Carlos Reutemann

Interesting facts

On his very first grand prix start, the 1972 Argentine GP in front of his home crowd in Buenos Aires, he qualified on pole, a feat only Mario Andretti had managed before him as a rookie. His maiden win came at the 1974 South African Grand Prix for Brabham, just his fifth start, ending a run of mechanical failures and accidents that had troubled his early seasons. Paired with Niki Lauda at Ferrari in 1977, he beat his teammate to victory in Brazil and later called it the best race of his career, though Lauda reasserted control for the rest of that season. After retiring with engine trouble at his home Argentine Grand Prix in 1980, he climbed out of the car, took off his helmet, sat down beside it and broke down in tears in front of the crowd and cameras. Going into the 1981 finale in Las Vegas with a one-point championship lead over Nelson Piquet, gearbox trouble and overly cautious driving dropped him to eighth, handing Piquet the title by a single point. His teammate Alan Jones never forgave him for refusing, earlier that season in Brazil, to hand back a win the team had asked him to concede. After retiring from racing he turned to Argentine politics, serving as governor of Santa Fe province and later as a national senator until his death in 2021. Carlos Reutemann made his Formula 1 debut in 1972 and raced until 1982, 11 seasons in total as an Argentine driver. He scored a total of 297 championship points over his career. His best season was 1981, when he finished 2nd in the championship with 49 points.