Lovely driver!

Pete Lovely (April 11, 1926 – May 15, 2011) was an American racing driver who, as an amateur, made it into Formula 1.

Lovely raced his own private Lotus 49B that he transported in a VW combi (he had a VW dealership in Tacoma, in the state of Washington), with the only help of his (lovely) wife, helping as a mechanic as well as on the pit wall.

After two European campaigns in 1969 and 1970, this gentleman driver  decided to transform a Formula 2 Lotus 69 into a Formula 1 by bolting a 3 litre V8 Cosworth DFV (picture hereunder) right behind him, and tried without success to qualify in 1971 at Mosport and Watkins Glen.

Remarkably, Lovely succeeded to take 7 Grand Prix starts in 11 participations (4 times not qualified), without scoring any point. He was, most probably, the last true amateur driver seen in Formula 1.