History, HeritageJOMAJuly 07, 2021F1, f1, reutemann, Reutemann, Carlos Reutemann

Carlos Reutemann (1942 - 2021)

History, HeritageJOMAJuly 07, 2021F1, f1, reutemann, Reutemann, Carlos Reutemann

Carlos Alberto Reutemann, The "Lole", was born in Santa Fe, Argentina on April 12, 1942. He raced Formula One from 1972 to 1982, later becoming a politician in his native province of Santa Fe, for the Justicialist Party, and governor of Santa Fe in Argentina.

As a racing driver, Reutemann was among Formula One's leading protagonists between 1972 and 1982. He scored 12 Grand Prix wins and six pole positions. In 1981 while driving for Williams he finished second in the World Drivers' Championship by one point, having been overtaken in the last race of the season by eventual winner and teammate Nelson Piquet. Reutemann also finished third overall three times for three separate teams, 1975 for Brabham, 1978 for Ferrari, and 1980 for Williams. He is the last Argentine driver to win a Grand Prix to-date.

In terms of race wins, his final Ferrari season in 1978 was his most successful with four wins, but he fell short to the consistency of Lotus’ pair Mario Andretti and Ronnie Peterson and was not a championship contention by the final race. He finished third, just behind Peterson, who died in an accident at Monza earlier that autumn. In 1981, Reutemann instead relied on consistency, but narrowly lost out to Nelson Piquet for the title.

He became the second Formula One driver after Leo Kinnunen to be at the podium of a World Rally Championship event, when he finished third in the 1980 and 1985 editions of Rally Argentina. He was also the only Formula One driver to score drivers' championship points in both F1 and WRC for three decades, until Kimi Räikkönen's eighth place at the 2010 Jordan Rally.

Reutemann suffered an intestinal hemorrhage in May 2021 and was hospitalized. His condition worsened, and he suffered from anemia, dehydration, hypoalbuminemia and hemodynamic instability, and COVID-19. He died on July 7th, announced by his daughter on social media.

Rest In Peace Lole…