marco Andretti's 2020 pole position in the Indy 500 qualifying session, the last Andretti to do the same was Mario Andretti himself. The latter secured pole way back in 1987 when Marco was only two months old.

In line with his grandson's pole, Mario Andretti was initially worried, looking at the timing sheets and who the former had to go up against. During the 2020 Fast 9 qualifying session, Chip Ganassi Racing driver Scott Dixon was putting in some stellar laps, and this got the now-85-year-old worried.

However, after the end of the four-lap average speed session, Marco Andretti was just able to get the better of Dixon. Andretti managed an average speed of 231.068 mph in his #98 Andretti racecar, whereas Dixon was able to manage 231.051 mph.

After the end of the session, Mario Andretti was immensely pleased and thus, via a post-race interaction with IndyCar, said:

"I slammed my fist down so hard on the table, I think I broke it. And I have to drive the two-seater next week when I come out there to Indianapolis."

While specifically talking about his grandson's fight with Dixon, he added:

"That was it, that was my concern. That’s why I figured: ‘Oh my God. Who does he have to beat?’ He had to beat the best, and that is Scott Dixon. I figured, ‘Oh, my goodness.’ Leading up to that, three of his teammates must have overreacted to the setups. But I have to credit the team for not getting over-engineered. Sometimes, it’s easy to over-engineer to compensate for conditions."

Despite starting the 2020 Indy 500 (200 laps) from pole position, Marco Andretti was only able to manage a P13 finishing position.

Mario Andretti is on the board of directors for Cadillac's 2026 F1 entry

While Mario Andretti was on cloud nine with his grandson's pole in the 2020 Indy 500 Fast 9 qualifying session, the former is one of the prominent figures in regard to Cadillac's 2026 entry into Formula 1.

Andretti, during his racing days, competed in 131 Grand Prix events (128 race starts) and even lifted the drivers' championship in 1978. Cadillac is banking on his experience, and thus, he has been added to the team's board of directors.

The American outfit is yet to announce its driver line-up for next year, and in line with this, Mario talked about the prospect of having Sergio Perez in one of the seats. Back in May 2025, he said (via Fox Sports):

"All I can tell you is that he’s [Perez] certainly one of the drivers that’s being considered. He has to be."

Other than Sergio Perez, the 10-time F1 Grand Prix winner Valtteri Bottas is also heavily linked with the team for 2026.