Ronnie Peterson | |
|---|---|
 Peterson at the1978 Dutch Grand Prix | |
| Born | Bengt Ronnie Peterson (1944-02-14)14 February 1944 Örebro, Sweden |
| Died | 11 September 1978(1978-09-11) (aged 34) Milan, Italy |
| Cause of death | Injuries sustained at the 1978 Italian Grand Prix |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  Swedish |
| Active years | 1970–1978 |
| Teams | Crabbe,March,Lotus,Tyrrell |
| Entries | 123 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 10 |
| Podiums | 26 |
| Careerpoints | 206 |
| Pole positions | 14 |
| Fastest laps | 9 |
| First entry | 1970 Monaco Grand Prix |
| First win | 1973 French Grand Prix |
| Last win | 1978 Austrian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1978 Italian Grand Prix |
Bengt Ronnie Peterson (Swedish:[ˈrɔ̌nːɪˈpêtːɛˌʂɔn]; 14 February 1944 – 11 September 1978) was a Swedishracing driver, who competed inFormula One from1970 to1978. Nicknamed "Superswede",[a] Peterson twice finished runner-up in theFormula One World Drivers' Championship in1971 and1978, and won 10Grands Prix across nine seasons.
Peterson began his motor racing career inkart racing, traditionally the discipline where the majority of race drivers begin their careers inopen-wheel racing. After winning a number of karting titles, including two Swedish titles in 1963 and 1964, he moved on toFormula Three, where he won theMonaco Grand Prix Formula Three support race for the1969 Grand Prix. Later that year he won theFIA European Formula 3 Championship and moved up into Formula One, racing for theMarch factory team. In his three-year spell with the team, he took six podiums, most of which were scored during the1971 Formula One season in which he also finished as runner-up in the Drivers' Championship.
After seeing out his three-year contract at March, Peterson joinedColin Chapman'sTeam Lotus in the1973 season, partnering defending championEmerson Fittipaldi. During his first two seasons with Lotus, Peterson took seven victories, scoring a career-best 52 points in 1973. After a poor1975 season, Peterson moved back to March and scored his final victory for the team at the1976 Italian Grand Prix. After spending the1977 season withTyrrell, he moved back to Lotus for the1978 season as number two driver toMario Andretti. Peterson scored two wins, at theSouth African andAustrian Grand Prix races, and finished second in the Drivers' Championship standings despite his fatal first-lap accident at Monza during theItalian Grand Prix.[3]
Peterson was born in the bouroughAlmby inÖrebro,Sweden. He developed his driving style at a young age while competing inkarting, and rapidly worked his way up to the pinnacle of European karting before switching to cars.
After his karting years, Peterson enteredFormula Three racing in theSvebe, a 1-litre,Brabham-derived Formula car he co-designed with his father Bengt (who was a baker) and Sven Andersson.
Superb results from the outset quickly attracted the attention of the ambitiousTecno company from Italy, who signed him in 1968. With them, he won the 1969 Formula Three Championship.
Even after his elevation to F1 status Peterson still drove in lower echelon racing series (which was common at the time), winning the 1971 EuropeanFormula Two Championship driving for March.
Peterson made hisGrand Prix debut in aMarch 701 for Colin Crabbe's works-supportedAntique Automobiles Racing Team at the1970 Monaco Grand Prix. The limited budget of Crabbe's privateer team allowed only minimal testing, and Peterson qualified 12th out of 16 cars in the race. He was 10 places behindJackie Stewart andChris Amon, both on the front row of the grid in their newer specification 701s, but only just behind the more experiencedJo Siffert in the second works March. Peterson was the only March driver to finish the race, in seventh place.[4] In1971 Peterson moved up to the full March works team, and made an instant impression. Five Formula One Grand Prix second places earned him the position of runner-up to Jackie Stewart inthat year's World Championship. Within that year, Peterson drove in theWorld Sports Car Championship driving an Autodelta Alfa Romeo to win the Watkins Glen 6 hours.[5] Peterson stayed at March until 1973, when he signed forJohn Player Team Lotus to partnerEmerson Fittipaldi.
