John Surtees

Interesting facts

Before switching to four wheels, Surtees dominated motorcycle racing, winning seven world championships between 1952 and 1960 with MV Agusta (four in the 500cc class, three in 350cc), earning the Italian nickname 'figlio del vento' ('son of the wind'). His 1960 Formula One debut was immediately promising: he finished second at the British Grand Prix in only his second start, then took pole position at the Portuguese Grand Prix. He joined Ferrari in 1963 and clinched the title the following year with wins at the German and Italian Grands Prix, making him the only man to become world champion on both two and four wheels. On 25 September 1965 he suffered a life-threatening crash while practising in a Lola T70 sports car at Mosport Park in Canada; the injuries left one side of his body shorter until surgery partially corrected it. In 1966 a dispute with team manager Eugenio Dragoni over who should lead Ferrari's Le Mans entry led him to walk out on the team mid-season, a decision that likely cost him a second championship to Jack Brabham. His final Grand Prix victory came in 1967 at Monza driving a Honda, beating Jack Brabham to the line by just 0.2 seconds. His son Henry died in 2009 at age 18 during a Formula Two race at Brands Hatch after being struck by a wheel that detached from another car; the tragedy helped push F1 toward stronger wheel tethers and, eventually, the Halo device. John Surtees was buried next to Henry after his own death in 2017. John Surtees made his Formula 1 debut in 1960 and raced until 1972, 13 seasons in total as a British driver. He won the World Championship once, in 1964. He scored a total of 180 championship points over his career.