John Watson

John Watson gave both Roger Penske and Ron Dennis their first Formula 1 victories and he challenged for the 1982 World Championship. He made a habit of winning races from the back of the grid – coming from 17th at Detroit in 1982 and 22nd in Long Beach a year later to win.

Early racing career

The son of a car dealer, the 17 year old Watson started racing an Austin Healey Sprite in Ireland and was soon dominating Irish Formule Libre. The bearded youngster settled in England (in Bognor Regis on the Sussex coast) and entered Formula 2 in 1970 with a Brabham BT30-Ford. Fourth on the grid for the opening race at Thruxton, he broke his left ankle, arm and leg during practice at Rouen-les-Essarts.

He returned in 1971 and finished fifth at Mantorp Park and Tulln-Langenlebarn. He impressed on his F1 debut in the non-championship Victory Race at Brands Hatch in 1972 when sixth in a Hexagon Racing March 721-Ford. Also racing for Tui and Chevron that year, his promise was recognised with a Grovewood Award for up-and-coming Commonwealth talent.

Grand Prix driver

A broken leg sustained in the Race of Champions interrupted 1973 but he recovered to make his GP debut at Silverstone with Hexagon’s Brabham BT37-Ford. Drafted into the works team for the United States GP, Watson also showed promise with Mirage in sports cars and his works Chevron B25-Ford was third in Mantorp Park’s F2 race.

A fulltime F1 driver in 1974 initially with Hexagon’s Brabham BT42-Ford, he finished sixth at Monaco and improved further once a newer BT44 chassis was acquired. Fourth in the Austrian GP despite a pitstop, he qualified in that position in Italy as the works teams suddenly took notice.

Hexagon withdrew at the end of the year and Watson endured a frustrating start to the 1975 World Championship driving a works Surtees TS16-Ford. The sponsorship ran dry by mid-season and Watson disappointed in a one-off with Lotus in Germany. However, the season ended with an opportunity that pointed to a brighter future – driving the Penske PC1-Ford in the United States GP.

Formula 1 winner for Penske

He remained with the team in 1976 and podium finishes in France and Britain were followed by victory in the Austrian GP. It was a result that cost Watson his beard – going clean shaven thereafter as a result of a bet with Roger Penske.

He moved to Brabham-Alfa Romeo in 1977 and came tantalisingly close to another win. He qualified on pole position at Monaco, ran out of fuel while leading on the last lap in France and battled James Hunt for victory at Silverstone before retiring. Sixth in the 1978 championship after finishing on the podium three times, Watson was rapidly becoming known for his ill-fortune rather than tangible results.

The McLaren years

Watson finished third in the 1979 Argentine GP on his debut with McLaren but that once great team struggled to develop its "ground-effect" M28 chassis. He did finish fourth in Monaco and was instantly more competitive when the new M29 was introduced for Silverstone – finishing fourth again.

However, he suffered at the start of 1980 in comparison to young team-mate Alain Prost. He failed to qualify in Monaco but preserved his place in F1 thanks to improving late-season form.

Prost moved to Renault for 1981 and it was all-change at McLaren as well. Sponsors Marlboro had grown tired of mediocrity and a deal was brokered with Ron Dennis’s ambitious Project Four Racing for whom John Barnard had designed a revolutionary carbon fibre chassis for its F1 graduation. The result was McLaren International and the McLaren MP4/1-Ford with which Watson scored a popular if lucky victory in the 1981 British GP.

Challenging for the title

Sixth again in the championship, that season restored faith in the Ulsterman’s ability and 1982 took him within touching distance of the world title itself. Partnered by the returning Niki Lauda, Watson scored points in the opening four races. That included victory at Zolder on the day after Gilles Villeneuve had been killed. In a year of tragedy and travail, in which no one won more than twice, Watson emerged as a surprise title contender after he passed 12 cars in Detroit to score an unlikely win. However, often hampered by his qualifying pace, Watson ultimately lost the title to Keke Rosberg at the final round in Las Vegas.

It was a similar story in 1983, with poor qualifying performances demanding much on raceday. Most notable was the Long Beach GP where he and Lauda came from 22nd and 23rd on the grid to score a famous 1-2 for McLaren. It was "Wattie’s" fifth and final GP victory for he lost his drive in 1984 when Prost was suddenly released by Renault. Watson made his 152nd and last championship appearance in the 1985 European GP at Brands Hatch when deputising for the injured Lauda.

He raced sports cars for Porsche, Jaguar and Toyota and won three races for the British marque in 1987. But he retired in 1991 to concentrate on work in the media and running a performance driving school at Silverstone.