Watson proves them wrong

13. Jan 2024

by Ziv Knoll

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The first-ever Detroit Grand Prix in 1982 was an often chaotic but highly memorable event, as Formula 1 got its lucrative second race in the United States (sounds familiar, isn’t it?) – a late replacement for Watkins Glen – to complement Long Beach, way out west.

McLaren’s John Watson surged through the field for a famous victory from 17th on the grid, proving those who were sure it was impossible to pass on this street-circuit wrong, in a two-part aggregate race that was packed with incidents and… overtaking!

Pictures: John Watson, McLaren MP4/1B-Ford, on his way to victory in the 1982 US Grand Prix East, held in Detroit. Second was American Eddie Cheever, the best result of his F1 career, in a Ligier-Matra and third was Didier Pironi in his Ferrari.

John Watson remembers: “My colleagues turned up at the Detroit Grand Prix (in ’82) and they said, ‘You can’t do overtake. Where are we going to pass? So everybody was a little bit circumspect about it. I came to Detroit that year maybe with a slightly different view, partly because I’ve always loved cars and grew up around cars. And we were coming to the Motor City. Maybe that didn’t mean an awful lot to all the other competitors, but I was sure it would turn out to be, just fine.”