Carlos Alberto Reutemann was born April 12, 1942 in Santa Fe, of a Swiss-German paternal grandfather, Argentinian father and Italian mother. He started racing a Fiat in Turismo races in 1965, winning the domestic single-seater championship in 1967, driving a de Tomaso (Alejandro de Tomaso also being of Argentine extraction).

He moved up to the national F2 category and in 1969 won 10 out of 12 races. In 1970 the national YPF petrochemical concern launched him into European F2 with a Brabham BT30. At Hockenheim, Carlos punted Jochen Rindt's Lotus and started a 5-car accident from which he himself escaped to place 4th. Rindt was less impressed saying that Indians should stay in jungles and not come to racing circuits, a remark largely wasted on Carlos whose command of English was still rather limited. Reutemann continued to impress, being fastest in wet practice for the Nürburgring F2 race, thanks to him pounding around the circuit for 200 training laps in a hired Ford Capri.

Such perseverance and application paid off in 1971 when he ended up 2nd behind Ronnie Peterson in the F2 series. He also made his F1 debut in the non-championship 1971 Argentine race, driving the ex-Jo Bonnier McLaren M7C to 3rd. 1972 showed continued F2 involvement with the Rondel team, but more impressive was his GP debut which is the subject of this photograph. Carlos planted his "lobster claw" BT34 on pole, but slipped down to 4th in the race as his tyres went off, pitted for new covers, and finished 7th. The main highlight for the remainder of the year was victory in the non-championship Interlagos GP, but 1973 saw steady progress in the Brabham BT42, with Carlos finishing 7th in the points standings.

The year 1974 started off with Carlos seemingly intent on sweeping all before him in the virgin white BT44. He led convincingly in Argentina and Brazil, and was unlucky for his first GP win only to come at the South African GP where he ran away from the rest. Another dominant win came at Zeltweg, but inconsistent showings otherwise saw him only ending up 5th in the year's Championship. Another runaway win at the 'Ring supported by good placings in 1975 put Carlos 3rd in that year's standings. 1976 proved difficult with the visually and aurally stunning Brabham-Alfa BT45, not scoring a single point. This led to Carlos signing with Ferrari for 1977, winning early on in Brazil, but Lauda soon reaffirmed his position as team leader and took the Championship.

Four victories with the Ferrari 312T3 in 1978 wasn't enough against the dominant JPS 79's and Carlos could only finish 3rd in the points standings. A move to Lotus for 1979 therefore seemed a good idea, and the first part of the season saw a number of good placings. However, the Lotus 80, introduced some way into the season, turned out to be a total waste of time and Carlos scored no points in the latter half of the season, ending up 6th in the Championship.

An intelligent move to Williams in 1980 led to victory at Monaco, and other good placings gave Carlos another 3rd place in the World Championship. Most people expected Carlos to capture the crown in 1981: the FW07C was a good car, Carlos took it to wins in Brazil and Belgium and looked like a champion by mid-season. Then the black cloud descended again and Carlos seemed to lose his motivation. He still had his Championship lead going to the final race in Las Vegas, only needing to finish 5th to clinch it. He duly qualified on pole and then proceeded to put up a staggeringly mediocre performance in the race, finishing in 8th a lap down on Nelson Piquet who took the chequered flag, and the Championship by one point!

Carlos returned in 1982 with partially restored confidence and came 2nd in the South African GP, but a falling-out with Williams regarding team orders saw him turn his back on Grand Prix racing after the Brazilian race. Returning to his native country, Reutemann became involved in politics and rose to the position of Governor of Santa Fe.

Starts: 146 - Wins: 12- Poles: 6