​Motorsport photoMario Andretti and Jacky Ickx were remarkably versatile even by the standards of their generation, competing and succeeding across multiple disciplines. Having won some of the biggest prizes in motorsport between them, both can look back on their journeys with immense pride. But competition was only one part of the story, and the relationship Andretti and Ickx built stands out from the rest in motor racing.So, when the two joined Motorsport.com on a video call for a special double interview, it felt like two old friends had been reunited. The pair always got along well when they were team-mates at Ferrari in Formula 1 and the World SportsCar Championship. But it’s remarkable how, six decades after they first met at the Mexican Grand Prix in 1968, their admiration and affection for each other remain undimmed.“You have to explain to me how you stay in such good condition, because you look good,” Ickx said of Andretti. “I understand, yesterday you won [IndyCar’s Freedom 250] and you finished on the podium. You have many reasons to smile. We hope at Genesis to be like you.“You are amazing, my dear Mario. It brings me some emotions to think that what we did more than almost 60 years ago – yes, almost 60 years ago.“You are the most famous driver – the celebrated, the iconic Mario Andretti. I had the fortune to share with you, it was yesterday, I believe, 1972, in a Ferrari 312 PB. So thank you very much.” Andretti, clearly touched by Ickx’s praise, simply replied: “No, thank you. You were the best.”Endurance exploits ​brought them togetherJacky Ickx, Mario Andretti, Ferrari 312 PBJacky Ickx, Mario Andretti, Ferrari 312 PBWhen you see that kind of admiration from the pair, it’s easy to understand why they formed such a formidable pairing on track. It was in 1971 when they first shared a garage, teaming up at Ferrari for a double programme. Even as reliability held them back in F1, both scored a win each, with Andretti – who wasn’t even racing full-time – driving the 312B to victory on his debut outing for Enzo’s squad. It was in sportscars, though, that their partnership really flourished. Their similar physical dimensions already made life easy for Ferrari’s designers, but it was ultimately mutual respect and understanding that turned them into such a formidable pair. Ickx, for instance, famously let Andretti qualify the car according to the American’s preference.As a result, Ferrari dominated the 1972 season, with Andretti and Ickx winning four of the 11 races together, including Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen and Brands Hatch. Had Ferrari not skipped Le Mans after concluding its F1-derived engine wasn’t fit for a 24-hour contest (that year’s Daytona race was reduced to six hours), the pair would most certainly have been among the victory contenders at the legendary La Sarthe.Andretti admitted that sharing a car in endurance racing brought him and Ickx together, laying the foundation for a frien