Credit: Photo by David Merrett, via Flickr, CC BY 2.0. (credit links at the end of the content)
We continue our journey through the forgotten F1 privateers. Our previous article also focused on the teams and independent F1 entries of 1970, but since covering them all would make one very long article, we have decided to split the stories into separate parts and link them together so you can easily follow the series and learn more about these forgotten names. In this article, only one privateer, Rob Walker Racing, operated as a long-running team, while the other three were independent F1 entries of 1970, run by owner-drivers.
Independent F1 Entries of 1970
In this second part covering 1970, we look at independent racers who operated very differently from the factory teams, with their large budgets and dedicated engineering departments.
These privateers often relied on customer cars, personal money and small crews. The only team in this article that competed in F1 for a longer period was Rob Walker Racing, although even they relied on customer machinery throughout their time in the sport. Since 1970 was their final season in F1, we felt their story belonged here.
We have left out the larger, established teams such as Matra or Lotus, which had a proper factory-backed operation and a much more significant presence in the sport.
Rob Walker Racing: The 14 years Privateer
Rob Walker Racing wasn’t just another privateer operation, it had already become one of the most successful independent F1 teams in history, despite never building its own chassis.
Run by wealthy heir Rob Walker, the team bought customer cars and entered them in its distinctive dark-blue livery, so by 1970, Walker had teamed up with Brooke Bond Oxo for sponsorship and was running two-time World Champion Graham Hill.
The team began the season with a Lotus 49C before moving to the new Lotus 72C.
Hill scored points for Walker earlier in the season, including fourth place at the Spanish GP.
After 1970, the legendary F1 privateer operation eventually withdrew from the sport, as the sport’s rising costs made the traditional independent model increasinly difficult to sustain.
In 14 years of F1 competition, Rob Walker Racing ran some of the greatest drivers of the era, including Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Graham Hill and Jochen Rindt. But the story does not end there. The team won nine Grands Prix, took 10 pole positions and recorded nine fastest laps. What makes those achievements even more impressive is that Rob Walker Racing remained a true privateer team, buying its machinery from other constructors rather than building its own cars. That is why, as we mentioned earlier, Rob Walker Racing is widely regarded as the most successful privateer team in F1 history.
Gus Hutchison: A Millionaire Who Entered F1 for Himself
Not every privateer needed a full racing empire, Gus Hutchison was an American businessman and former chemistry student who had built his fortune through business turning his attention to F1, so rather than searching for a factory seat, he bought a used Brabham BT26A powered by the Cosworth DFV and entered himself for the 1970 United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen.
The car had previously been raced by Jacky Ickx, which created a remarkable coincidence, Ickx was now competing for Ferrari, while Hutchinson was attempting to qualify the same Brabham as a private entrant.
Hutchison qualified 22nd, but his F1 race, lasted just 21 laps before a fuel tank problem forced him to retire.
There was no long-term F1 campaign waiting for him afterward. We have previously shared the story of Gus Hutchison on our website, where you can learn more about his unusual F1 adventure. After that race, he simply returned to America and continued with his business and racing interests.
Hubert Hahne: F1 privateer driving March 701
Hubert Hahne arrived at the 1970 German GP with a brand-new March 701, hoping to make an impression at his home race.
The experienced German racer had already built a reputation in touring cars and had backing from publishing magnate Axel Springer.
Hahne purchased the customer March and entered it privately, but the weekend quickly turned into a disaster.
At Hockenheim, the car was nowhere near the pace required, he qualified at the back and failed to make the race, leaving him furoius with March Engineering.
According to reports, Hahne was unhappy with the car and felt something was not right, leading to a disagreement with March over its performance.
March’s response was extraordinary, at Silverstone, the same car was tested by Ronnie Peterson, who produced a much faster lap than Hahne had managed.
The controversy effectively ended Hahne’s F1 ambitions; instead of becoming another privateer attempting to establish himself on the grid, his 1970 March adventure became a bizarre one-off episode involving failed qualification, a legal battle and a test that finally settled the argument.
Pete Lovely Volkswagen: The F1 Privateer With a Volkswagen Transporter
Pete Lovely is our last of the 1970.
He represented everything that made the old privateer era so unusual, the American racer also owned a Volkswagen dealership in Seattle, and his F1 operation carried the name Pete Lovely Volkswagen Inc.
Instead of arriving with the enormous transporters associated with factory teams, Lovely famously used a modofied Volkswagen transporter to move his racing equipment.
His weapon was an older Lotus 49B, powered by the Cosworth DFV,.
By 1970, the car was already far from the latest F1 machinery, but Lovely continued to campaign it against much newer designs. At the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch, he qualified at the back of the field and managed to complete 11 laps before retiring from the race.
It was not the only time Lovely competed in F1. He also entered races with his own team in 1969, 1970 and 1971. In 1969, he enjoyed two of his best F1 results, finishing seventh at the Canadian Grand Prix and ninth at the Mexican Grand Prix, both driving the Lotus 49B. However, Lovely’s F1 debut came much earlier, in 1959, when he raced for the factory Team Lotus rather than as a privateer.
Lovely never became a star, but his operation perfectly captured the spirit of the privateer era, an old Lotus, a small crew, a Volkswagen transporter and the determination to go racing anyway!
FEATUED IMAGE CREDITS: Credit: Photo by David Merrett, via Flickr, CC BY 2.0.
If you want to discover more privateers, you can check out our previous article about the 1970 privateers. Since covering them all in one article would make it too long, we decided to split the stories into shorter parts, making them easier to read and explore. Our journey will continue soon with the 1971 privateers.
