“He is racing with all his friends again.” This was what the family of a former Formula 1 racer wrote in its statement recently. Jochen Mass had left a glittering trail on racing circuits. He competed in 114 Formula 1 grands prix and secured eight podium finishes. He also won the Le Mans 24 Hours with Switzerland-based Sauber in 1989. Now, the German motorsports legend is somewhere beyond this world, mingling with bygone F1 racers. Meanwhile, Mario Andretti wishes that he could have raced with him one more time.
The Italian F1 legend has his hands full at the moment. Mario Andretti is preparing for the new 11th team on the F1 grid, Cadillac, as the consultant and advisor to the General Motors outfit. Even amidst his busy schedule, Andretti took out time to pay tribute to his former colleague.
Mario Andretti shares his love
After all, Jochen Mass left an indelible mark on the F1 grid. Aside from his expansive career as a racer in F1, Mass also clinched 32 world championship victories in sports car racing with Alfa Romeo, Porsche, and Sauber-Mercedes. From 1993 to 1997, Mass was a co-commentator on F1 for the German broadcaster RTL Deutschland. During his latter years, Mass worked as a mentor and driver coach on the Mercedes young driver programme. This marked his final three years at Sauber when he helped Michael Schumacher before the future seven-time world champion entered F1. So when his family rolled out a tragic piece of news on Instagram on Sunday, the racing world was left shattered. They revealed that the German racing veteran passed away at the age of 78, due to complications from a stroke suffered in February. This prompted Mario Andretti to pay his respects.
The 1978 F1 World Champion was an active driver at the same time as Jochen Mass. Consequently, the two racers had frequently met in the course of their careers. That is how Mario Andretti came close to Mass’s evergreen personality in the world of F1. So the Italian veteran penned a heartfelt message in his tribute on X: “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.”
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. https://t.co/bXtPhger08
— Mario Andretti (@MarioAndretti) May 5, 2025
Jochen Mass’s presence in Formula One has been undeniably prominent. However, his only F1 Grand Prix victory was marred by tragedy. He won for McLaren in the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona’s Montjuic circuit. Sadly, that race was cut short with half points awarded after Rolf Stommelen’s Lola left the track and killed four spectators. Then Mass’s career witnessed another tragedy in 1982, in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder. Canadian Gilles Villeneuve’s Ferrari crashed after a collision with Mass’s March 821 car, and the latter retired after one year. Notably, Villeneuve’s son and 1997 world champion, Jacques, assured Mass that he was never blamed for the tragedy.
Now that Jochen Mass has left this earth, his surviving compatriots, including Mario Andretti, miss him deeply. Mass left heavy marks in the sport, while Andretti is still looking to make more marks.
Taking a slow decision for next year
After all, the Andretti family went through a lot to secure their rightful place in F1. Back in 2023, Michael Andretti had floated the idea of owning an F1 team. Despite optimistic progress, Liberty Media had rejected their application at the beginning of 2024. Yet F1 reversed that decision by the end of last season, as a collaboration with GM gave Andretti Global the chance to make its own team. Now, as Cadillac F1 gears up to debut in 2026, Mario Andretti is making sure that everything falls in place. Currently, Cadillac is looking for a driver, and a few options pop up. Multiple-time IndyCar winner Colton Herta is one of the leading candidates for one of the seats. Then there is also Sergio Perez, Valtteri Boltas, and Kevin Magnussen.
Whatever the choice will be, the 85-year-old Mario Andretti made it clear that the decision will be a good one. He said, “First of all, a driver has to be available. Experience plays an important role. But when you look at the available pool of drivers, you have to seize the opportunity as late as possible. Because you don’t want to miss out on any great opportunities…We know in the back of our minds who we’d like to have, but if a better opportunity arises, we don’t want to miss it. We can’t commit to anything yet. There are definitely a lot of interested drivers who would love to be on board.”
Evidently, Mario Andretti is keeping his spark alive as a major F1 asset. At the same time, another legendary asset left the F1 world in mourning. We wish Jochen Mass’s family our deepest condolences.
The post “R.I.P.”: Mario Andretti Pays His Respects After Former Le Mans Winner Unexpectedly Passes Away appeared first on EssentiallySports.