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© Paul Chenard 2009
This illustration is available for sale.
Swedish Formula 1 driver Ronnie Peterson was one of the few in Formula 1 who was liked and appreciated by all those who met him.
He was quiet, shy and an all-round nice guy. But once in a race car, he drove flat-out, pushing his cars often past their limit.
He started successfully in karts, rose through F3, and F2, and quickly caught the notice of the Formula 1 teams.
He started with March, moved to Lotus, March again, then Tyrrell, than finally back to Lotus. He had a total of 10 Grand Prix wins in eight years, but his life came to an abrupt and sad end in a crash while driving a Lotus 78 in the 1978 Italian Grand Prix.
The impact of the death of this much-loved driver can be seen even today, with countless of tributes set up on websites, and a museum dedicated in his memory in Örebro, Sweden.