John Watson

John Watson, born on 4 May 1946 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, started his racing career in the late 1960s. He advanced through different series before making his Formula One debut in 1973 with Goldie Hexagon Racing in a non-Championship event: the World Championship Victory Race at Brands Hatch. Watson’s first Championship event came at the 1973 British Grand Prix.

Nationality	British
Born	John Marshall Watson 4 May 1946 Belfast, Northern Ireland

Initially, Watson faced numerous challenges in F1, but over time, he started making a significant impact. His breakthrough came when he clinched his first F1 win at the 1976 Austrian Grand Prix, racing for Penske. Throughout his career, Watson accumulated six wins, with a memorable victory at the 1981 British Grand Prix, where he fought in a fierce battle with his friend and rival, Gilles Villeneuve.

Watson’s extraordinary win at the 1982 Monaco Grand Prix is particularly notable. Starting 17th, he navigated the wet track, making several daring overtakes to secure the win, cementing his reputation with one of F1’s most impressive wins.

Off track, Watson was known for his sharp wit and charismatic personality. After retiring as a driver, he remained in Formula One as a commentator and analyst for F1 broadcasts, and mentoring upcoming drivers.

John Watson Formula One World Championship career

F1 Career	1973–1983, 1985
Teams	Brabham, Surtees, Lotus, Penske, McLaren
Entries	154 (152 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	5
Podiums	20
Career points	169
Pole positions	2
Fastest laps	5
First entry	1973 British Grand Prix
First win	1976 Austrian Grand Prix
Last win	1983 United States Grand Prix West
Last entry	1985 European Grand Prix

John Watson Teammates

16 Teammates		First Year	Last Year
Andrea de Adamich	1	1973
Rolf Stommelen	1	1973
Carlos Pace	4	1974	1977
Henri Pescarolo	1	1975
Ronnie Peterson	1	1975
Ewald Boisitz	1	1975
Hans Joachim Stuck	14	1977
Giorgio Francia	1	1977
Niki Lauda	46	1978	1983
Nelson Piquet	2	1978
Patrick Tambay	15	1979
Alain Prost	14	1980	1985
Stephen South	1	1980
Andrea de Cesaris	15	1981
Stefan Bellof	1	1983
Stefan Johansson	2	1985

Race Wins

Win Number	Grand Prix
1	1976 Austrian Grand Prix
2	1981 British Grand Prix
3	1982 Belgian Grand Prix
4	1982 Detroit Grand Prix
5	1983 United States Grand Prix West

Complete Formula One Results

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	WDC	Pts
1973	Hexagon of Highgate	Brabham BT37	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ARG	BRA	RSA	ESP	BEL	MON	SWE	FRA	GBR Ret	NED	GER	AUT	ITA	CAN				NC	0
	Ceramica Pagnossin Team MRD	Brabham BT42	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8															USA Ret
1974	Goldie Hexagon Racing	Brabham BT42	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ARG 12	BRA Ret	RSA Ret	ESP 11	BEL 11	MON 6	SWE 11	NED 7	FRA 16	GBR 11								15th	6
		Brabham BT44	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8											GER Ret	AUT 4	ITA 7	CAN Ret	USA 5
1975	Matchbox Team Surtees	Surtees TS16	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ARG DSQ	BRA 10	RSA Ret	ESP 8	MON Ret	BEL 10	SWE 16	NED Ret	FRA 13	GBR 11		AUT 10	ITA					NC	0
	John Player Team Lotus	Lotus 72F	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8											GER Ret
	First National City Bank Team	Penske PC1	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8														USA 9
1976	First National City Bank Team Penske	Penske PC3	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	BRA Ret	RSA 5	USW NC	ESP Ret	BEL 7	MON 10												7th	20
		Penske PC4	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8							SWE Ret	FRA 3	GBR 3	GER 7	AUT 1	NED Ret	ITA 11	CAN 10	USA 6	JPN Ret
1977	Martini Racing	Brabham BT45	Alfa Romeo 115-12 3.0 F12	ARG Ret	BRA Ret	RSA 6	USW DSQ	ESP Ret	MON Ret	BEL Ret	SWE 5	FRA 2	GBR Ret	GER Ret	AUT 8	NED Ret	ITA Ret	USA 12	CAN Ret	JPN Ret	13th	9
1978	Parmalat Racing Team	Brabham BT45C	Alfa Romeo 115-12 3.0 F12	ARG Ret	BRA 8																6th	25
		Brabham BT46	Alfa Romeo 115-12 3.0 F12			RSA 3	USW Ret	MON 4	BEL Ret	ESP 5		FRA 4	GBR 3	GER 7	AUT 7	NED 4	ITA 2	USA Ret	CAN Ret
		Brabham BT46B	Alfa Romeo 115-12 3.0 F12								SWE Ret
1979	Löwenbräu Team McLaren	McLaren M28	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8				USW Ret
	Marlboro Team McLaren	McLaren M28	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ARG 3	BRA 8	RSA Ret															9th	15
		McLaren M28B	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8					ESP Ret	BEL 6
		McLaren M28C	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8							MON 4	FRA 11
		McLaren M29	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8									GBR 4	GER 5	AUT 9	NED Ret	ITA Ret	CAN 6	USA 6
1980	Marlboro Team McLaren	McLaren M29B	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ARG Ret	BRA 11	RSA 11															11th	6
		McLaren M29C	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8				USW 4	BEL NC	MON DNQ	FRA 7	GBR 8	GER Ret	AUT Ret	NED Ret	ITA Ret	CAN 4	USA NC
1981	Marlboro McLaren International	McLaren M29F	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	USW Ret	BRA 8																6th	27
		McLaren MP4	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8			ARG Ret	SMR 10	BEL 7	MON Ret	ESP 3	FRA 2	GBR 1	GER 6	AUT 6	NED Ret	ITA Ret	CAN 2	CPL 7
1982	Marlboro McLaren International	McLaren MP4B	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	RSA 6	BRA 2	USW 6	SMR	BEL 1	MON Ret	DET 1	CAN 3	NED 9	GBR Ret	FRA Ret	GER Ret	AUT Ret	SUI 13	ITA 4	CPL 2		3rd	39
1983	Marlboro McLaren International	McLaren MP4/1C	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	BRA Ret	USW 1	FRA Ret															6th	22
		McLaren MP4/1C	Ford Cosworth DFY 3.0 V8				SMR 5	MON DNQ	BEL Ret	DET 3	CAN 6	GBR 9	GER 5	AUT 9	NED 3
		McLaren MP4/1E	TAG TTE PO1 1.5 V6 t													ITA Ret	EUR Ret	RSA DSQ
1985	Marlboro McLaren TAG Turbo	McLaren MP4/2B	TAG TTE PO1 1.5 V6 t	BRA	POR	SMR	MON	CAN	DET	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	BEL	EUR 7	RSA	AUS		NC	0

Sources: Wikipedia.com