Photo by Mogadir, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. (credit links at the end of the content)
We go back to the 1970s, remembering the forgotten teams and privateers of the time. To keep things short, we will cover around five or six teams per post, bringing their F1 journey, how they entered, and what eventually happened to them. After finishing our series from the 1990s to the mid-2010s, our focus now moves further back to the earlier days of F1, including teams and private operations that no longer exist. Some entered as teams, others as privateers, but all have a story worth remembering. Our journey continues with the forgotten F1 privateers of 1970.
Before we continue with the 1970 privateers, we want to remind you that you can find our previous series in the Forgotten F1 Teams category. There, you will find lists of the teams, but we have also covered many of them individually with more detailed stories and information.
A quick note: We have not included every team that competed in 1970, as putting them all into one article would make it far too long. Instead, we have split the stories into two parts. This is the first half, with the remaining teams coming in the next part.
Forgotten F1 Privateers of 1970
F1 in 1970 was already becoming a serious technological battle, but the grid still had room for something that would become increasingly rare, the independent privateer.
Not every team arrived with a major manufacturer behind it, a huge factory or a massive budget; some bought old F1 cars, other purchased customer machinery, yet they were part of the F1 world.
Ecurie Bonnier: The Private Team of a Grand Prix Veteran
Jo Bonnier had already experienced the factory side of F1, before establishing his own private operation, the Swedish driver had raced for several major teams and became one of the sport’s most respected figures, while also serving as president of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association.
By 1970, his operation, Ecurie Bonnier, represented the traditional owner-driver privateer, he didn’t develop his own car, Bonnier relied on customer machinery and kept his team moving with limited resources, the team used a McLaren M7C powered by the Ford Cosworth DFV, with Bonnier competing against factory backed teams possessing considerably greater budgets and newer cars.
It was a difficult campaign, the older car struggled for pace, and Bonnier failed to qualify at the Italian GP, at the United States GP, he made the grid and completed 50 laps before retiring with a water-line problem, only two races in 1970.
Ecurie Bonnier survived beyond 1970 and eventually concentrated more havily on sports-car racing, Jo Bonnier continued racing until 1972.
Tom Wheatcroft Racing: A Racing Enthusiast Goes Grand Prix Racing
Tom Wheatcroft wasn’t a conventional F1 team owner, the British businessman had made his fortune in construction, but his real passion was motor racing, rather than building an elaborate new operation, Wheatcroft bought a used Brabham BT26A powered by the Cosworth DFV and entered it privately; the car had already enjoyed success in factory hands, but Wheatcrofft now wanted to give rising British driver Derek Bell an opportunity.
Their chance came at the 1970 Belgian Grand Prix at the fearsome Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
On the 1st lap, the Brabham suffered a gearbox failure, ending the team’s only F1 appearance of the season.
Colin Crabbe Racing: The F1 Privateer Who Gave Ronnie Peterson His Chance
Colin Crabbe was a wealthy British classic-car dealer who brough an unusual combination of money, enthusiasm and curiosity to F1.
His team, also associated with his Antique Automobiles business, was a genuine F1 privateer operation, he didn’t have the resources of Ferrari, Lotus or the other major manufacturers, but he was willing to spend his own money to acquire competitive machinery.
For 1970, he secured a March 701 and gave a young Swedish driver Ronnie Peterson his F1 opportunity.
Peterson quickly showed why Crabbe had taken the gamble, the March wasn’t the easiest car to drive, and the team operated on a fraction of the resources available to the established constructors, yet Peterson regularly produced respectable qualifying performances.
At Monaco GP in 1970, he finished 7th, an impressive result for the small operation. Crabbe’s F1 adventure was short-live, but his importance was much greater than the results suggest, his team helped launch Peterson’s career, while Crabbe himself later returned to the world of historic and classic racing cars.
Silvio Moser Racing Team: When a Privateer Tried to Build Its Own F1 Car
Silvio Moser had spent years competing in F1 with customer cars, but in 1970, the Swiss F1 privateer decided to take a much bigger gamble, instead of simply buying another established car, Moser commissioned engineer Guglielmo Bellasi to create a completely new F1 car.
However, the result was the Bellasi F1 car, built by a tiny Swiss operation and entered under the Silvio Moser Racing Team name.
On paper, it was an ambitious idea, in reality, the project quickly became a struggle against time, money and performance.
The Bellasi was heavy and lacked the development of the major constructors, Moser entered five races during 1970, but he failed to qualify for four of them.
The project disappeared, leaving the Bellasi as one of the strangest homemade F1 cars of its era.
In the past, we also shared the story of the Silvio Moser F1 team, where you can find more information about the team and its journey in F1.
Scuderia Scribante: One of South Africa’s Independent F1 Teams
Scuderia Scribante was different from many European F1 privateers because its roots were firmly planted in South African motorsport, the team was founded by businessman Aldo Scribante and had already established itself in the country’s racing scene before attempting to step onto the World Championship stage.
For the 1970 South African Grand Prix at Kyalami, Scribante entered local driver Dave Charlton in a customer Lotus 49C powered by the Cosworth DFV.
Charlton qualified 13th, putting the privateer Lotus ahead of several more established F1 operation, it was an impressive performance for a team whose main activities were contentrated thousands of miles away from the European centre of Grand Prix racing.
The race lasted 73 laps for Charlton, the Lotus suffered an engine failure, ending the team’s attempt almost immediately.
However, the team competed in F1 between 1962 and 1975, with its best result coming at the 1962 South African Grand Prix, where Neville Lederle finished 6th in a Lotus 21, another customer car at the time.
Across those 13 years, the team made just 10 Grand Prix appearances, with Lederle driving twice and Dave Charlton making the other eight starts, scoring just one point in 1962.
In 1972, the team competed in four races, visiting the French, British and German Grands Prix in addition to its home race in South Africa.
Team Gunston: Forgotten F1 privateer from South Africa
By 1970, Team Gunston was operating primarily from South Africa, where the local racing scene was its main focus.
At the South African GP at Kyalami, the team entered John Love in a Lotus 49 and Peter de Klerk in a Brabham BT26A, both powered by Cosworth engines.
Love qualified 22nd but produced a strong race to finish eighth, De Klerk started 23rd and brought his Brabham home in 11th.
Neither result earned points, but that wasn’t really the team’s purpose, the team was a regional privateer competing against the world’s best whenever the opportunity arose, the team continued appearing at Kyalami before eventually disappearing from the F1 scene.
Continue the story of the F1 privateers of 1970 in Part 2. We did not include them all in one article because it would have become too long, so you can find more forgotten privateers from 1970 here.
FEATURED IMAGE CREDITS: Photo by Mogadir, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