Peterson's first Grand Prix win was at the1973 French Grand Prix, held atPaul Ricard, in aLotus 72. He took three more wins that year, inAustria,Italy and theUnited States, but poor reliability restricted him to only third place in the World Championship at season's end.[6]
For1974, theLotus 76 was brought forth. The car, however, proved to be a failure, disliked by both Peterson and his teammateJacky Ickx. The team therefore opted to let them drive the much older Lotus 72s. Peterson did well in the old car and claimed three more victories: theFrench andItalian Grands Prix, as well as theMonaco Grand Prix.[2]
1975 was a bad year for Lotus. Peterson and Ickx were forced to drive with the now archaic 72 model, whose age was now really beginning to show.
Peterson had signed for Shadow but Lotus owner Colin Chapman convinced him to stay with Lotus due to a promise Chapman made to accelerate the rate of development on the Lotus 77. He drove thefirst race of 1976 in the Lotus 77 before rejoining March Engineering. Driving the March 761, he won theItalian Grand Prix.[5]
He also continued to drive sports cars, particularly for BMW in 1974 and 1975. For instance, he was paired withHans-Joachim Stuck in aBMW 3.0 CSL for the South African "Wynn's 1000" in November 1975, where they started on pole but finished in second after a number of stops with engine vibrations, spark plug, and similar problems.[7] Stuck and Peterson raced together for BMW in Europe, Africa, and also in North America.
In 1977, he raced forTyrrell, driving the six-wheelTyrrell P34B.[8] Peterson retired from the opening four races of 1977, he spun off inArgentina, was involved in a crash withJochen Mass'sMcLaren andClay Regazzoni'sEnsign inBrazil, and suffered fuel systems problems inSouth Africa andUnited States West. He finished eighth inSpain but retired atMonaco with brake failure. Peterson's only podium finish was a third place at a rain-affected race inBelgium.[8] Hopes were high at home inSweden but Peterson retired with ignition problems and then finished 12th atFrance. He had an engine failure inBritain, finished ninth atGermany and got fifth inAustria. Peterson retired with ignition problems atHolland, sixth inItaly and 16th in theUnited States. Peterson retired from the last two races of 1977, a fuel leak inCanada and inJapan, he collided withGilles Villeneuve'sFerrari but the crash killed a marshal and photographer as they were standing in a prohibited area of the track when the accident occurred.[9]
Peterson surprised many by leaving Tyrrell to return to John Player Team Lotus for 1978.[10]He won the1978 South African Grand Prix, with a last-lap victory overPatrick Depailler, as well as theAustrian Grand Prix, in the innovative 'ground effect'Lotus 79. His teammateMario Andretti won the Drivers' Championship with Peterson acting effectively as the Team "No. 2" with the pair scoring four 1–2 wins, all with Andretti at the lead.[10][11][12] Both of Peterson's wins occurred when Andretti encountered trouble, with Andretti winning once when Peterson failed to finish (not including theItalian Grand Prix). Many times, Peterson followed Andretti closely home, leading to speculation thatteam orders were in place.[13]
Throughout the 1970s Peterson had the reputation of being the fastest driver in F1 in terms of raw speed.[14] During the 1978 season Andretti would frequently post the faster qualifying time. Another view, held by some contemporary observers, was that while Peterson may have in fact been the outright quicker of the two, it was Andretti's considerable car development skills that brought the recalcitrant Lotus 78 and 79 to full potential, and Peterson's seeming deference to Andretti was a tacit acknowledgement of this.[citation needed] Despite this, Peterson was offered a seat at McLaren in 1979.[15] Peterson refused to contribute to any controversy, and on numerous occasions dismissed the speculation by stating that Andretti had simply turned the faster time.[citation needed]
The1978 Italian Grand Prix atMonza started badly for Peterson. In practice he damaged his Lotus 79 race car beyond immediate repair and bruised his legs in the process. Team Lotus had a spare 79, but it had been built for Andretti, and the much taller Peterson did not fit comfortably inside. The team's only other car was a type 78, the previous year's car, which had been dragged around the F1 circuit that season with minimal maintenance.
