Chris Amon

Chris Amon is a former Formula 1 driver active in the 1960s and 1970s, and he is widely regarded as one of the best drivers never to win a championship Grand Prix. His reputation for bad luck was so strong that fellow driver Mario Andretti once joked, “If he became an undertaker, people would stop dying.”

Nationality	New Zealander
Born	Christopher Arthur Amon 20 July 1943 Bulls, New Zealand
Died	3 August 2016 (aged 73) Rotorua, New Zealand

Chris Amon was the only child of wealthy sheep-owner Ngaio Amon. After leaving school, he convinced his father to buy him an Austin A40 Special, which he entered in minor local races and hill climbs. He then progressed to a 1,500cc Cooper and an old Maserati 250F, but he began to draw attention while driving the Cooper previously used by Bruce McLaren to win his first Grand Prix.

In 1962, Amon entered the Cooper for the New Zealand winter series, but mechanical problems hampered his performance. However, his impressive performance in the rain at Lakeside with Scuderia Veloce caught the eye of English racing driver Reg Parnell, who persuaded Amon to race for his team in England. Amon continued to impress during tests and pre-season races, leading to his entry into Formula 1.

For the 1963 F1 season, the Parnell team used year-old Lola cars with Climax V8 engines. Amon teamed with the experienced Maurice Trintignant, faced typical bad luck, including mechanical failures and accidents. Despite this, he usually qualified in the midfield and generally outpaced his teammates, including his friend Mike Hailwood. His best results of the year were seventh at the 1963 French and British Grand Prix.

Amon’s social life was also notable, as he was a member of the Ditton Road Flyers, a social set named after the road in London where he lived with Peter Revson, Hailwood, and Tony Maggs. Despite the challenging year, Parnell promoted Amon to lead driver. However, tragedy struck when Reg Parnell died from peritonitis in January 1964, and his son Tim took over the team.

In 1964, Amon recorded three fifth-place finishes in pre-season races but faced mechanical problems throughout the season. Parnell was offered BRM engines for 1965, but only if Richard Attwood was the regular driver, leading Amon to be replaced. Bruce McLaren quickly signed Amon for his new team, but without a second McLaren F1 car, Amon primarily drove in CanAm races.

Amon rejoined Parnell for the 1965 French Grand Prix to stand in for an injured Attwood and was promoted to second driver for the 1965 German Grand Prix, though mechanical failures continued to plague his races. He ended the year driving a Brabham at the 1965 Italian Grand Prix under the “Chris Amon Racing” banner but failed to qualify.

Amon’s biggest success to date came in 1966 when he partnered with Bruce McLaren to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a 7-litre Ford GT40 Mark II. This victory led to an invitation to meet Enzo Ferrari, resulting in Amon signing with Ferrari for the 1967 season.

Amon’s first year with Ferrari began tragically, with teammate Lorenzo Bandini dying in a crash at Monaco, and Mike Parkes and Ludovico Scarfiotti also facing injuries and retirement. Amon became Ferrari’s only driver for much of the season, achieving three third-place finishes and fourth in the 1967 Drivers’ Championship. He also won the Daytona 24 Hours and Monza 1000 with Bandini.

In 1968, Amon worked with engineer Mauro Forghieri on aerodynamics and achieved several pole positions but faced mechanical issues that prevented race wins. Despite this, he secured ten Championship points and numerous near-victories.

Amon began 1969 with success in the Tasman Cup but continued to face bad luck in F1. Frustrated by Ferrari’s unreliable engine, he left the team, missing out on their successful new flat-12 engine in the 1970s.

For the 1970 F1 season, Amon joined March Engineering, achieving notable finishes but again faced mechanical failures. In 1971, racing for Matra, Amon secured some points-scoring finishes but continued to be plagued by misfortune. He narrowly missed winning the 1971 Italian Grand Prix when his helmet visor detached, forcing him to slow down.

Amon continued to race in various teams, including Tecno and Ensign but struggled with unreliable cars and bad luck. He finally retired from F1 in 1976 after witnessing Niki Lauda‘s horrific crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix, which was the final straw for him.

After retiring from F1, Amon returned to New Zealand to run the family farm. In the early 1980s, he became a well-known figure in New Zealand, test-driving vehicles on the TV show Motor Show and consulting for Toyota New Zealand. He tuned the 1984 Toyota Corolla and appeared in commercials for the company.

Despite never winning a championship Formula 1 Grand Prix, Amon won eight non-championship races, the Silverstone International Trophy, the Monza 1000, the Daytona 24 Hours, the Tasman Cup, and the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans. He raced in 102 Grand Prix, scoring 83 Championship points and reaching the podium eleven times.

Amon died in Rotorua Hospital on 3 August 2016, aged 73, of cancer.

