From bonded team mates to rivals turned friends - 10 of F1’s best bromances

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Mario Andretti and Ronnie Peterson

When reflecting back on his extensive motorsport career, Mario Andretti has stated that he had “just four really close friends” amongst the drivers he raced with. One of these was Ronnie Peterson, his Lotus team mate in 1978.

Andretti had initially been uncertain about having Peterson in the team, with the arrangement being that the American would remain as the squad’s number one driver. But along the way the pair developed a close bond, despite also battling each other for the title.

“We had a personal relationship outside of the track,” Andretti told F1’s Beyond The Grid podcast in 2023. “We both had young families and our wives got on quite well. When he would come to the States, we’d go up to the lake and we had so much fun, competing against one another, playing tennis.”

Arriving into Round 14 of 16 held at Monza, Andretti led his team mate by 12 points in the standings. When the race got underway, Peterson was involved in a horrible start-line collision that sent his Lotus into the barriers, and the Swede passed away due to complications from his injuries the next day.

The result of the race gave Andretti his sole World Championship in Formula 1, but the death of his friend cast a shadow over the triumph. As he summarised years on: “I could not celebrate. How could I celebrate? I lost one of my best friends and I could not believe that I lost him.”

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