Alexander Wilson

Wilson in 1968

Edinburgh, Scotland

**Alexander Wilson** (1938 - 1972) was a British racing driver from Scotland. He won the Formula One World Championship four times and previously held the record for the most Grand Prix victories until Van Damme surpassed the record at the 1990 Belgian Grand Prix. Renowned for his qualifying speed, Wilson still holds the record for the most pole positions in Formula One history, with 62 in total. Wilson won the Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race twice and won the 1968 Indianapolis 500, becoming the first driver to win the prestigious Triple Crown of Motorsport. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers of all time.

Wilson died in an accident whilst leading the 1972 Monaco Grand Prix.

## Early Years

Alexander John Wilson was born on 10th April 1938 in Edinburgh. His father was a mechanic who became a tank commander during WW2 and his mother was a school teacher.

Wilson started racing at the young age of 16 in local car championships. With mixed success, he was persuaded by his family to study at the University of Edinburgh instead, but dropped out early to focus more on racing.

## Racing Career

Wilson managed to secure a drive in the Formula Two series after one of the Cooper drivers was injured during a testing crash. Wilson quickly showed the team his speed but poor reliability and luck cost him many good results throughout the 1957 season. He managed to win his first race of the year at Brands Hatch in the torrential rain, winning by over 40 seconds over the next driver. Wilson's win impressed many in the paddock and he was approached by Ferrari later that year to be offered a seat in Formula One.

### **Ferrari (1958-1968)**

#### **1958**

His first season at Ferrari was marred by unreliability, with Wilson's first finish coming at the 5th round of the season in Spa. The season was dominated by Cooper and Ferrari were unable to improve their car throughout the year, with Wilson's highest finish being 4th at the British Grand Prix.

#### **1959**

With an improved car for the 1959 season, Wilson had more success and picked up several wins, with his first win at the Dutch Grand Prix. The championship battle was closely fought between Ferrari and Cooper, but Ferrari just managed to clinch the title at the final race at Sebring. Wilson's consistent finishes in the points due to his Ferrari's reliability gained him his first championship.

#### **1960 - 1961**

After a highly successful 1959 season, Ferrari failed to capitalise on regulation changes and Lotus dominated the 1960 and 1961 Formula One seasons. Wilson picked up just one win in 1960 at the Belgian Grand Prix, and scored two wins during the 1961 season but was unable to fight for the title in an underpowered and slow Ferrari car.

#### **1962**

Ferrari hired the experienced driver Rémy Sauvageon for the 1962 season and alongside Wilson, this was one of the strongest driver lineups on the grid that year. The team dominated the season, winning every race and finishing 28 points ahead of Cooper.

The driver's championship was closely fought between Wilson and Sauvageon, with both drivers trading wins throughout the year. Wilson had the speed advantage over his older teammate, but Sauvageon had much more experience and consistency.

Wilson started the season strong and took pole at the Dutch Grand Prix, but crashed whilst leading the race by over 20 seconds. He limped home to take third whilst Sauvageon inherited the win. Wilson was forced to miss the Monaco GP and British GP due to injuries sustained early in each weekend, but brought the title fight to the final round of the championship in South Africa after winning the previous race. He dominated the race but Sauvageon finished in third which gave the Frenchman his first title, finishing two points ahead of Wilson.

#### **1963 - 1966**

The next few years saw mixed success for Wilson. His Ferrari teammate Sauvageon managed to win the 1963 and 1964 championships and Karl Johansson won his first and only title for Brabham in 1965. Sauvageon announced his retirement at the end of 1965, ending a rivalry with Wilson that had lasted for years.

Wilson finally managed to gain some luck for the 1966 season and won his first championship since 1959, with Ferrari continuing their strong form in the mid 1960's.

#### **1967**

This season saw the tightest championship fight for years, despite Wilson winning the first four races of the year. Nicolas Hill joined BRM halfway through 1967 and won three of the four final races. Wilson was involved in a first-lap incident at the German Grand Prix, but charged through the field, setting the fastest lap in the process and taking third. This would be the final race of his season, due to more injuries preventing his participation in the final two races of the season. Despite this, Wilson clinched the title by four points ahead of Hill and claimed his third Formula One championship.

#### **1968**

The rivalry between Wilson and Hill became more heated after the 1967 season and the two frequently came into contact with each other, both on-track and off it. The two drivers were equally matched, despite having vastly different driving styles.

Relations between Wilson and Ferrari became strained during the 1968 season as reliability and team management issues cost the Italian team both the Drivers' and Constructors' championships. Wilson would retire in the first two races of the season from engine and gearbox failures and opted to miss the Monaco Grand Prix to race in the 1968 Indy 500 instead.

Wilson's great rival Nicolas Hill took that season's championship and later during the year Wilson was lured by the British team Lotus and joined them at the conclusion of the 1968 season, having stated that he was unhappy to stay with Ferrari.

#### **Indianapolis 500 Victory**

Wilson's retirements from the opening races of the 1968 Formula One season and failures from the Ferrari management to address the car's problems soured relations between Wilson and Ferrari early in the season. Wilson would have a short lunch meeting with Lotus owner Colin Chapman in Monaco after he retired from the Spanish Grand Prix. Despite the short time-frame to the start of the race in Indianapolis, Chapman enticed Wilson into joining Lotus for the event, to which Wilson accepted.

