GRAND PRIX CURIOSITIES

By Carlos de Paula

 

Japanese Masahiro Hasemi goes down in history as the single GP driver with a 100% fastest lap performance. It is true that he raced a single time, in the Japanese Grand Prix of 1976, driving the Kojima, and some have disputed the accuracy of this fastest lap. Notwithstanding, Kojima has a 50% fastest lap performance, as the manufacturer only raced twice, in the Japanese Grand Prix of 1976 and 1977.

 

Few GP drivers end their careers with fourth place, most closing the book with retirements. However, three very prominent drivers did so. Juan Manuel Fangio drove to fourth place after a very strong drive at the French Grand Prix of 1958. Forty-eight years later, the man who shattered Fagio’s 5-championship record that at once seemed impossible to surpass, Michael Schumacher, also ended his F-1 career driving to a superb fourth place in the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix. Curiously, the man Schumacher replaced as Benetton’s number 1 driver for 1992, Brazil’s Nelson Piquet, also ended his F-1 career with a fourth place in the 1991 Australian Grand Prix.

 

Eery coincidence  I- Americans Phil Hill and Mario Andretti won their single championships under similar circumstances, wrapping up the title in Monza. As an additional coincidence, both lost their teammates in their title winning race, Wolfgang Von Trips in Hill’s case, Ronnie Peterson in Andretti’s. Adding to the coincidence, neither Hill nor Andretti would ever win further Grand Prix after winning the title, and both Von Trips and Peterson ended up runners up to their champion teammates!

 

Hill and Andretti were not alone. Quite a few other drivers never won a race after their single championship years. Mike Hawthorn retired after 1958 and Jochen Rindt died before actually being crowned champion in 1970. Two other drivers did not have the benefit of such excuse: Jody Scheckter and Jacques Villeneuve would never win again after their successful campaigns in 1979 and 1997, respectively.

 

A few champions were born in different countries than their stated nationality: American Andretti was born in Italy, Austrian Rindt was born in Germany and Finn Keke Rosberg was born in Sweden.

 

The only two drivers who managed to win their official championship GP debuts were Giuseppe Farina, winner of the inaugural championship event in 1950 (Britain) and another Italian, Giancarlo Baghetti, who won in France in 1961. However, these were not both drivers’ Formula 1 debuts: Farina had been driving at the highest level since the late 30’s, while Baghetti had already driven in two non-official Grand prix (winning both). This was pretty much the end of Baghetti’s success in the Grand Prix circuit, in fact he turned out to be one of the most unsuccessful GP winners ever.

 

Eerie coincidence II: October 6 was a dark day for two years running at Watkins Glen. In 1973, Francois Cevert was killed in practice for the US Grand Prix, while Helmut Koinnig was killed during the race in 1974.

 

The race with the lowest number of starters was the ridiculous US Grand Prix of 2005: six. It was only one of two races with 100% of starters finishing the race, the other being the Dutch GP of 1961, where a more impressive 15 cars started and finished the Grande Epreuve.

 

There were two cars named ATS, with no relation whatsoever to each other: the unsuccessful Italian operation of 1963/64, among others funded by a Bolivian tin impresario(!!), and Gunther Schmidt’s operation, that lasted from 1978 through 1984. Schmidt also has the honor of taking another (unsuccessful) crack at GP racing, with Rial in 1988-1989! Both ATS and Rial are wheel brands owned by Schmidt.

 

Between Von Trips’ GP wins of 1961 and Schumacher’s initial GP win in 1992, German drivers had poor performances at the front. For a time they seemed to be getting closer, as three German drivers managed to lead races between 1975 and 1977, in two cases under very unusual circumstances. In the disaster prone Spanish GP of 1975, Rolf Stommelen had found himself leading the race on merit, when the wing support of his Lola collapsed, causing Rolf to crash, and kill five spectators. Rolf would never again lead a GP. His countryman Jochen Mass, who led a single lap of that race, the last one, ended up declared the winner of the half-race, winning half points for his trouble. In the German Grand Prix of 1976, though, Mass was poised to walk away with the race: he was the only driver to start on slicks, on a drying track, and by the end of the first lap he was 30 seconds in front of the second placed car. Unfortunately, Niki Lauda had his terrifying crash, the race was interrupted and Mass’ advantage evaporated in the second start. He would never get to prove that he was able to win a GP on merit. Finally, Hans Stuck led the US Grand Prix from the front row in 1977, only to crash with transmission trouble. Poor Stefan Bellof, who many considered future world champion material, died after a few starts for down on power (and luck) Tyrrel in 1984 and 1985.

