Gyozo Szel

Budapest, Hungary

**Győző Szél** is a Hungarian racing driver.

## Early Years

Győző was born in District XV in Budapest. He loved cars and planes from a young age and when he was four years old he went to the Liszt Ferenc International Airport by bike every Sunday.

When he was 15, the KGB imprisoned his father and older brother due to their jokes and criticism of Communism.

## Racing Career

Győző started racing in 1967 with a red Trabant. He showed his talent on his debut race, where he recovered from 20th to 2nd. Hermann Rottinger won the race by only a half second. Word of Szél's talent spread and he got hired by a Hungarian Formula Easter team named Pannonia.

### **Formula One**

#### **Ligier (1978 - 1979)**

Szél showed pace on his debut Formula One appearance at the 1978 Argentine Grand Prix but retired early in the race due to a crash. He continued to be crash prone during races, especially at the 1978 Monaco Grand Prix, where Szél squeezed Dale Ballweg's Tyrrell into the inside wall, causing a pileup before the first corner. Szél's actions resulted in a qualifying ban for the following race at Imola which forced him to start from the back of the field.

Győző was involved in a huge accident in the 1978 San Marino Grand Prix when Hugo Gehring lost control of his car at Tamburello and rebounded across the track into the path of Szél's car. Szél was unable to avoid the impact and the crash killed Gehring whilst Szél broke his leg. Szél returned for the 1978 French Grand Prix despite still recovering from his injuries sustained at Imola. He finished 11th after a battle with Richard Harford for much of the race. This was his best finish of his season so far.

#### **1979**

Ligier had a reliable car for the 1979, with only one retirement across the entire season, but it lacked raw pace. Their best finish of the season of any race was 13th. Szél struggled to adapt to the team's new car and also suffered a lot of bad luck throughout the year. He damaged his car's front wing at Monaco after he touched the kerbs at the Casino corner, had fuel injection problems at Imola, damaged his front wing at the start of the German Grand Prix, and also had to slow down at Watkins Glen due to tyre heating issues. Szél was beaten throughout the season by his new teammate, Dale Ballweg, and he finished last in the championship.

#### **ATS** **(1980)**

Szél spent a very unsuccessful season at the German ATS team, scoring 0 points and a best finishing position of 11th, which came at Watkins Glen. Szél only had to retire once due to puncture after going over a lost bolt in the Variente Alta at Imola. Szél wasn't able to beat his new teammate William O'Conner, who finished ahead of him at almost every Grand Prix throughout the 1980 season. After an unsuccessful year, ATS fired both drivers.

#### **Brabham (1981)**

Győző Szél was hired by the famous British Brabham team to replace Nino Tempestini for 1981 after Nino left for Lotus. While Szél's teammate Skylar West scored 12 points throughout the year, Szél once again failed to score, with a 16th position at Imola his best finish. Brabham decided to focus development on their 1982 car early, testing innovative body elements at Monaco. After the season, Skylar West decided to leave Brabham for a seat at Renault.

#### **ATS (1982-1984)**

For the 1982 season Szél returned to the ATS team to help them develop the car. Szél finished 10th in the season opener, two laps behind the race winner Chuck Dingley. In the following two races he tried out new strategies that rewarded him with 10th and 11th placed finishes. In the 1982 British Grand Prix, alongside Laurent Leroux, Szél scored the team's best finish of the season so far, with Leroux finishing 9th and Szél finishing 10th in the race.

#### **1983**

In 1983 Győző had a new teammate, Santiago Réyes. All the new car developments worked well, with the team scoring nine points by the end of the season. Réyes easily beat Győző throughout the year, finishing in front of him on every race weekend except for the United States North Grand Prix where Szél finished 4th and Réyes 11th.

#### **1984**

His last season at ATS was far from strong and Stefan Wolff could easily beat him by consantly finishing in front of Győző. The car was weak and unreliable and the drivers retired seven times during the season due to engine problems. ATS also had budget issues and they couldn't even pay the driver's salaries. Both drivers eventually left the team at the end of the season. Győző joined the new Italian team Minardi, whilst Wolff was signed by Mclaren.

#### **Minardi (1985)**

Minardi first car looked promising during pre-season testing and also managed to score points in their first race with Szél finishing 8th, and McLean 10th. They retired in the next two races due to brake failures. In the next four races had strong finishes, especially at Hockenheim, where Győző managed to finish 5th.

## Personal Life

Unfortunately the Szél family didn't have enough money to support Győző's racing career. He had to resort to selling art, making music, or dancing to earn some money for his career. By the time he was 27, he had enough money to fly to France and he bought an illegal ticket from an ex-commander of the German army.

Győző's love for Hungarian food and drinks is well known in the paddock. He married Júlia Koloszár in June 1975. He currently lives in Imola, in North Italy. He is a vocal critic of the Soviet Union and Communism.