Third Car

Before the recent Grand Prix in Austin, Mario Andretti expressed regret at teams no longer being allowed to run a local hero to give the home fans someone to cheer. Mario himself had his own F1 debut in a third Lotus at Watkins Glen in 1968, and he put it on pole!

There were two reasons for a team running a third car: one was to please the crowd and, often, the race organizers coughed up the money. The other was to give a promising driver some race experience with a view to a more permanent arrangement.