Pedro Rodríguez

Interesting facts

His younger brother Ricardo became the first Mexican driver in Formula One but died in a racing accident in 1962; as teenagers the two brothers had already won national motorcycle racing titles back home in 1953 and 1954. After organizers failed to play the Mexican national anthem following his win at the 1967 South African Grand Prix, he took to carrying a Mexican flag and a record of the anthem with him to races from then on. He won that 1967 South African Grand Prix at Kyalami in a Cooper after team manager Roy Salvadori handed him the practice car over the objections of teammate Jochen Rindt. He was renowned for his mastery in wet conditions, especially at Zandvoort and Rouen, and for a smooth, consistent driving style. In 1970 he won the Belgian Grand Prix at Francorchamps in a BRM P153, beating Chris Amon's March by just 1.1 seconds at what was then a record average speed of 241 km/h. He died on 11 July 1971 at the Norisring in Germany during an Interserie race: photographers had already spotted his right front tyre coming loose from the rim by lap 10, it separated completely on lap 12, sending his Ferrari 512 M into a wall and into flames; he was pulled from the wreck but died shortly afterward, aged 31. Pedro Rodríguez made his Formula 1 debut in 1963 and raced until 1971, 9 seasons in total as a Mexican driver. He scored a total of 71 championship points over his career.