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Francois Cevert applies some gentle correction to his Tecno 68 Ford F3 car, Rouen, France 1968…

I was researching another article and tripped over some photos of a very young Francois Cevert in an Alpine in his F3 days…

It reminded me of how many talented young drivers were killed before their prime well into the 1970’s- Francois, Tom Pryce, Gerry Birrell, Roger Williamson, Piers Courage and Tony Brise all spring readily to mind.

The monocoque chassis of the 1970’s were far stronger than the spaceframes of ten years before but as the width and grip of tyres and the aerodynamic downforce the cars produced improved, it meant that accidents, when they occurred at the higher cornering speeds could be particularly horrific. It was a collision with an armco fence, in an accident of this type when his Tyrrell got away from him which killed Francois at Watkins Glen in 1973.

John Barnards’ pioneering use of a carbon fibre chassis in the first McLaren MP4 in 1981 was a driver safety ‘game-changer’.

As a young teenager just getting interested in racing Cevert ‘had it all’- dazzling film star looks, talent aplenty and racing for a team which was carefully nurturing his talent.

Ken Tyrrell recruited Francois into his Elf sponsored team after the retirement of Johnny Servoz-Gavin due to an eye injury. Jackie Stewart spotted Cevert in 1969 when contesting F2 races and suggested to Tyrrell he keep an eye on him.

Stewart immediately clicked with the young Frenchman, they had a remarkably mature relationship as teammates by the standards of today (Piquet/Mansell, Prost/Senna, Rosberg/Hamilton for example!) with Stewart mentoring the younger man, exactly as Graham Hill had done with the young Scot in 1965. Francois fitted into the ‘family team’ that Tyrrell was. Norah and Ken, Jackie and Helen Stewart, Derek Gardner and the mechanics was a famously friendly place to be- albeit a very competitive one.

Cevert made his Grand Prix debut in the team’s March 701 Ford at the 1970 Dutch GP, by the end of 1971 he won his one and only GP victory at Watkins Glen, ironically the circuit at which he would lose his life.

Stewart freely admitted Ceverts’ equal or superior speed in 1973, the team leading role Cevert was to play in 1974, when JYS retirement was planned was cruelly stolen from him.

Francois in the Brands Hatch paddock (above) for the ‘ER Hall Trophy’ Meeting October 29 1967.

Alpine A280 Renault, DNF in a race flagged off after 10 laps due to the conditions, the top 10 finishers included future F1 drivers Henri Pescarolo, John Miles, Peter Gethin, Reine Wisell, and Derek Bell- the field also included future F1 drivers Ian Ashley, Gijs Van Lennep, Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, Dave Walker, Clay Regazzoni, Piers Courage, Howden Ganley…a field of some depth!

This article and photographs celebrate Francois’ time in his formative F3 and F2 years.

Cevert, born in 1944, originally became interested in racing via Jean Pierre Beltoise, his sister was dating the future French champion at the time.

After two years doing National Service he enlisted in a racing school at Magny Cours, winning the ‘Volant Shell’ competition, the prize was an Alpine A280 Renault F3 car.

Francois’ Magny Cours drive was funded by a married woman ‘Nanou’, he met her aged 19 and  she fell for him during a holiday in which she too was completing the race course- the shot below is of his wet, winning drive in a Merlyn Mk 7.

 

Patrick Depailler also contested the final, finishing second, here the pair of them are looking very sodden after the race.

The Winfield Racing entered car was underfunded and relatively uncompetitive in 1967 but Francois did enough to be offered a works Alpine drive for 1968 but he turned this down and talked his way into the Tecno team, who had a much more competitive machine.

He missed five rounds of the French Championship but won the first he entered at Monthlery on May 12, he was immediately competitive in his Tecno. A strong fourth place followed in the  Monaco F3 GP and  put his name into prominence, Ronnie Peterson placed third, he too would make his F1 debut in a March 701 in 1970.

Francois then took further wins at La Chatre, Nogaro and Albi winning the French F3 championship that year.

Francois progressed to a factory F2 Tecno in 1969…

The Ford FVA powered Tecno 69 was a very competitive car also driven by fellow 1970 F1 ‘newbee’ Clay Regazzoni. The class was hotly contested by drivers including Jochen Rindt, Jackie Stewart, Graham Hill and Piers Courage, the class contained both pretenders to the thrones of current champions and the champions themselves.

Johnny Servoz-Gavin won the European F2 Championship that year in a Matra MS7 Ford from Hubert Hahne in a Lola T102 BMW/ BMW 269 from Francois in third, it had been a strong debutant F2 season in a field of great depth.

 

Into 1970 Francois continued in F2 and was also picked up by Matra for their endurance program, the 3 litre V12 sportscars provided his first taste of real power.

Cevert drove for the team for the rest of his life, Servoz retired and the rest, as they say, is history and one of Grand Prix Racings’ great ‘mighta-beens’…

Other Cevert Reading…

Francois and Jack Brabham at Matra in 1970; https://primotipo.com/2016/09/09/jack-and-francois-matra-ms660/

Tyrrell Aerodynamic Evolution; https://primotipo.com/2016/05/31/tyrrell-002-monza-1972/

Etcetera…

Jack Brabham and Francois Cevert teammates at Matra in 1970.

Jack was in his last year of F1 and Francois his first- winners of the Paris 1000Km at Monthlery in 1970, Matra MS660

First Grand Prix, the Dutch in 1970, Team Tyrrell March 701 Ford.

Q 15 of 24 cars and DNF with an engine failure on lap 31 of the race won by Jochen Rindt’s Lotus 72 Ford. This was the tragic race in which Piers Courage lost his life in a high speed crash in his De Tomaso 505 Ford.

Cevert continued to do the occasional F2 race after he had broken into GP racing.

Here he is aboard a Tecno TF/71 Ford FVA, in the ‘City of Imola GP’ in July 1971. He was non-classified tenth in the race won by Carlos Pace’ March 712M Ford FVA. ‘Tyrrell nose’ quickly adopted by others after appearing at the French Grand Prix earlier in July, but pioneered by Chevron in F2.

Francois and Brigitte Bardot at the Paris Racing Car Show in 1971.

By this time Cevert is a GP star if not an ‘ace’- the car is Graham Hills F1 mount of 1970, the Rob Walker owned Lotus 72 Ford- they make an attractive couple!

Francois celebrates a 1968 F3 victory with his parents, circuit not disclosed. Tecno 68 Ford F3.

Below, Ceverts #44 Tecno in the Monaco F3 paddock 1968- #39 Francois Mazet also Tecno 68 Ford mounted and #40 Etienne Vigoureux Martini MW3 Ford.

 

Francois, Monza 1971, Tyrrell 002 Ford.

He was third in that blink of an eye finish between Peter Gethin, Ronnie Peterson, March 711 Ford, Francois and Mike Hailwood, Surtees TS9 Ford- Gethin’s BRM P160 V12 was the victor by a tenth of a second from Peterson and Cevert.

Credits…

Automobile Year 16, DPPI, The Nostalgia Forum’, F2 Index, oldracingcars.com

Finito…