Incubus
Champion Elect
The man widely regarded as the best driver never to have won a Grand Prix has passed away today at the age of 73.
Chris Amon obituary: 1943-2016
RIP
Chris Amon obituary: 1943-2016
RIP
Chris Amon 1943-2016
- Thread starter Incubus
- Start date
Sad news, a solid driver.
Very sad news. Chris was one of my all-time favourite drivers. IMO, not only should he have won races in F1, he easily had the talent to be a WDC, even in the talent-rich era he drove in. Time after time he would be leading races only for the car to fail (cars were nowhere near as reliable then as they are now). He also had terrible timing, leaving the new-born McLaren team to go to Ferrari, just when the former's sports cars became unbeatable in the Can-Am series (1967). Denny Hulme joined McLaren as Amon's replacement, so all of the wins he got in both the Can-Am and F1 should (theoretically) have been Chris's.
He then left Ferrari in 1970, just when they came out with their boxer engine and became very hot indeed, with Ickx being the beneficiary. He went to the newly formed March team. Unfortunately, Tyerrell was also using the new firm's 701 and got priority treatment over the factory's own drivers. Stewart got the maker's only win that year. In 1971, Chris moved on to the Matra team which, again, was competitive but unreliable while the March 711 became a race winner. The trend that followed Chris throughout his career.
What I found most endearing about Amon was that, unlike today's drivers, no matter what went wrong, he never got angry or started whining. I remember one time when a reporter asked Chris why he went slower in the second qualifying session than he had in the first, he replied: " Ah. Well, they have done some improvements".
A very classy individual. He will be missed.
He then left Ferrari in 1970, just when they came out with their boxer engine and became very hot indeed, with Ickx being the beneficiary. He went to the newly formed March team. Unfortunately, Tyerrell was also using the new firm's 701 and got priority treatment over the factory's own drivers. Stewart got the maker's only win that year. In 1971, Chris moved on to the Matra team which, again, was competitive but unreliable while the March 711 became a race winner. The trend that followed Chris throughout his career.
What I found most endearing about Amon was that, unlike today's drivers, no matter what went wrong, he never got angry or started whining. I remember one time when a reporter asked Chris why he went slower in the second qualifying session than he had in the first, he replied: " Ah. Well, they have done some improvements".
A very classy individual. He will be missed.
From StatsF1 Statistics Drivers - Lead - Without win • STATS F1
Amon's 183 laps led without a win is far and away the most all time.
Amon's 183 laps led without a win is far and away the most all time.
Dario Resta
Podium Finisher
Very sad news. Not that old.
Oh no, I'm sorry to hear this. Not old enough to have seen him race, but his friendship with the journalist Nigel Roebuck meant I read a lot about him, and from him, over the years. Seemed a genuinely lovely man, without an overblown ego, modest about his achievements and phlegmatic about the missed opportunities and his unwanted place in the F1 record book.
Nice to imagine he could somehow be reunited with Bruce McLaren now. May he rest in peace.
Nice to imagine he could somehow be reunited with Bruce McLaren now. May he rest in peace.
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