Giancladio (Clay) Regazzoni was born in Mendrisio, Switzerland on September 5th 1939.
Junior Career
Regazzoni started his career late, entering his first competitive race aged 24 in 1963. His junior career was made more difficult as Switzerland banned auto racing after the horrific Le Mans disaster in 1955. Because of this, Regazzoni started his career in Italy. Regazzoni enjoyed instant success as he took 2 podiums in his first 3 races!
Regazzoni had moderate success in Formula 3 but was lucky to survive as he had a scary crash at Monaco. He lost control and hit a barrier which pierced the open cockpit and came very close to slicing his head off.
Regazzoni moved to Formula 2 in 1968, he did well and his hard-charging driving style matched his team’s ambitions.
Breakout Season
Regazzoni would continue to race in the Formula 2 championship in 1970 taking 3 wins and 5 podiums and the championship!
Simultaneously Regazzoni signed with Ferrari for 1970, enduring one of the best and most forgotten rookie seasons in history! Ferrari had an interesting lineup in 1970. Their main driver Jacky Ickx took part in all races. Their 2nd car was only run from the fifth round and had multiple drivers as Ferrari decided to try new talent! This meant Regazzoni only got to race in 8 of the 13 races. Despite this Regazzoni took a win at Monza and 5 podiums on his way to 3rd in the world championship!
Ferrari on a downward spiral
This earned Regazzoni a full time drive for 1971. Unfortunately the car proved inferior to the Tyrell’s so Jackie Stewart won his 2nd title. For Regazzoni, he took 3 podiums on his way to 7th in the championship. 1972 continued the downward spiral as Regazzoni only took 1 podium and again finished 7th in the championship.
Disappointment at BRM
Regazzoni opted to join BRM for 1973, he partnered Niki Lauda and the two became great friends but ultimately the stint didn’t pay off for Regazzoni. The swiss driver had a huge crash in South Africa which he was lucky to survive. Mike Hailwood would end up pulling Regazzoni from the bruning BRM and saving his life. Regazzoni was reported to have become disillusioned with “uncompetitive machinery” thus ending the season 17th in the championship with just 2 points to his name.
Better fortunes at Ferrari?
Ferrari made huge changes for 1974 with the Italian team signing Regazzoni and Lauda! This proved to be a great inter team pairing and was great on track as well! Regazzoni took 7 podiums and a win in Germany! He outpaced Lauda and was close to winning the title! He entered the finale on level points with Emerson Fittipaldi! Ultimately handing problems caused Regazzoni to finish 11th and he lost the title by just 3 points.
1975 was even better for Ferrari, Lauda took 5 wins and the title while Regazzoni took a win in Italy and 5th in the championship! Ferrari also won the constructers championship! 1976 was set to be even better as this was the peak of the Lauda/Hunt battle and had Lauda not crashed in Germany he likely would’ve won the title. For Regazzoni such results wouldn’t come, he won in Long Beach from pole and took 4 podiums by was replaced by Carlos Reuetemann for 1977.
Back to the midfield
Regazzoni declined an offer from Brabham to join Ensign saying he “preferred to race with nice people.” In the end it wouldn’t have mattered as Brabham, Ensign and Shadow which he joined for 1978 were all midfield/back-marker teams that couldn’t really compete for more then the odd points here or there. During this time he also tried his hand at the Indy 500 but suffered a big crash in practice and retired early in the race after his fuel cell gave out.
One last shot a glory
Regazzoni joined Williams for 1979, at the time the team was new but promising. Regazzoni was competitive and took the teams first win in Britain! Regazzoni would end the season a respectable 5th in the championship.
Abrupt end
Regazzoni was again replaced by Reuetemann and lacking any competitive offers he rejoined Ensign. Just 4 races in at Long Beach, He suffered another scary crash. He lost his brakes at the end of the main straight and hit Ricardo Zunino’s retired Brabham that was parked in the escape road. The incident left the Regazzoni paralyzed from the waist down, ending his competitive career however he continued to inspire others.
His record and what he’ll be remembered for
He become a role model and activist for disabled drivers, becoming one of the first to regain a racing license and competing in Supercars and rallying thanks to hand operated controls!
Clay Regazzoni ended his F1 career with 132 starts, 5 wins, 28 podiums, 5 poles, 15 fastest laps and a best championship position of 2nd in 1974.
Clay Regazzoni was killed December 15th, 2006 after a road accident.
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