{"id":240568,"date":"2023-07-13T07:46:19","date_gmt":"2023-07-13T05:46:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rtrsports.com\/francois-cevert-the-enigmatic-jewel-of-the-formula-1-circuit\/"},"modified":"2026-10-05T18:39:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T16:39:10","slug":"francois-cevert-the-enigmatic-jewel-of-the-formula-1-circuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rtrsports.com\/en\/blog\/francois-cevert-the-enigmatic-jewel-of-the-formula-1-circuit\/","title":{"rendered":"Fran\u00e7ois Cevert: career, the Watkins Glen win and his death in 1973"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fran\u00e7ois Cevert (Paris, 25 February 1944 – Watkins Glen, 6 October 1973) was a French Formula 1 driver, Jackie Stewart’s team-mate at Tyrrell. In 47 Grands Prix he took one win (United States 1971), 13 podiums and 89 points. He died aged 29 in qualifying for the 1973 United States Grand Prix, on the eve of Stewart’s 100th and final race, which Stewart then withdrew from.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Updated October 2026.<\/em><\/p>\n

F1 history has champions who won and champions who promised. Cevert belongs to a third category: those who were about to become their team’s number one without knowing it. In 1974 he would have been Tyrrell’s lead driver, and we only learned that afterwards. This is the story of how he got there, how it ended, and what it says to anyone in sponsorship about the value of a driver the championship never had the chance to measure.<\/p>\n

Who was Fran\u00e7ois Cevert: from motorbikes to Formula 3<\/h2>\n

Fran\u00e7ois Cevert was born in Paris on 25 February 1944. He started racing on motorbikes, then moved to four wheels after national service: in 1966 he attended the racing school at Le Mans and then Winfield at Magny-Cours, and in 1968 he won the French Formula 3 championship in a Tecno. In 1969 he finished third in Formula 2, and the next step was F1.<\/p>\n

\"Portrait<\/p>\n

At Tyrrell, in Jackie Stewart’s shadow<\/h2>\n

Cevert drove for Ken Tyrrell from the 1970 Dutch Grand Prix, as Jackie Stewart’s team-mate. His first point came with a sixth place at that year’s Italian Grand Prix. In 1971 he finished the world championship third with 26 points and seven podiums, behind Stewart, who won the title. His relationship with Stewart is one the paddock remembers: the Scot has said he taught Cevert everything he knew about racing, and that he was convinced Cevert would have become world champion.<\/p>\n

Fran\u00e7ois Cevert’s Formula 1 numbers<\/h2>\n