 

Chris Amon was not only the unluckiest GP driver ever, but he also was the driver who drove the largest variety of makes, having raced or attempted to qualify a total of 13 marques: Lola, Lotus, Brabham, Cooper, Ferrari, March, Matra, Tecno, Tyrrel, Amon, BRM, Ensign and Williams.  He experienced a large number of engines as well: Climax 1.5, BRM 1.5, BRM 2.0 (V8), BRM 3.0 (V12), Maserati 3.0, Ferrari 3.0, Cosworth 3.0, Matra 3.0, Tecno 3.0.

 

Another prolific driver in terms of variety was Stirling Moss. He drove HWM, ERA, Connaught, Cooper, Maserati, Mercedes Benz, Vanwall, BRM, Lotus. He also practiced a Porsche and a Scarab, and was disqualified  when he took over the Ferguson four wheel drive car from Jack Fairman in the British GP of 1961. Moss was by far the driver with most engine experience: Alta 4 (2.0), Bristol 6 (2.0), Lea Francis (2.0), Maserati 2.5, Mercedes Benz 2.5, Vanwall 2.5, Climax 4 (2.5), BRM 2.5, Climax 1.5.     

 

Moss was also the man who won races in the greatest number of makes: five. He won races driving for Maserati, Mercedes Benz, Vanwall, Cooper and Lotus. A few drivers won races in four different makes: Fangio (Mercedes, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari and Maserati), Prost (McLaren, Renault, Ferrari, Williams), Stewart (BRM, Matra, March, Tyrrel).

 

Eerie coincidence III: Lotus lost drivers in three of the six years in which it won the championship (Clark in 1968, Rindt in 1970 and Peterson in 1978). The last man to win in a Lotus, Ayrton Senna (Detroit GP, 1987), died in 1994, the same year in which the make itself disappeared from Grand Prix racing.

 

A large number of French drivers won their first (or only) race at Monaco: Maurice Trintignant, Jean Pierre Beltoise, Patrick Depailler, Olivier Panis. Curiously, the Frenchmen who won more often (Prost, Laffitte, Arnoux), won their first races elsewhere.

 

A few drivers scored pole position in their very first race: Farina (British GP 1950), Mario Andretti (US GP, 1968), Carlos Reutemann (Argentina , 1972), Jacques Villeneuve (Australia, 1997). But for one race, Andretti came close to scoring pole in his last race as well: he was on pole at Italy, 1982, but he also raced one final time at Las Vegas that same year.      

 

Eerie coincidence IV: Shadow lost two top drivers at Kyalamy, South Africa: Peter Revson in practice for the 1974 race, Tom Pryce in the actual race, in 1977.

 

John Watson won five races, but he made a statement when he did. He was the only man to win from lower than a 20th starting place, when he won at Long Beach in 1983, having started a lowly 22nd. He also won another U.S. street race, the Detroit GP, starting 17th.

 

The longest run of single championship winners was 1978 through 1980. Mario Andretti, Jody Scheckter and Alan Jones won single championships. It is curious to note that the 1976 and 1982 title winners were also single timers (James Hunt and Keke Rosberg) so this era was definitely the opposite of what we have today!    

 

Jim Clark was the only driver to win a GP in a 16 cylinder car in the modern era, driving the unloved BRM H16 engined Lotus to victory in the 1966 US Grand Prix.

 

A few GP drivers were born in rather exotic locations, although holding more common nationalities. Brit Mike Beuttler was born in Egypt, while Frenchman Jo Schlesser was born in Madagascar.

