American Grand Prix – The Drivers

Notable American Grand Prix Drivers

Michael Andretti

The son of a racing legend, Michael Andretti was the Indy Car Champion in 1991 and making quite a name for himself. Having listened to his father’s recollections of his Formula One career the younger Andretti attempted to follow in his dad’s footsteps.
He should have stayed in America. Fighting an ill-handling car, skeptical fellow racers and unfamiliar tracks he lasted less than a year. His success in America attest to his ability but a seeming lack of commitment to the European championship doomed him from the start.
Other American drivers may cite this as the result of straying too far from home and rob the rest of the world of future Mario Andrettis and Dan Gurneys not to mention the Jimmy Murphys and Bruce-Browns..

Bob Bondurant

Bob Bondurant was born in Evanston, Ill., in 1933 but grew up in the Westwood area of Los Angeles. Like many boys 0f that time he developed a passion for anything on wheels. By the time he was 18, he was racing an Indian Scout motorcycle on the local dirt ovals, and soon moved to sports cars in 1956 at the wheel of a Morgan. His racing career began to garner notice in 1959, when driving a Corvette in the Southern California region, Bondurant captured the West Coast “B” Production Championship and the Corvette Driver of the Year Award.
In 1963, Bondurant joined Carroll Shelby’s Ford Cobra team. Subsequent wins in the Cobra led to a stint in Europe with the Cobra team to compete for the 1964 GT Championship. Paired with Dan Gurney that year, Bondurant won the GT category and took fourth overall at the wheel of a Ford Cobra Daytona Coupe in Europe’s most prestigious race – Le Mans.
Bondurant continued to drive in Europe through 1965, winning seven out of ten races, and earning the World Manufacturers’ Championship for the United States in a Shelby American Ford Cobra. The year also afforded him the opportunity to race Formula One for the factory Ferrari team in the 1965 U.S. Grand Prix at Watkins Glen.
In 1966, Bondurant continued in Formula One driving a privately-owned BRM and for Gurney’s All American Racers team. At Spa under severe weather conditions he along with Graham Hill saved Jackie Stewart when Stewart’s car crashed trapping the Scottish driver as fuel was seeping from the stricken BRM.
He also drove for Ferrari in the 1966 World Manufacturers’ Championship. In addition, Bob served as a technical consultant for John Frankenheimer’s epic movie Grand Prix. Among the highlights of working on the film, Bondurant was responsible for training the actors including James Garner, Yves Montand and Brian Bedford for their driving roles.
In 1967 he raced in the Can-Am series but was involved in a major crash while driving a McLaren Mk II when the steering arm broke at over 150 miles per hour, launching the car into a dirt embankment and rolling end over end eight times.
The accident forced Bondurant’s retirement from professional racing but did not extinguish his desire for motor sports. Today he still enters numerous vintage racing events as well as operating a well respected driving school.