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Ronnie Peterson

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Sweden is a beautiful and strange land, my friend Diego Angeli told me. A merciless climate usually hits it during the long winter, but when the sun takes over its forests and lakes, it definitely has a unique color, beautiful, but also with some melancholy and a certain sadness that is always present. Although of course, that for the Swedes, it is not like that… except on special occasions, bitterly special.

Both one and the other had everything to be great in their own thing, in that of taming more than 600 horsepower concentrated in a small steering wheel, three pedals and a gear lever… One was already a potential world champion, with a huge record of victories and podiums, with great performances in the minor Formulas. The other had already known, at least once, the victory in Formula 1. Prior to this, his time in F3 had been spectacular, so spectacular that in a single season, together with his partner, the Brazilian Alex Dias Ribeiro, they took almost all the wins… and broke more than 30 trunks!!!

Ronnie Peterson and Gunnar Nilson, during the late 1970s, used to give their native Sweden enormous joy with their performances in Formula 1. They really were two drivers of great value. Peterson was already a consecrated man who was flirting more than once with the world title, but for one thing or another, he had not been able to achieve it. However, he still had a few more chances to make it, especially in that year of 1978, when he sat in Chapman’s slim black LOTUS, teaming up with Mario Andretti.

In the case of Gunnar Nilson, he had been very strong in previous years in Formulas 3 and 2 and, like almost all Swedes, he was a specialist in controlled drift. That brutal and punishing technique of suspensions and rubber, but which -nevertheless- is missed in this current and technical Formula 1. At least by those of us who like the management of pilots and not so much designers, teams or leaders.

A year earlier, more precisely in the 1977 Belgium test, Gunnar would obtain his only victory in the category. Carrying his cash LOTUS 78 with absolute precision and dexterity under heavy rain, an element that suited him like a glove, since the handling of it -not yet completely polished- he performed well in those extreme conditions. It was a pleasure to see him drive the car, in the midst of the usual mess that rain produces on any circuit. However, the best of fates can be haunted by misfortune. And so towards the end of that year, it was said that his health was not very good… but that it was nothing to worry about, at least that was supposed to be…

Ronnie Peterson, on the other hand, at the beginning of that distant 1978, was a veteran of the category. In 1971 he had already been runner-up, and up to that point he had driven several F1 cars, even the 6-wheeled TYRRELL P34 himself.

Experienced, determined, tremendously fast, he used to drive the car -albeit- always a little sideways, true to the old Nordic school of driving on ice-covered roads 12 months of the year.

The LOTUS team was confident in Gunnar Nilson’s speedy recovery, but as the start of the season approached, rumors grew stronger regarding the young Swede’s health. In a quick decision, Chapman calls Ronnie again (who had already managed the LOTUS blacks, and did not leave very happy with the experience), to fill in for him, since the sponsors do not know of delays, even if they are health. Ergo, one Swede leaves, another enters.

As the season progressed, the rumors became true. Gunnar Nilson was sick, very sick. Cancer kept him away from the wheel, but he still managed to get a ride at the British GP. He was emaciated, completely bald from chemotherapy, but he still had hope…hope that would soon be dashed.

It is said that misfortunes never come alone… There is some truth to this, since while Nilson lay dying in bed in an English hospital, another drama unfolded on the Monza track. At the start of the Italian GP, ​​reaching the first corner, the homonymous circuit, it narrowed dangerously, until it formed a deadly funnel. At first, Ricardo Patrese was accused of a dangerous maneuver, locking up Peterson, who hours before had had a hard fight with Chapman and had made the decision to leave – this time forever – from the English team… he could never do it. Whoever saw that start will never forget the enormous ball of fire, product of the more than 200 liters of gasoline from Peterson’s LOTUS, exploding at the moment of the multiple collision between more than 11 cars.

Incredibly, Peterson would come out of such an accident alive, but with more than 40 fractures in his legs. He was urgently admitted to a local hospital. Hours later, when he already seemed out of danger, a clot from the marrow of the broken femur caused him a cardio-respiratory arrest, from which he never came out. An absurd death, product -without a doubt- of the little responsibility of the medical personnel who intervened on the occasion.

