Cooper-Maserati

Interesting facts

In the mid-1960s, after Coventry Climax failed to deliver a competitive three-litre engine for the 1966 rule change, Cooper turned to Maserati's V12, a move that produced the Cooper-Maserati T81. John Surtees, who had already proven himself as a Ferrari World Champion, drove the Cooper-Maserati T81 to victory at the 1966 Mexican Grand Prix, the engine combination's first Formula One win. In 1967, Pedro Rodríguez scored a surprise win with the Cooper-Maserati at the South African Grand Prix, which turned out to be the team's and the engine combination's last Formula One triumph. By the late 1960s, the Maserati-powered Coopers increasingly fell behind rivals running the lighter, more compact Ford-Cosworth DFV, with the heavy V12 block a persistent weight disadvantage. The team ultimately could not keep pace with the demands of the Cosworth era, and lacking serious sponsorship backing, was forced to give up its Formula One effort by the end of the decade. Cooper-Maserati's Formula 1 history ran from 1959 to 1969, 9 seasons in total as a British team. The team scored a total of 61 constructors' championship points.