Vel’s Parnelli Jones Racing: The Rise and Fall of an American F1 Team

Photo by Gillfoto, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

When most people think of F1, the mind naturally drifts to Europe, where teams have dominated for decades, and still do like McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull.

However, in the mid-1970, there was an US team that entered F1, the Vel’s Parnelly Jones Racing.

It was founded by racing legend Parnelli Jones and his Partner Vel Miletich, the team had already conquered the American open-wheel scene, including back to back Indianapolis 500 victories.

But it did not end there for them, they wanted something more, inspired by that success, they made another step onto the world’s biggest stage in 1974.

The Leap to Formula 1

Finally in 1974, Parnelli Jones team entered F1 with the VPJ4, which was designed by former Lotus Engineer Maurice Philippe.

They had a vision, a goal, it was simple but bold, show that an American team could compete against the giants of F1, to lead the charge, the team signed Mario Andretti, probably the best driver in US at the time.

In their first season, was a steep learning curve, they struggled to finish races.

So looking back there were a lot of teams that had difficulties competing at the highest level, like the Canadian F1 team racing, which withdraw from F1 after just one race.

Maurice Philippe’s Influence

Maurice Philippe poured his Lotus 72 experience straight into the Parnelli VPJ4, giving it a wedge-shaped body, side-mounted radiators, inboard brakes, and a Cosworth DFV used as a stressed part of the chassis. It looked and felt like a direct descendant of the car that once rewrote Formula 1 design.

But Philippe also added lessons from his American years, shaping the VPJ4 into something practical enough for a smaller team to run. It was clever, compact, and at times quick in Andretti’s hands, yet without the resources of Lotus, its potential never fully turned into victories.

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Pushing Forward: 1975 and 1976

They knew it would be hard to continue and compete at the highest level, Vel’s Parnelli Jones Racing returned in 1975 with a strengthened chassis and persistence.

With Mario Andretti at the team, motivation was there, he battled through a long season, he faced retirements, mechanical failures and fierce competition against European teams, who were for years in the sport.

The highlight of Vel’s Parnelli Jones Racing’s short Formula 1 journey came at the 1975 Swedish Grand Prix. Qualifying had been disappointing, with Mario Andretti lining up 15th.

Yet when the race unfolded, both drivers delivered a remarkable performance. Against the odds, Andretti surged through the field to claim fourth place. It was their finest moment in Formula 1, a glimpse of what might have been if circumstances had turned in their favor.

Nobody inside the team expected the blow that came at the end of 1975, Firestone, their key backer decided to walk away from F1.

But if you look at the stats, that they did a great job at the time, managing to score five points in F1.

So in 1976, the team upgraded to the VPJ4B, hoping finally to fight the rivals, Andretti was fighting in the midfield for the whole season, and the season ended with just one point, showing how difficult was to compete in F1 with limited resources and the reality of F1’s intense demands.

Why the Dream Ended

So why the decided to withdraw from F1? It was lack of ambition firstly, the withdrawal of their biggest sponsor, Firestone, left a critical funding gap that the team needed.

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Competing against best teams in Europe, it demanded financial stability, something Vel’s Parnelli Jones Racing did not have back in the day, this was the reason why they withdraw from F1 forever.

What can we say more?

Although Vel’s Parnelli team never won a race, but their jurney is remembered as one of the most ambitious American attempts to challenge in F1, showing that American teams could dream big.

And today, their brief stint in F1 serves as a reminder of the courage it takes to step onto a global stage, even when the odds are stacked against you.