Lotus entered four cars for the 1968 Indy 500, with all of their drivers using the innovative gas turbine powered Lotus 56. The weather in Indianapolis was unusually wet around the time of the event and many of the sessions were rained off due to this, resulting in every driver getting less practice time. Wilson chose not to inform Ferrari of his decision to race in the event and Enzo Ferrari would only learn of Wilson's entry when he read a newspaper in the morning. Furiously, he phoned Wilson to demand an explanation. The phonecall was short and Wilson reportedly ended the call with "*Ci vediamo a Spa"* (I'll see you in Spa)*.*

Alexander arrived on 14th May and took part in his first practice session the day after, using his first day at the track to talk with engineers to gather insight. The media circus was infatuated with Wilson's involvement at the race, despite his relative inexperience compared to many of the other drivers. Jose Coutinho, one of Lotus' drivers, would crash heavily at turn three and was forced to miss the rest of the event due to his injuries. This brought Lotus down to just three cars. Wilson took time to adapt his driving style to the unique Lotus 56 but was moderately fast and comfortable with the car by the time that qualifying started. He went on to qualify 6th, the second fastest of the three remaining Lotus cars.

Wilson dropped to 7th in the opening laps of his race and pushed hard to keep up with the front pack, reluctant to lose the draft of cars in front. However, he started to manage his pace as one-by-one cars started to retire. The leading Lotus of Jimmy Wallace dropped out due to a piston failure on lap 89, before Matthew Jenkins also retired after getting caught up in a crash at turn one. Alexander gained confidence as the race went on and he started to pass cars with more aggression as the race entered the final 50 laps. Joe Carter, a two-time winner at the event, had a comfortable lead of a lap before his car started to slow with a mechanical issue. Wilson pushed on and managed to catch Carter with four laps before the finish. Carter, not wanting to be beaten by a Brit, defended hard against Wilson to no avail as Wilson passed him on the outside of turn one to take the lead. Wilson's victory at the event was hugely popular in the media and paddock and helped to propel him to new heights in the world of motorsport.

### **Lotus (1969 - 1972)**

#### **1969**

Wilson's first season with Lotus was highly successful and he won the first four races of the season to take a commanding lead in the championship. Lotus' Type 49 proved to be the class of the field and was also extremely reliable. Nicolas Hill continued to be Wilson's rival throughout the season but ultimately the strong combination of Wilson and Lotus gave Wilson his fourth and final championship.

#### **1970 - 1971**

His rivalry with Nicolas Hill continued into the start of the 1970's. Hill dominated the 1970 season, with Wilson winning just two races on his way to second in the championship.

The 1971 season was closely contested between Wilson and Hill, with the championship fight going to the last round at Watkins Glen. Wilson started from pole and led from the start, but a puncture late in the race cost him over a minute as he limped back to the pits for repairs. With Wilson finishing in only 5th even after a late charge, Hill managed to win his third and final championship.

#### **1972**

Wilson sustained a heavy crash in testing at Brands Hatch weeks prior to the start of the season. The team were testing a new wing configuration which failed on one of the high-speed corners, causing Wilson to spin and crash heavily into a wall. Doctors were unsure whether he would recover from his injuries in time for the first race in Buenos Aires, but he was declared fit to race just three days before qualifying was due to happen.

Wilson didn't seem to have lost any of his pace despite not having driven the car for over a month. In the first race of the season, he qualified eight tenths ahead of his rival Nicolas Hill and led from start to finish, finishing almost 40 seconds in front of Hill. In the next race at Kyalami, Wilson had a memorable battle with his new teammate Gunnar Olander for the race win, with Wilson finishing barely a tenth ahead at the finish line. For the short time that they were teammates together, Wilson would try to teach the young Swedish driver everything he knew about racing and the pair had a friendly relationship together.

## Sportscar Racing

Wilson competed in sportscar racing alongside Formula One and made his debut in the 1960 1000km of Buenos Aires. Although he missed many events due to clashes with Grands Prix, Wilson was loyal to Ferrari in their sportscars program and continued to do so until 1968 when he joined Porsche, where he stayed until his untimely death in 1972. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice during his career, winning the prestigious event in 1964 and 1966.

## Death

Prior to the Monaco Grand Prix, Wilson had expressed concerns about safety in the sport. He had experienced
several major crashes in his long career in Formula One and it seemed that little had been done to improve the car and circuit safety. During an interview on Friday he said: "*The cars have been getting faster every year but the circuit safety hasn't improved so I'm worried about the safety of the drivers and spectators*."

Wilson started from pole position for the final time, with Jesse Masters following closely behind. The pair pulled ahead of the rest of the field, with Masters seemingly having better pace than Wilson but unable to find a place to pass. On lap 4, José Manuel Coutinho would have a major crash which would take his life. Fuel from his destroyed car leaked onto the track and would make parts of the track surface slippery.

On lap 10, Wilson was approaching the fast and dangerous chicane after the tunnel when he ran over fluid from Coutinho's car. Wilson tried to control the car but clipped the barrier at the chicane, which then smashed into straw bales and the barrier on the left side of the track. Masters would narrowly avoid crashing into Wilson's car in the process.

Alexander's injuries were severe and he was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. The entire paddock mourned the passing of Wilson and Coutinho, and the loss of two drivers in one race weekend cast doubt over the continuation of the Monaco Grand Prix in later years. Wilson was survived by his wife Jane, and his son, Jack.

## Personal Life

Wilson married his wife Jane in 1959. They had one son, Jack Wilson, who was born in December 1960. Jack also became a racing driver, despite concerns from his mother. He went on to join Formula One in 1984 with Lotus, eventually going on to win three Drivers' Championships.

Alexander's older brother, Charles Wilson, managed the McLaren Formula One team for several years in the 1970's following the death of the team's founder Bruce McLaren in 1970.