In the days after the race, many drivers on circuit stated that the race starter lit the green light for the race too early.[16] Although a Formula One start is meant to be astanding start for all cars in the field, the early green light meant that cars in the rear rows were still rolling when the green light came on. This resulted in cars in the back getting a jump on those at the front, and anaccordion effect as the cars approached the first chicane, bunching them tightly together. The front four, Andretti,Gilles Villeneuve,Jean-Pierre Jabouille andNiki Lauda, were far enough ahead to avoid any drama, but Peterson had made a poor start from the third row of the grid, and was immediately passed byAlan Jones,Jacques Laffite andJohn Watson.
Jody Scheckter andRiccardo Patrese, starting 10th and 12th, had moved to the right across the line that separated the Grand Prix front straight from the approach to the old Monza banking. While Scheckter's Wolf was able to rejoin the track well ahead of the bunching pack, Patrese moved back in just ahead ofJames Hunt, who feinted left and collided with Peterson, withVittorio Brambilla,Carlos Reutemann,Hans-Joachim Stuck,Patrick Depailler,Didier Pironi,Derek Daly,Clay Regazzoni andBrett Lunger all involved in the ensuing melee.[17]
Peterson's Lotus went into the barriers hard and caught fire before bouncing back into the middle of the track. He was trapped in the burning wreck, but Hunt, Regazzoni and Depailler managed to free him before he received more than minor burns, while track marshals were extinguishing the car. He was dragged free and laid in the middle of the track fully conscious, but with severe leg injuries. Hunt later said he stopped Peterson from looking at his legs to spare him further distress.
At the time there was more concern for Brambilla, who had been hit on the head by a flying wheel and was slumped comatose in his car. Brambilla was seriously hurt and did not race again in Formula One until a year later. Peterson's life was not seen to be in any danger.Sid Watkins and his medical team headed over to Brambilla's car to extract him from the wreckage. The injured drivers along with Peterson were taken to the hospitalOspedale Niguarda Ca' Granda inMilan and the race was restarted when the track had been cleaned up.[18]
At the hospital, Peterson's X-rays showed he had about 27 fractures in his legs and feet. After discussion with him, Peterson was sent to intensive care so that the surgeons could operate to stabilize the bones.[19] There was some level of dispute between the doctors regarding whether all fractures should be immediately fixed or not.[20] During the night, Peterson's condition worsened, and he was diagnosed withfat embolism.[21] By morning he was in fullkidney failure due to the embolism, and was declared dead at 9:55 am on 11 September 1978.[18][21][22]
His teammate Mario Andretti clinched the championship at the race.[23] "It was so unfair to have a tragedy connected with probably what should have been the happiest day of my career", Andretti said, "I couldn't celebrate, but also, I knew that trophy would be with me forever. And I knew also that Ronnie would have been happy for me".[23] Peterson took second place in the1978 drivers' standings posthumously.
Peterson competed in 123 Grand Prix races during his career, winning ten of them.
At his funeral, the pallbearers included Åke Strandberg, James Hunt, Jody Scheckter, John Watson, Emerson Fittipaldi,Gunnar Nilsson and Niki Lauda.[14][24]
Peterson is considered by some to be one of the best Formula One drivers to have never won a championship, as well as the best racing driver from Sweden.[25][26][27][28][29][30] In 2016, in an academic paper that reported a mathematical modeling study that assessed the relative influence of driver and machine, Peterson was ranked the 21st best Formula One driver of all time, and the sixth best to never win a title.[31]
Arrows driverRiccardo Patrese was blamed by several members of theGrand Prix Drivers' Association (mainly by James Hunt) for being a primary cause of the first lap wreck at the Italian Grand Prix. He was banned from competition for one race, from the1978 United States Grand Prix.