 

Many reputable Grand Prix resources report Brazilian Fritz D’Orey died in 1961. In fact, D’Orey had a severe crash at Le Mans the previous year, was reported dead by much of the specialized press, but he is alive and kicking to this day!

 

On the subject of Brazilian drivers, until the arrival of Emerson Fittipaldi in 1970, their appearances were far and few, but things seemed to be changing in the early 1956 season: Brazilian drivers scored points in two races back to back: Landi scored 1.5 points from fourth in Argentina, while Da Silva Ramos scored 2 points from 5th in Monaco. Then, there was a long drought until 1970! 

 

Long spans: Jan Lammers took a whopping ten years to go back to GP racing. He dropped out of the GP circuit for the first time in 1982, and after enjoying a successful career in sports cars, he tried GP racing again in 1992, without success. It also took Mario Andretti ten years to win his single 1978 Formula 1 title, having debuted in 1968.

 

Eerie coincidence V: Roger Penske lost his great friend and long time collaborator Mark Donohue in the Austrian Grand Prix of 1975, through a very freaky accident. In 1976, the Penske team was not only back at the Osterreichring, but it also won the race with John Watson, only to quit GP racing at the end of the year!

 

Bernie Ecclestone actually tried to qualify a 2.5 Connaught in two Grand Prix in 1958. He failed both times, becoming much more successful as team owner and Formula 1 supremo. Lotus’ Colin Chapman almost started a single GP in 1956, but surprisingly, it was not in a Lotus: he was slated to drive a Vanwall. He did not start the race and was supposed to start 5th!

 

The last GP driver to wear an open faced helmet in a GP event was Finn Leo Kinnunen, in 1974.

 

Arrows, known as the make which run more GP races without scoring a single win, almost won its second Grand Prix! Riccardo Patrese qualified 7th and had worked his way up to the front in the debuting team’s FA1 design.

 

Jean Pierre Jabouille apparently knew how to win GPs better than just plainly scoring points. He won two Grand Prix, including the first ever by a turbo-engined GP car, and scored only one additional time, a 4th place, out of 49 starts!

 

The Rob Walker team was by far the most successful privateer team, having won seven races with Stirling Moss, one race with Maurice Trintignant and one race with Jo Siffert. One of Ferrari’s 1961 wins (Baghetti) were achieved by a FISA entered car, but it was really a works entry. Additionally, Jackie Stewart won the 1970 Spanish Grand Prix driving a non-factory March. Nominally at least, Emerson Fittipaldi did not win the 1972 World Championship in Monza driving a factory Lotus: the car was entered under the name World Wide Racing. The Italian judiciary was still looking into Rindt’s 1970 death, and Colin Chapman was advised to enter the team under a different name, just in case, lest the judiciary impound his equipment. But it was still the Lotus works!

 

In 2006, the national level championship that by far boasts the largest number of former formula 1 drivers is the Brazilian Stock Cars championship, six. The following ex GP drivers are racing in the championship: Chico Serra, Ingo Hoffmann, Christian Fittipaldi, Tarso Marques, Raul Boesel and Luciano Burti.

 

Lola, the top racing car manufacturer, was involved in Formula 1 as a chassis suppliers, several times from the early 60s until the 90’s. When it did decide to enter the championship as a works team, in 1998, with plans for a proprietary engine, no less, the company almost folded, the effort lasting a single race. The entry was to be funded by a novel, yet rather naïve, sponsorship scheme through Mastercard. Lola initially provided chassis to teams such as Bowmaker and Reg Parnell, in the first years of the 1.5 liter formula. Next, it was involved  with Honda, in 1967/1968, and then the manufacturer quit F-1. In 1974 and 1975, Lola provided chassis for Graham Hill’s team. It would also provide chassis for the short lived Beatrice/Force team, in 1985/1986, settling the longest with the Larrousse team from 1987 to 1993. The marque won a single race, the 1967 Italian Grand Prix, mostly identified in the record books as a proprietary Honda chassis, and led in other occasions. 

