Ronnie Peterson

Interesting facts

Nicknamed 'Superswede,' a blend of 'super' and 'Swede,' he was widely regarded as one of the outright fastest drivers of the 1970s. His driving was spectacularly loose and sideways, thrilling crowds even in uncompetitive machinery and earning him a reputation as the fastest man in the field on raw pace alone. Returning to Team Lotus in 1978 as Mario Andretti's number two, the pair scored four 1-2 finishes together, though Peterson's two wins that year both came only after Andretti hit mechanical trouble, suspicions of team orders that Peterson always brushed off. At the 1978 Italian Grand Prix the starter released the field early; starting from the third row, Peterson fell back into the pack, and James Hunt, darting left through the resulting chaos, collided with him and triggered a nine-car pile-up. His car slammed into the barriers and caught fire; Hunt, Regazzoni and Depailler pulled him from the burning wreck, with X-rays later revealing around 27 fractures across his legs and feet. A fat embolism developed during surgery and progressed to complete kidney failure; Peterson died the following morning, aged 34, from complications rather than the impact itself. Never a champion, he is still ranked among the greatest drivers never to win the title and is remembered as Sweden's finest export to motor racing. Ronnie Peterson raced in Formula 1 from 1970 to 1978, across 9 seasons as a Swedish driver. He scored a total of 206 championship points over his career.