In 1979, George Harrison paid tribute to Peterson with a song and music video called "Faster".
The circumstances of Peterson's death were prosecuted in an Italian criminal court. Driver Riccardo Patrese and race director Gianni Restilli were both charged with roles; Patrese, for manslaughter because of an unsafe maneuver on track which was considered to be a primary cause of the wreck, and Restilli, as contributing to Peterson's death by starting the race with a premature start signal. Both were cleared of criminal charges on 28 October 1981.[32]
Peterson's widow Barbro (née Edwardsson) never got over his death and committed suicide on 19 December 1987. She was buried alongside Ronnie in the Peterson family grave in Örebro.[33] She and Ronnie had a daughter named Nina Louise (named afterJochen Rindt's wife) who was born in November 1975.[33][34]
There is a statue of Peterson in Örebro (59°15′43″N15°14′17″E / 59.26193°N 15.23812°E /59.26193; 15.23812) by Richard Brixel. The official Ronnie Peterson Museum was officially opened by Ronnie's daughter, Nina Kennedy, in Örebro on 31 May 2008. The museum closed in October 2009 because it was unable to secure further government funding.[35]
Superswede: A film about Ronnie Peterson (2017), directed by Henrik Jansson-Schweizer, with the participation of Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi, Nina Kennedy, and Niki Lauda, is available on YouTube, as are several other short tributes.
During the2014 Monaco Grand Prix fellow Swedish Formula One driverMarcus Ericsson wore a special helmet in tribute to Peterson which was modeled on Peterson's.[36] Ericsson wore a similar helmet en route to victory in the2022 Indianapolis 500.[37]
‡ Graded drivers not eligible for European Formula Two Championship points
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Malcolm Guthrie Racing | March 702 | Ford | THR DNS | HOC Ret | BAR Ret | ROU 6 | PER | TUL 5 | IMO 4 | HOC 3 | 4th | 14 | |||||||||
| 1971 | March Engineering | March 712M | Ford | HOC Ret | THR 2 | NÜR Ret | JAR Ret | PAL 3 | ROU 1 | MAN 1 | TUL 1 | ALB 6 | VAL 1 | VAL | 1st | 54 | ||||||
| 1972 | March Engineering | March 722 | Ford | MAL Ret | THR 1 | HOC | PAU | PAL | HOC 3 | ROU | ÖST | IMO | MAN Ret | PER | SAL Ret | ALB | HOC 3 | NC | 0‡ | |||
| 1973 | Team Lotus | Lotus 74 | Ford | MAL | HOC | THR | NÜR | PAU | KIN | NIV Ret | HOC | ROU DNS | MNZ | MAN | KAR 5 | PER 7 | SAL | NOR | ALB DSQ | VLL Ret | NC | 0‡ |
| 1974 | March Racing Team | March 742 | BMW | BAR | HOC | PAU | SAL | HOC | MUG | KAR 1 | PER | HOC | VLL | NC | 0‡ | |||||||
| 1975 | Project 3 Racing | March 752 | BMW | EST | THR Ret | HOC | NÜR | PAU | HOC | SAL | ROU | MUG | PER | SIL | ZOL | NOG | VLL | NC | 0 | |||
| 1976 | March Engineering | March 762 | BMW | HOC Ret | THR | VLL | SAL | PAU | HOC | ROU | MUG | PER | EST | NOG | HOC | NC | 0 | |||||
Sources:[39] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
‡ Graded drivers not eligible for European Formula Two Championship points
(key) (races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
(key) (races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 |  SpA Ferrari SEFAC |  Derek Bell | Ferrari 512S | S 5.0 | 39 | DNF | DNF |
Source:[42] | |||||||
Journals
Internet
Citations
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| Preceded by | Swedish Formula Three Champion 1968–1969 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Monaco Formula Three Race Winner 1969 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | European Formula Two Champion 1971 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Formula One fatal accidents 10 September 1978 (date of accident) 11 September 1978 (date of death) | Succeeded by |
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