Less than a month later, after obtaining donations from various companies and sponsors of the category, Gunnar Nilson fell into a deep coma. 24 hours later, consumed by cancer, he died… he left behind a foundation that bears his name for the fight against evil. Last act of someone who, beyond his status as a sports idol, was above all a great human being…

Blues is a melody that, when pain takes over the soul of men, perfectly knows how to express that feeling. A few bars are enough, a few well-placed notes, and there is no valid border or ethnic condition… The blues slides wherever it may be, now on the muddy banks of the Mississippi, on the gray streets of Buenos Aires… or also, why not, in the gloomy forests of Sweden… like far away and long ago, when 1978 died… like when Peterson and Nilson died.

 

He was never world champion because he always put his principles first (why not, Mr. Andretti?).

As a driver he was impressive. As a person I have not yet found the adjective to describe it. And as almost always happens, he died when he shouldn’t have.

If these lines help more people to know and appreciate this great man a little more, I consider myself well paid:

“Ronnie Peterson made his F1 debut in 1970 with the March team, the same one he had raced for in the junior formula. He immediately impressed everyone with his devilish speed. In 1971 he got 5 second places becoming a serious threat for Jackie Stewart at the World Championship.

The March team was running a modest budget so it was not until he left the team for Lotus in 1973 that he won his first GP (France).

Teaming up with Emmerson Fittipaldi, current world champion at the time, he proved to be more than just a competitor for the Brazilian. That year he won 3 more races, finishing 3rd in the championship.

Fittipaldi soon left the team for McLaren and Ronnie continued with Lotus as first driver and team leader for the next 2 years, but the Lotus 72 was at the end of its days.

In 1976 he returned to March, but that was a small fiasco.

1977 came with an offer to drive the 6-wheeled Tyrrell. But this complicated car was exactly the opposite of what Ronnie needed. Disappointed as he was as a test pilot, Ronnie found himself lost in the Tyrrell. 1977 thus became the low point of his racing career, and for 1978 he returned to Lotus as Mario Andretti’s #2.

From the outset Mario strongly protested the deal as he was fully aware that Ronnie Peterson was no No. 2. As a sign of his character Ronnie accepted the deal without any bad intentions. How far from the political whining of today’s F1! Together they dominated the 1978 season in their Lotus 79s with Peterson scoring a couple of spectacular victories.

Ronnie perfectly played the role of faithful squire, but still there were times when his brilliance could not go unnoticed. Like when he outqualified his teammate at Brands Hatch despite using hard tires instead of the qualifying ones that had been reserved for Andretti.

After his victory in Zeltweg (Austria), he threatened Andretti with just 9 points and 4 races still to go. By then it was common knowledge that in 1979 he was going to ride for another team, and there were those who suggested that he should go for the title as he had nothing to lose.

These were his words: “Next year I’m going to McLaren” he said, “It hasn’t been announced yet, but Mario knows. Those – he sighed – those who say I should now forget about our agreement… I DON’T UNDERSTAND. My eyes were wide open when I signed the contract, and I also gave my word. If I break it now, who will ever believe me again?

In the next race Andretti’s car limped and lost its power. Peterson followed him to the line. Peterson felt that his opportunity would come the following year with McLaren. But all that ended before it began when Ronnie Peterson was killed in an accident at Monza.

 

RONNIE PETERSON – 1944-1978 – THE DAY AFTER THE RACE
Outside of his race car, Ronnie Peterson was a quiet, polite, innocent and honorable man. He esteemed and appreciated by all those who knew him, respected by those who were not so lucky.

“Everyone loved him,” said Jackie Stewart. Behind the wheel he was fearless and very, very fast. Like Ayrton Senna, who followed him a generation later, Ronnie pushed cars to their limits and beyond. He had some truly awful cars to drive throughout his career, but with his consummate control and instinctive reflexes he launched them around curves they never seemed like they could take. Jackie again “Every time he followed him around a corner he was like, ‘Uh-oh, Ronnie, you’ve gone too far this time, you’re done!’ But he always got it, I still don’t know how. He never surprised me that viewers adored him. The truth is that it was also impressive to see him from my position”.

Horrible as a test driver, he was completely useless when it came to setting up the car. But once his teammates had done it, he was able to drive it faster than any of them, and it’s good to remember that his teammates include world champions like Fittipaldi or Andretti. Even in the early days of their relationship, Mario Andretti commented, “It’s no dishonor to be slower than Ronnie Peterson. Ronnie was faster than me, and that’s it.” It is hard to imagine, today, a first pilot saying that about his partner.

