Pole on his debut!

Carlos Reutemann made his official Formula One debut on 22 January 1972, in a works Brabham BT34-Ford (picture-above). The F1 returned to Argentina after 12 years of absence, and what a debut it was for the popular Argentinian, who captured pole position!

By doing so, Reutemann became the second driver in history to claim pole position on his Grand Prix debut. The first one to do so was Mario Andretti at the 1968 US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen in a Lotus-Ford. Later, Jacques Villeneuve repeated this performance by capturing pole position for the 1996 Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne. Nobody else, till this day, did the same.

Reutemann led the 1972 Argentine Grand Prix (picture-below), and was going to score a sensational win when the air scoop of his Brabham became loose and his engine lost power… He finished seventh and outside the points, but a star was born. The race was won by Jackie Stewart in a Tyrrell-Ford.