Karl Johansson

Karl Johansson was a Swedish Formula One racing driver. He competed between 1962 and 1967 and won the World Championship in 1965.
Johansson passed away suddenly in a crash during the 1967 United States Grand Prix after the car's suspension suddenly snapped before turn five during the third lap of the race.
== Early Years ==
Karl Johansson was born in Kalmar, Sweden, to a farming family. He found a love for engines after helping his father out when tinkering with the tractors. 
== Racing Career ==
Karl participated in rallies all over Sweden between 1958 and 1960. 
In 1961 Johansson participated in the Non-Championship Formula One event Kanonloppet, during which he was noticed by John Cooper who offered him a seat with the Cooper team in 1962. 
==== Cooper (1962 - 1963) ====
Karl intended to join the 1962 Dutch Grand Prix; however he had to pull out due to an injury caused while rallying.
Johansson immediately impressed when he finished 2nd in the Monaco Grand Prix. However he failed to finish during the Belgian Grand Prix due to the suspension failing, causing him to crash into the barrier. While unscathed, his fiancé asked him to stop racing. However his goal for a world championship pushed him to continue.
After finishing 3rd in the 1962 Drivers Championship, Karl felt like he had more to prove and pushed harder to win with Cooper in 1963.Karl was unable to get to grips with the Cooper T66 that year due to reliability issues and the car's lack of performance. Despite this, he took his first race win at the 1963 United States Grand Prix in torrential rain. 
==== Brabham (1964 - 1965) ====
Johansson was persuaded to join Brabham for 1964 and had a decent run but was left unimpressed by the car. 
In 1965, Karl had a much better level of success and he beat out the vastly more experienced drivers Alexander Wilson and Remy Sauvageon to win the World Championship, taking five wins in the process. 
==== BRM (1966 - 1967) ====
Johansson took a number of podiums throughout the 1966 season, including a win at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, but was unable to challenge for the title against a dominant Wilson.
The 1967 season started well for Johansson and he finished 5th in the season-opening race at Kyalami before taking two podiums in the next two races. Reliability issues and crashes affected the second half of his season and he retired from the next four races before the final race at Watkins Glen. 
Johansson was driving in 4th during the United States Grand Prix when his car's suspension failed at turn five, resulting in a heavy crash. Johansson was killed instantly in the accident. Category:Drivers
Category:Swedish
Category:F1
Category:World Champion