Chris Amon Formula One World Championship career

F1 Career	1963–1976
Teams	Cooper, Amon, Ferrari, March, Matra, Tecno, Tyrrell, BRM, Ensign, Wolf–Williams, Non-works: Lola, Lotus, Brabham
Entries	108 (96 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	11
Career points	83
Pole positions	5
Fastest laps	3
First entry	1963 Monaco Grand Prix
Last entry	1976 Canadian Grand Prix

Chris Amon Teammates

33 Teammates	Involvement	First Year	Last Year
John Campbell-jones	1	1963
Maurice Trintignant	2	1963
Lucien Bianchi	1	1963
Masten Gregory	2	1963
Mike Hailwood	12	1963	1964
Hap Sharp	1	1963
Peter Revson	3	1964
Innes Ireland	1	1965
Ian Raby	1	1965
Frank Gardner	1	1965
Richard Attwood	1	1965
Bruce Mclaren	4	1966
John Surtees	2	1966
Jochen Rindt	2	1966
Lorenzo Bandini	1	1967
Ludovico Scarfiotti	4	1967
Mike Parkes	2	1967
Jonathan Williams	1	1967
Andrea de Adamich	1	1968
Jacky Ickx	10	1968
Derek Bell	2	1968
Pedro Rodriguez	6	1969
Tino Brambilla	1	1969
Jean-Pierre Beltoise	13	1970
Jean-pierre Beltoise	12	1971	1974
Jackie Stewart	2	1973
Francois Cevert	2	1973
Larry Perkins	1	1974
Francois Migault	1	1974
Roelof Wunderink	2	1975
Antonio Bernardo	1	1976
Hans Binder	1	1976
Arturo Merzario	1	1976

Complete Formula One Results

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	WDC	Points
1963	Reg Parnell Racing	Lola Mk4A	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8	MON DNS	BEL Ret	NED Ret	FRA 7	GBR 7	GER Ret	ITA DNS	USA									NC	0
1963	Reg Parnell Racing	Lotus 24	BRM P56 1.5 V8									MEX Ret	RSA
		Lotus 25	BRM P56 1.5 V8	MON DNQ	NED 5	BEL Ret	FRA 10	GBR Ret	GER 11			USA Ret	MEX Ret							16th	2
		Lotus 25	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8							AUT Ret	ITA
1965	Reg Parnell Racing	Lotus 25	BRM P56 1.5 V8	RSA	MON	BEL	FRA Ret			GER Ret	ITA	USA	MEX							NC	0
	Ian Raby Racing	Brabham BT3	BRM P56 1.5 V8					GBR DNS	NED
1966	Bruce McLaren Motor Racing	McLaren M2B	Ford 406 3.0 V8	MON DNA	BEL DNA		GBR DNA	NED DNA												NC	0
	Cooper Car Company	Cooper T81	Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12			FRA 8			GER
	Chris Amon Racing	Brabham BT11	BRM P60 1.9 V8							ITA DNQ	USA	MEX
1967	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari 312/67	Ferrari 242 3.0 V12	RSA	MON 3	NED 4	BEL 3	FRA Ret	GBR 3	GER 3	CAN 6	ITA 7	USA Ret	MEX 9						5th	20
1968	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari 312/67	Ferrari 242 3.0 V12	RSA 4																10th	10
		Ferrari 312/67/68	Ferrari 242 3.0 V12		ESP Ret	MON	BEL Ret
		Ferrari 312/68	Ferrari 242C 3.0 V12					NED 6	FRA 10	GBR 2	GER Ret	ITA Ret	CAN Ret	USA Ret	MEX Ret
1969	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari 312/69	Ferrari 255C 3.0 V12	RSA Ret	ESP Ret	MON Ret	NED 3	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER	ITA	CAN	USA	MEX						12th	4
1970	March Engineering	March 701	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	RSA Ret	ESP Ret	MON Ret	BEL 2	NED Ret	FRA 2	GBR 5	GER Ret	AUT 8	ITA 7	CAN 3	USA 5	MEX 4				8th	23
1971	Équipe Matra Sports	Matra MS120B	Matra MS71 3.0 V12	RSA 5	ESP 3	MON Ret	NED Ret	FRA 5	GBR Ret	GER Ret	AUT	ITA 6	CAN 10	USA 12						11th	9
1972	Équipe Matra	Matra MS120C	Matra MS72 3.0 V12	ARG DNS	RSA 15	ESP Ret	MON 6	BEL 6		GBR 4										10th	12
		Matra MS120D	Matra MS72 3.0 V12						FRA 3		GER 15	AUT 5	ITA Ret	CAN 6	USA 15
1973	Martini Racing Team	Tecno PA123B	Tecno Series-P 3.0 F12	ARG	BRA	RSA	ESP	BEL 6	MON Ret	SWE	FRA	GBR Ret	NED Ret	GER	AUT DNS	ITA				21st	1
	Elf Team Tyrrell	Tyrrell 005	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8														CAN 10	USA DNS
1974	Chris Amon Racing	Amon AF101	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ARG	BRA	RSA	ESP Ret	BEL	MON DNS	SWE	NED	FRA	GBR	GER DNQ	AUT	ITA DNQ				NC	0
	Team BRM	BRM P201	BRM P200 3.0 V12														CAN NC	USA 9
1975	HB Bewaking Team Ensign	Ensign N175	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ARG	BRA	RSA	ESP	MON	BEL	SWE	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT 12	ITA 12	USA			NC	0
1976	Team Ensign	Ensign N174	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	BRA	RSA 14	USW 8	ESP 5													18th	2
		Ensign N176	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8					BEL Ret	MON 13	SWE Ret	FRA	GBR Ret	GER Ret	AUT	NED	ITA
	Walter Wolf Racing	Wolf–Williams FW05	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8														CAN DNS	USA	JPN

Sources: Wikipedia.com