Joining Lotus

Ronnie Peterson (14 February 1944 – 11 September 1978) was a Swedish racing driver. One of the best drivers of his era, he soon erned the nickname ‘SuperSwede’, because of his fantastic car control. He was a two-time runner-up in the Formula One Drivers World Championship.

Colin Chapman had noticed him while he was driving for the March team, and signed him for his John Player Team Lotus to partner Emerson Fittipaldi in 1973.

Peterson’s first Grand Prix win came at the 1973 French Grand Prix at the Paul-Ricard (picture below) in his black and gold Lotus 72. He took three more wins that year, in Austria (Zeltweg), Italy (Monza) and the United States (Watkins Glen), but poor reliability early in the season restricted him to only third place in the final standings, behind Jackie Stewart (champion for the third time for Tyrrell) and team mate Fittipaldi.