March private entries

March was present in F-1 in three distinct times, the first of which lasted from 1970-1977. During that initial period, March was the major provider of chassis to privateers. In fact, in its very first season, March provided chassis to several teams, in addition to running a 2-car works team. The most important privateer team that year was Tyrrell, which fielded cars for current champion Jackie Stewart, Servoz-Gavin and Cevert. And Tyrrell was indeed the last privateer team to have won a Grand Prix, the Spanish GP of 1970. In addition to Tyrrell, Andy Granatelli (STP) fielded a March 701 for Mario Andretti, who raced in a few events, finishing a best 3rd place. Colin Crabbe/Antique Automobiles also fielded a 701 for Ronnie Peterson, and Hubert Hahne also bought a 701. The latter became very flustered when he could not get the car up to competitive speed to qualify for the German GP, claiming March provided him a defective car. When Ronnie Peterson drove his car and immediately got it up to a relatively competitive pace, a despondent Hahne quit racing.

For 1971, the main March privateer was Frank Williams, who fielded a 711 for Henri Pescarolo. Henri scored a few points, but most importantly, posted the fastest lap at the Italian Grand Prix, which for many years stood as the fastest racing lap in a Grand Prix. Jean Max also drove a Williams March 711 in France. Francois Mazet drove a Jo Siffert entered March 701 in France, Skip Barber drove a Gene Mason entered March 711 in Holland and the North American races, and Mike Beutler was entered in a March 711 sponsored by his stockbroker friends Clarke-Mordaunt-Guthrie, in a few races. Shell Arnold entered a March 701 for Jean Pierre Jarier in Italy.
Frank Williams again fielded Marches in 1972, a 721 for Pescarolo and a 711 for Pace. The debuting Brazilian was the only one to score points in the team. Beuttler again drove a 721 in several races, while the Eifelland team entered a modified March 721 for Rolf Stommelen. The unusual bodywork car is sometimes referred as an Eifelland. Skip Barber again fielded his 711 in the USA and Canadian Grand Prix.

Mike Beuttler was again sponsored by his stockbroker friends (plus Durlacher), quitting F-1 at the end of the year. The most competitive March 731 privateer was unquestionably James Hunt, entered by Hesketh, in a car engineered by Harvey Posthlethwaite. While the works team scored no points, Hunt got a couple of podiums, coming very close to victory in the USA, scoring a fastest lap as well. Team Pierre Robert entered a 731 for Reine Wissel in Sweden, while LEC Refrigeration entered a 731 for David Purley in a few races.

Hesketh entered the March in the first two races of the year, eventually fielding the proprietary Hesketh in 1974. Mike Wilds failed to qualify a Dempster International 731 in England. Although the entry lists were overly subscribed for many 1974 races, there were fewer March privateer appearances than in previous years.



In 1975 it was much the same. In fact, the only privateer March to be fielded that year was a 751 entered by Penske for Mark Donohue. Penske was having problems with his own chassis, and the competitive March (at least in Brambilla’s hands) appeared a good benchmark to learn more about F-1. Donohue raced it only in England and Germany, scoring points in Silverstone, then was killed in Austria.

For 1976 March had two works teams with a total of four drivers for many races. Peterson was back in the team, but both he and Stuck were nominally entered by Theodore Racing in Long Beach. Basically, there were no private March entries in 1976, although Karl Oppitzhauser attempted to field one in the Austrian GP, but his entry was refused.

This was more than made up for in 1977, when a flood of 761’s appeared outside the works team. Arturo Merzario raced an example under the Team Merzario banner, managing to qualify it 14th out of 32 in Belgium, which was the highlight of the year. Brett Lunger was entered by Chesterfield Racing in a few races, eventually changing to a McLaren M23. After losing his team to Walter Wolf, Frank Williams entered a 761 for Patrick Neve from the Spanish GP on, managing a 7th in Italy, the closest a March came to scoring that year. RAM Racing entered 761s for Boy Hayje, Mikko Kozarowitsky Andy Sutcliffe and Michael Bleekemolen, without setting the world on fire. Brian Henton entered a 761 under British Formula 1 racing for himself and Bernard de Dryver.

At the end of the year, March discontinued its Formula 1 operations until 1982.