Mutual respect and great affection between the two made something that seemed impossible work. Andretti was lucky enough to be among the few who knew the Swede up close, and they became true friends. In 1978, when Ronnie was only a few points behind Mario and it was already known that he was leaving Lotus, there were those who thought that he could break his “contract” as #2 and go for the Championship. Ronnie saw it differently: “I don’t understand them. I had my eyes wide open when I signed the contract, and I also gave my word. If I break it now, who will trust me again? That weekend he slowed down considerably in the race to allow a limping Andretti to win.

Despite dutifully following Andretti on more than one occasion, Ronnie won 10 races, putting him in the Top 20 of all time. Hunt and Scheckter won their championships without scoring more points than Ronnie. He started 123 times and in 1971, his first year in a competitive car – the March – was only eclipsed by Jackie Stewart after which he qualified 2nd at Monaco. He missed his first chance to win that year by just one hundredth of a second in Italy.
The 1972 March was a mediocre car, but Ronnie took it to the front row of the grid once and even led the Canadian GP for a while. In 1973 he joined Lotus and took 4 pole positions in his first 7 races. The 8th -France- meant his first triumph, which was later followed by Austria and Italy.

In 1974 the Lotus was beginning to decline, but the fact that Ronnie managed to keep winning stopped the development of a new chassis. Ronnie won in Monaco, France and Italy. But the car was to give Ronnie another poor season in 1975, and a collision with his new teammate, Mario Andretti, at the start of 1976 – as they wandered around the back of the grid – saw Ronnie return to March. in bad ways That car showed a little better and allowed Ronnie to win at Monza.
In 1977 Ronnie was at Tyrrel with the unmistakably uncompetitive 6-wheeler. His return to Lotus in 1978 was forged on a deal where he signed as Andretti’s #2, and in race 1 it seemed like the right choice when Mario won and he could only finish 5th. Race 2, in South Africa, was won by Ronnie overtaking Patrick Depailler on the final lap after Mario fell behind due to mechanical problems. He finished 2nd, behind Mario, on 4 occasions – Belgium, Spain, France, and the Netherlands – and won in Austria where Andretti dropped out. By the time they reached Monza, only Ronnie was in a position to challenge Mario for the title, and despite having signed already with McLaren for 1979 he had not the slightest intention of breaking his contract – or, more importantly, his word.

Monza, September 10, 1978, it seems as if time wanted to be remembered for the serious incidents that took place at the start and the consequences for an unconscious Vittorio Brambilla. He was among the drivers injured when all 23 cars appeared to arrive at the first chicane together.

The machines flew everywhere. Ronnie Peterson’s Lotus went face-first into the barriers and it was only the valiant effort of James Hunt, Clay Regazzoni and Patrick Depailler that got Ronnie out of the wrecked Lotus. At the hospital in Milan, the main concern was Brambilla, while Ronnie seemed out of danger with a few broken bones.

Professor Sid Watkins referred to this by indicating that it would take some time for Ronnie to be able to compete again. However, Andretti’s celebration of the new Championship from him was stopped in its tracks. Andretti admitted that he had only had 4 close friends up to that point in the racing world: Billy Foster (killed in a NASCAR accident in 1967), Lucien Bianchi (killed while training for Le Mans in 1969), Gunnar Nilsson (who had died of cancer) and, now, Ronnie, convalescing in the hospital from serious injuries to both legs.

It was nearly midnight-during a lengthy operation to repair his battered legs-when everything went haywire and Ronnie Peterson died.

To all of us who heard the news on our way to work on any given Monday, it seemed unreal. When someone dies on the track it seems believable almost immediately. This was something amazing. It had to be a mistake. It took a long time to get over the shock. In my case, it was my favorite driver who had died, a quiet, unspeakable hero who had shown that honor and racing could exist together.

photo

Mario Andretti’s reaction summed up the feelings of the entire Formula 1 family:

“TODAY A HUGE GAP HAS BEEN OPENED IN THE MOTOR WORLD, AND IT WILL NEVER CLOSE”.

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Ronnie Peterson

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