Walter Hayes, the Ford executive responsible for bringing the revolutionary Ford-Cosworth DFV engine into Formula One, has passed away at the age of 76.
Hayes began his career as the Editor of the Sunday Dispatch, a defunct London newspaper, before joining Ford in 1962. In 1966, Hayes and Cosworth founder Keith Duckworth came to an agreement whereby Ford would finance the development of a 3.0-liter, V-8 engine for Formula One competition. The result was the Ford-Cosworth DFV, which went on to become the most successful engine in the history of the sport.