Top 5 Worst Performing Surtees Racing Organization Drivers


Top 5 Worst Performing Surtees Racing Organization drivers
By Brian Cotnoir

Hey so Originally, I was going to do another Bold Season Predictions list, but with the Covid-19 Virus outbreak possibly leading to more F1 race cancellations like the Chinese Grand Prix, I thought that it would make it impossible to make somewhat plausible predictions for the 2020 F1 season.   I hope this won’t affect the F1 season too badly, so I decided to do another Top 5 Worst F1 drivers list instead.

5.)  Tim Schenken, 1 Season (1972), 2 Championship Points Scored, Best Finish 5th at the Argentine Grand Prix

Yeah, bet you thought you’d never here about this guy again(?).   Well after one full season with Brabham—where managed to score his one and only Podium in F1—Australian F1 driver Tim Schenken took his talents to the Surtees F1 team.  He scored points in his first ever start for the team at the Argentine Grand Prix.  That 5th place finish was the last ever points Schenken would ever score in F1, and by 1974 he was out of F1 entirely.


4.)  John Surtees, 2 Seasons, 3 Championship Points Scored, Best Finish 5th (2X), Average Points Finish 19th

The 1964 Formula 1 World Champion, and founder/namesake of the Team, John Surtees began his own F1 team in 1970 hoping follow the footsteps of other Formula 1 owner drivers like Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren.  Surtees would run a, mostly, single car entry in 1970, but in 1971 he teamed up with German driver Rolf Strommelen.   He would step aside in 1972 to focus on running the team that would finish in the Top 10 in Constructors Championship 5 times!


3.)  John Watson, 1 Season (1975), 0 Championship Points Scored, Best Finish 8th at the Spanish Grand Prix

Briton John Watson ran most of the 1975 season as a single-car entry with the Surtees team; he ran one race with Lotus and Penske F1 teams also; Watson’s best finish in of 8th at the Spanish Grand Prix.  Watson would leave Surtees after 1 season and would go on to have success with the likes of Penske, McLaren, and Brabham.  

 

2.)  Brett Lunger, 1 season (1976), 0 Championship Points Scored, Best Finish 10th at the Austrian Grand Prix

It’s not often I get to talk about American drivers on my F1 posts, but when I do it’s either to praise Mario Andretti, or talk about one of the worst drivers in F1…today it is unfortunately the latter.   Brett Lunger’s one season with Surtees yielded many lackluster results and unfortunately he missed 4 races and did not qualify for 2 other races.  When compared to his teammate that season, Alan Jones, Lunger was never going to last in F1.


1.)  Rupert Keegan, 1 Season (1978), 0 Championship Points Scored, Best Finish 11th at the Spanish Grand Prix

Rupert Keegan raced for Surtees during the final season of Competition, and had one of the worst seasons in F1 history.  He retired from four of the first 5 Grand Prix’s.  He also had 5 DNQ’s and his only finish was an 11th place at the Spanish Grand Prix.   Keegan’s season with Surtees was brought to an abrupt end when he injured his hand during a morning warm-up session during the Dutch Grand Prix, and missed the last 4 races of the season, bringing an end to one of the most abysmal seasons in F1 history.



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