Formula One driver and politician Carlos Reutemann died yesterday (7 July 2021); he was 79.
His name first began to register when he moved from his native Argentina to race in the 1970 European Formula Two Championship.
Among those he impressed was Bernie Ecclestone, who signed him to drive for the Brabham Formula One team in 1972. Reutemann responded in style by qualifying on pole position for his debut.
With gifted young designer Gordon Murray on board, it was a good time to be driving for Brabham, and in 1974 Reutemann took his first victory at the South African Grand Prix aboard the nimble little BT44. Before the season was out, he added two more wins in Austria and the United States.
Reutemann left Brabham for Ferrari part-way through 1976, supposedly as a replacement for Niki Lauda following the Austrian’s accident at the Nürburgring. An indignant Lauda willed himself into a return at the Italian Grand Prix, after which Reutemann was forced to sit out the rest of the season.
His happiest time at Maranello came in 1978, with new teammate Gilles Villeneuve alongside him. Although the Lotus 79 was the class of the field, Reutemann won four times and finished third in the championship – only for Ferrari to sign Jody Scheckter for 1979.
