“The Maestro,” Juan Manuel Fangio took his final and greatest victory in the 1957 German Grand Prix. This was the last success in Formula 1 for a driver from Argentina until March 30, 1974, when Carlos Reutemann triumphed at Kyalami in South Africa.
“Lole,” as he was affectionally known, was born in Santa Fe. His grandfather was of Swiss origin, hence the German last name. He passed away on 7 July 2021.
Starting out in rallying in a FIAT 1500, Reutemann then raced single seaters in his native land. With the support of the Argentine Automobile Club, he moved to Europe in 1970 to compete in the highly competitive Formula 2 championship with a Brabham BT30.
After missing the opening round at Thruxton, his first Formula 2 race was at Hockenheim. In what Martin Brundle would call 'ambition over adhesion,’ Reutemann took out one of the leading drivers of the time, Jochen Rindt.
Reutemann finished 13th in the championship. His best result was third behind Francois Cevert and race winner Jackie Stewart in the first heat at Crystal Palace.
In 1971, his second season of European Formula 2, Reutemann raced to runner-up position in the championship behind Ronnie Peterson, scoring forty points against fifty-four for the Swede.
Reutemann’s only victory of the season came in the non-championship race at Hockenheim in October.
Formula 1 debut, Bernie & Brabham
His Formula 1 debut in October 1971 came in tragic circumstances. Swiss driver Jo Siffert lost his life in a fiery accident in the non-championship race at Brands Hatch.
After “Nino” Farina, Silverstone 1950, and Mario Andretti, Watkins Glen 1968, Reutemann was the first driver to make his championship Grand Prix debut from pole position in 1972 for his home Grand Prix in Buenos Aires. The trio has since been joined by Jacques Villeneuve from his debut pole in Melbourne, in 1996.
The Big E signed Reutemann for the 1972 season, and it started out on a high note as he put his Brabham on pole in his championship Grand Prix debut. At the finish, he was the first driver outside the points in seventh.
His next top-ten position came in the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch where he was eighth. He suffered four DNFs in the last five races. The penultimate round in Canada at Mosport produced his only points-scoring finish of the season in fourth.
The 1973 saw an improvement in performance and results but Reutemann endured six DNFs in the 15-race season. He scored points in six races to finish seventh in the championship. He appeared on the Formula 1 podium for the first time in the French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard, the day Peterson took his maiden Grand Prix victory.
Reutemann’s second podium of the season, again on the third step, came in the season finale at Watkins Glen in the US Grand Prix.
Reutemann won his first Grand Prix at Kyalami
Reutemann's maiden victory which also gave designer Gordon Murray his first Grand Prix success came at Kyalami (pictured above) in the 1974 South African Grand Prix. The crew chief on that day was Derek Walker who later went on to work for Roger Penske and led Porsche’s Indy Car effort in the United States.
The DNF despair returned after the maiden win as Reutemann failed to finish in five of the next six races.
Podium in third place in Germany at the Nürburgring was followed by his second win of the season in Austria at the Österreichring. “Lole” signed off the 1974 season on a high note by winning the final race in the United States at Watkins Glen. He was sixth in the championship.
In the 1975 season, he was on the podium in the first five of the seven races, starting with the season opener in Argentina. His only victory came in the German Grand Prix. Thanks to only a couple of DNFs (Silverstone and Watkins Glen) from fourteen races he was able to finish third in the championship.
For the 1976 season, the Brabham team abandoned the Cosworth engine in favour of Carlo Chiti-designed 12-cylinder engines from Alfa Romeo. The results were not surprising. In twelve races with the Milanese power unit, Reutemann retired from ten races. His only points finish of the season with Alfa-power was fourth in the Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama.
Reutemann and Scuderia Ferrari
The Commendatore wasted no time in signing Reutemann after his F1 world championship-winning star driver Niki Lauda suffered a near-fatal fiery crash at the Nürburgring.
A fast rewind of memory lane reveals the Argentine legend Fangio won a championship with the Maranello-based team. And it was another Argentine Froilan Gonzalez who rode a prancing horse to Scuderia’s first F1 victory in 1951 at Silverstone. Enzo thought “Lole” would be his next Latin flame of success.
It is for this reason the record books show three Ferrari drivers in the 1976 Italian Grand Prix.
Ferrari released Regazzoni to make room for Reutemann as a teammate to Lauda for the 1977 season. Reutemann started the season on a high note, finishing third in the season-opening Argentine Grand Prix and taking his first Ferrari victory in the next round in neighbouring Brazil.
This would remain his only victory of the season, four additional podium finishes helped him to fourth in the standings.
Enzo Ferrari: Reutemann is a tormented and tormenting driver
Lauda regained his mojo and title in 1977 and promptly departed for Brabham. The 1978 Championship was a runaway success for Colin Chapman’s ground-effect Lotus cars, with Andretti and Peterson dominating the season. Reutemann was third in the championship. He was the most successful non-Lotus driver in terms of race wins.
Carlos won four races compared to Peterson, who was second in the championship and took race wins in South Africa and Austria.
Reutemann won again in Brazil, this time at Rio’s Jacarepagua circuit to give Michelin their first taste of success in Formula 1, both races in the United States, Long Beach and Watkins Glen, and the very impressive victory, and his own personal favourite, Brands Hatch where he passed ex-Ferrari teammate Lauda late in the race.
Enzo Ferrari once said of the enigmatic Carlos: "Reutemann is a tormented and tormenting driver. He is capable of resolving difficult situations, also making up for occasional mechanical deficiencies, but unstable to wasting results that can be acquired at the outset due to congenital emotionality."
Reutemann at Lotus then Williams and the near miss
Ferrari were eager to sign Jody Scheckter for the 1979 season, forcing “Lole” to land at Lotus. Unfortunately, for both Reutemann and the new F1 world champion Andretti, Chapman had lost his mojo on the 1979 Lotus car.
Lotus had a winless season. Reutemann did appear on the podium in four races but also suffered seven DNFs, including five in the last six races. It was even worse for his teammate. Andretti, the reigning world champion, retired in nine of the last ten races. His only podium finish was in Spain.
Reutemann bounced back in 1980 with Williams. He was third in the championship, winning the Monaco Grand Prix, and finishing on the podium in six of the last seven races.
In 1981, his lifelong dream and dedication should have paid off in the form of Formula 1 world championship.
He won the South African Grand Prix over Nelson Piquet, and despite assurances from Ecclestone to Reutemann that the race will count towards the championship, it was excluded from the championship thanks to then common bickering between FISA (FIA’s Sporting authority) and Formula One Constructors Association (FOCA).
Carlos Reutemann is a 12 time Grand Prix winner
The FOCA was led by Ecclestone, who was also the owner of the Brabham team Piquet drove for. Victories were also recorded by Reutemann in Brazil and Belgium. It all came down to the season finale in Vegas where he started from pole position.
Reutemann took part in 146 Grand Prix races, taking forty-five podium finishes, 12 times as an F1 winner. He started six races from pole positions and set the fastest lap in six races.
After his abrupt departure from Formula 1 two races into the 1982 season “Lole” changed tracks and served his compadres as Governor of Santa Fe.
During his time in Formula 1, he was married to a beautiful lady by the name of “Mimicha”. They had two daughters Cora and Mariana.
The final word on Reutemann's fascinating racing life comes from the man himself. In a 2011 interview on the F1Weekly podcast, he was asked why he did not crash into Piquet in the 1981 season finale in Las Vegas to win the championship.
“I did not want to win the championship in that way,” was the response from a rare character. A Real Racer. Ole Lole!
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