The last 60 minutes of qualifying on a hot Saturday, September 11, at the Monza circuit. All attention was focused on Ferrari, Brabham and Renault. Who would get pole position. First set of tyres had done their work; the second sets came on. Patrick Tambay (Ferrari) was the first one to set the fastest time: 1’28”830. Then it was Piquet with 1’28’508. Patrese and Arnoux tried, not good. But then a red Ferrari with number 28 took the Lesmo2 flat out and did 1’28”473, average speed: 236,004 km/h. Pole-Position. Monza went into a delirium with many ‘Ferrarista’ in tears. Mario said later: “those days stay with you your whole lifetime.”
At the wheel: Mario Andretti. For the final two races the Old Man, Enzo Ferrari, had asked old-timer Andretti to step in for Pironi and the Italian American, maybe aware of his F1 swansong at the age of 42, pulled something special out of his hat.
He had flown in from New York ten days before the race to have lunch with Enzo Ferrari and to have his seat fitted. He tested the 126C for 87 laps around Fiorano because he had no experience with turbo-engines race cars. But, he set a new lap record that day! He was already familiar with the team’s unique character having raced for them in the early Seventies. Andretti scored his initial Formula 1 victory at Kyalami on March 6, 1971 driving for Ferrari. All that brought him on the pole for the Italian GP!
His thoughts about the 126C : “the car was unbelievable. It was like sitting on a keg of dynamite; so much power.”
Mario had driven for Alfa Romeo during the 1981 season; he only scored points in one race. In Long Beach 1982 he had driven the Williams FW07. He felt there was still unfinished business.
Sadly, directly at the start in Monza he got problems with the throttle and the engine, so he had to turn down the power. At mid-race he had caught the leading trio Arnoux, Tambay and Prost. Prost had again the usual engine problem, so Mario could bring the car home in third position. It helped keep Ferrari’s championship challenge on course and he wrote his name into the Monza tifosi folklore once more.
More importantly, in the midst of a traumatic year he’d given Ferrari and their devoted following something to smile about. In the last race in Las Vegas, Mario again outqualified Tambay, but retired with a broken suspension. It would remain his 128th and final GP. Ferrari won the 1982 constructors championship.
Publication: 22/06/2024Back to overview
