Eddie Cheever

Interesting facts

Eddie Cheever began racing at age eight, taken to Monza by his father, and by fifteen was already Italian and European karting champion. He made his F1 debut in 1978 at just twenty years old and drove for nine different teams over a twelve-year career. His strongest season came in 1983 with factory Renault alongside Alain Prost; his best individual result was second place at the Canadian Grand Prix. At the 1988 Italian Grand Prix his Arrows fuel tank was queried for possibly exceeding the 150-litre limit, but it measured 149 litres, letting his third-place finish stand. Despite 132 starts from 143 entries, he never won a race or took pole position in F1, finishing his career with just nine podiums. His real triumph came in American racing: in 1998 he won the Indianapolis 500 as both car owner and driver, starting seventeenth and leading 76 of 200 laps. Eddie Cheever raced in Formula 1 from 1978 to 1989, across 11 seasons as an American driver. He scored a total of 70 championship points over his career.