“Spend more time to women”

By the late 1960s, Johnny Servoz-Gavin was a rising star. He became French Formula 3 champion in 1966 driving a works Matra MS5, and in 1969 he won the European Formula Two Championship.

His performances won Servoz-Gavin the attention of Matra, resulting in his moving to Formula 1. His best season was 1968, when he finished second in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. He also impressed at the Monaco Grand Prix, starting from the front row of the grid and briefly leading at the start, until his race ended early after clipping a barrier.

Picture above: The fast French driver at Albi in 1969, aboard a works F2 Matra MS7.

Johnny suffered an eye injury in an off-road event in the winter of 1969-70, and had been worrying that his eyesight had been damaged. Then after hitting the barrier again, and failing to qualify for the 1970 Monaco Grand Prix, he decided to retire from racing.

With typical French humour he declared retiring “to spend more time to women.”

Picture below: Johnny Servoz-Gavin with film star Brigitte Bardot and François Cevert at a motor show in Paris in 1971.