John Watson (1971) |
|
| Born | 4 May 1946 |
|---|---|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality | British |
| Active years | 1973 – 1983, 1985 |
| Teams | Brabham, Surtees, Lotus, Penske, McLaren |
| Races | 154 (152 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 5 |
| Podiums | 20 |
| Career points | 169 |
| Pole positions | 2 |
| Fastest laps | 5 |
| First race | 1973 British Grand Prix |
| First win | 1976 Austrian Grand Prix |
| Last win | 1983 United States Grand Prix West |
| Last race | 1985 European Grand Prix |
John Marshall "Wattie" Watson MBE (born 4 May 1946 in Belfast) is a British former racing driver from Northern Ireland. He competed in Formula One, winning five Grands Prix and also in the World Sportscar Championship. He currently works for Sky Sports.
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Educated in Rockport School, Northern Ireland, Watson's Formula One career began in 1972 for Goldie Hexagon Racing driving in a non-championship event: the World Championship Victory Race, at Brands Hatch in an old customer March-Cosworth 721.[1] Watson's first World Championship events came in the 1973 season, in which he only raced in the British Grand Prix where he drove a customer Brabham-Ford BT37 and US Grand Prix, where he drove the third works Brabham BT42, and wasn't particularly successful. In the British GP, he ran out of fuel on the 36th lap and his engine failed after only seven laps in the US GP.
Watson scored his first championship point in Monte Carlo the following year for Goldie Hexagon Racing. He went on to score a total of six points that season, driving a customer Brabham BT42-Ford modified by the team.[2] He failed to score points the following year, driving for Team Surtees, Team Lotus and Penske Cars.
He secured his first podium with third place at the 1976 French Grand Prix. Later that season came his first victory, driving for Penske-Ford in the Austrian Grand Prix having qualified second on the grid. After the race he shaved off his beard, the result of a bet with team owner Roger Penske.
The start to the 1977 season was disastrous for Watson. In the third race, the South African Grand Prix, he managed to complete race distance and managed a point and his first ever fastest lap. Unfortunately the race saw the deaths of driver Tom Pryce and a track marshal Jansen Van Vuuren. His Brabham-Alfa Romeo let him down throughout the season but, despite this, he managed to put in impressive performances. He gained his first pole position in the Monaco Grand Prix and qualified in the top ten no fewer than 14 times, often in the first two rows. As fate would have it though, problems with the car, accidents, and a disqualification meant that he raced the full distance in only five of the 17 races. The closest he came to victory was during the French Grand Prix, where he dominated the race from the start only to be let down by a fuel metering problem on the last lap which relegated him to second place behind eventual winner Mario Andretti.
In 1978, Watson managed a more successful season in terms of race finishes, even out-qualifying and out-racing his illustrious team mate Niki Lauda on occasion. He managed three podiums and a pole, and notched up 25 points to earn the highest championship placing of his career.
For 1979, Watson moved to McLaren where he gave them their first victory in over three years by winning the 1981 British Grand Prix and also securing the first victory for a carbon fibre composite monocoque F1 car, the McLaren MP4/1. His most successful year was 1982, when he finished third in the drivers' championship, winning two Grands Prix. He was perhaps best known for his astounding drives from the back of the grid. At Detroit in 1982, he overtook three cars in one lap deep into the race on a tight, twisty track that was supposedly impossible to pass on; working his way from 17th starting position on the grid, he charged through the field and scored a victory in the process. A year later in 1983, he repeated the feat at the Long Beach Grand Prix; on another street circuit, starting from 22nd on the grid, the farthest back from which a modern Grand Prix driver had ever come to win a race. Watson's final victory also included a fight for position with teammate Niki Lauda, who had started the race 23rd.
At the end of the 1983 season however, he was dropped by McLaren and subsequently retired from Formula One. He did return for one further race two years later, driving for McLaren in place of an injured Niki Lauda at the 1985 European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch, in which he placed seventh. Watson raced with Lauda's usual race number of "1". This was only the second occasion since 1973 (when the current numeric system related to Formula 1 entrants began) that a driver other than the reigning World Champion has raced car number 1 in a World Championship race, the other being Ronnie Peterson when the system first began, as reigning World Champion Jackie Stewart had retired upon the conclusion of the 1973 season.
In 1984 Watson turned to sports cars racing, notably partnering Stefan Bellof to victory at the Fuji 1000 km during Bellof's 1984 Championship year. Watson also finished second in the 1987 season alongside Jan Lammers in the Silk Cut Jaguar when they won a total of three championship races (Jarama ,Monza and Fuji). Watson also competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans seven times over the course of his career, finishing 11th, a career best, in 1990.
After retiring from active racing, he worked as a television commentator, ran a race school at Silverstone and managed a racetrack. He also became the first man to ever test a Jordan Formula One car in 1990.
From 1990 to 1996 he worked as a Formula One commentator for Eurosport alongside Richard Nicholls (1990–1992), Allard Kalff (1992–1994) and Ben Edwards (1995–1996). The last Grand Prix Eurosport broadcast live in the UK was the Japanese GP in 1996. The contracts for Formula One live broadcasts were shifted to private TV stations for 1997. In 1997 Watson worked as a Formula One commentator for ESPN.
From 1998 to 2001 he was Charlie Cox's sidekick in commentating on the British Touring Car Championship for the BBC.
During the 2002 F1 season, John co-commentated on Sky Sports' Pay Per View F1+ coverage (nicknamed Bernie Vision) alongside Ben Edwards. However, this was fairly unpopular and it was axed for the 2003 season.
Watson has commentated on some rounds of the FIA GT1 and GT3 Championship in 2010.
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
(key) (races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Goldie Hexagon Racing | March 721 | Ford V8 | ROC |
BRA |
INT |
OUL |
REP |
VIC 6 |
| 1973 | Ceramica Pagnossin Team MRD | Brabham BT42 | Ford V8 | ROC Ret |
INT |
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| 1975 | Team Surtees | Surtees TS16 | Ford V8 | ROC 2 |
INT 4 |
SUI 5 |
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| 1977 | Martini Racing | Brabham BT45 | Alfa Romeo F12 | ROC 3 |
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| 1980 | Marlboro Team McLaren | McLaren M29B | Ford V8 | ESP Ret |
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| 1981 | Marlboro McLaren International | McLaren M29F | Ford V8 | RSA 5 |
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| 1983 | Marlboro McLaren International | McLaren MP4/1C | Ford V8 | ROC Ret |
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| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by James Hunt |
Hawthorn Memorial Trophy 1978 |
Succeeded by Alan Jones |
| Preceded by None |
Autosport British Competition Driver 1982 |
Succeeded by Jonathan Palmer |
| Preceded by Alan Jones |
Hawthorn Memorial Trophy 1982-1983 |
Succeeded by Derek Warwick |