Clay Regazzoni

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Clay Regazzoni
Formula One Career
Nationality	Image:Flag of Switzerland.svg Swiss
Active years	1970-1980
Team(s)	Ferrari (1970-72,74-76), BRM (1973), Ensign (1977,80), Shadow (1978), Williams (1979)
Grands Prix	132
Championships	0
Wins	5
Podium finishes	28
Pole positions	5
Fastest laps	15
First Grand Prix	1970 Dutch Grand Prix
First win	1970 Italian Grand Prix
Last win	1979 British Grand Prix
Last Grand Prix	1980 United States Grand Prix West

Clay Regazzoni (born Gianclaudio Regazzoni, September 5, 1939 in Lugano, Switzerland) is a former Swiss Formula One racing car driver.

Having been raised in Switzerland's predominantly Italian-speaking area bordering Italy, he was effectively considered to be an Italian by Italians, which was a point of great pride during his years with Ferrari in the mid-1970s. However, he holds a Swiss passport and also the official Formula One records register Regazzoni as being Swiss. Regazzoni's first victory came in 1970 during his first season in Formula 1, when he won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Although he only competed in eight of the 13 races that year, he finished third in the championship, behind team-mate Jacky Ickx and the late Jochen Rindt, who posthumously won the world championship that year.

Image:Regazzoni, Clay am 31.07.1976 - Ferrari 312T.jpg

After a couple of seasons at Ferrari Regazzoni moved to BRM, where he teamed-up with Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Niki Lauda. In 1974 Ferrari decided to call Regazzoni back. He promptly agreed and suggested to Enzo Ferrari to bring Niki Lauda along. Regazzoni and Lauda, together with team manager Luca Cordero di Montezemolo and technical director Mauro Forghieri, formed a very successful partnership that generated 15 wins, two constructors titles, and one drivers championship (Lauda in 1975).

Regazzoni's best season was 1974, when he lost the championship to Emerson Fittipaldi by only three points. In the second part of the 1970s Regazzoni participated in the Indianapolis 500 miles with McLaren and drove for mid-field Formula One teams like Ensign and Shadow, until Sir Frank Williams offered him a competitive seat again in one of his cars in 1979. Regazzoni paid him back by giving the team its maiden win at Silverstone, but he was replaced by Carlos Reutemann at the end of the season.

In 1980 he crashed during the United States Grand Prix West, held at Long Beach, when his brakes failed at the end of a long high-speed straight. His car crashed at unabated speed into a previously retired car that was parked in an escape road past a corner. The crash left Regazzoni paralyzed from the waist down and since then he's been very active in helping disabled people getting equal opportunities.

A moving account of his life can be found in his autobiography "E' questione di cuore" ("It's a matter of heart") published in the mid-80s. Currently, Regazzoni shares his time between Monaco and Lugano, and he occasionally does commentaries for Swiss and Italian TV channels.

[edit] Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Yr	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Team	WDC	Points
1970	Ferrari	SAF	ESP	MON	BEL	DUT 4	FRA	GBR 4	GER Ret	AUT 2	ITA 1	CAN 2	USA 13	MEX 2					Ferrari	3rd	33
1971	Ferrari	SAF 3	ESP Ret	MON Ret	DUT 3	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER 3	AUT Ret	ITA Ret	CAN Ret	USA 6							Ferrari	7th	13
1972	Ferrari	ARG 4	SAF 12	SPA 3	MON Ret	BEL Ret	FRA	GBR	DEU 2	AUT Ret	ITA Ret	CAN 5	USA 8						Ferrari	7th	15
1973	BRM	ARG 7	BRA 6	SAF Ret	SPA 9	BEL 10	MON Ret	SWE 9	FRA 12	GBR 7	DUT 8	DEU Ret	AUT 6	ITA Ret	CAN	USA 8			BRM	17th	2
1974	Ferrari	ARG 3	BRA 2	SAF Ret	SPA 2	BEL 4	MON 4	SWE Ret	DUT 2	FRA 3	GBR 4	DEU 1	AUT 5	ITA Ret	CAN 2	USA 11			Ferrari	2nd	52
1975	Ferrari	ARG 4	BRA 4	SAF 16	SPA NC	MON Ret	BEL 5	SWE 3	DUT 3	FRA Ret	GBR 13	DEU Ret	AUT 7	ITA 1	USA WD				Ferrari	5th	25
1976	Ferrari	BRA 7	SAF Ret	USW 1	SPA 11	BEL 2	MON 14	SWE 6	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	DEU 9	AUT	DUT 2	ITA 2	CAN 6	USA 7	JPN 5		Ferrari	5th	31
1977	Ensign	ARG 6	BRA Ret	SAF 9	USW Ret	SPA Ret	MON DNQ	BEL Ret	SWE 7	FRA 7	GBR DNQ	DEU	AUT Ret	DUT Ret	ITA 5	USA 5	CAN Ret	JPN Ret	Ensign	17th	5
1978	Shadow	ARG 15	BRA 5	SAF DNQ	USW 10	MON DNQ	BEL Ret	SPA 15	SWE 5	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	DEU DNQ	AUT NC	DUT DNQ	ITA NC	USA 14	CAN DNQ		Shadow	16th	4
1979	Williams	ARG 10	BRA 15	SAF 9	USW Ret	SPA Ret	BEL Ret	MON 2	FRA 6	GBR 1	DEU 2	AUT 5	DUT Ret	ITA 3	CAN 3	USA Ret			Williams	5th	32
1980	Ensign	ARG NC	BRA Ret	SAF 9	USW Ret	BEL	MON	FRA	GBR	DEU	AUT	DUT	ITA	CAN	USA				Ensign	-	-

Preceded by: Johnny Servoz-Gavin	European Formula Two Champion 1970	Succeeded by: Ronnie Peterson
Preceded by: Jackie Stewart	Brands Hatch Race of Champions winner 1971	Succeeded by: Emerson Fittipaldi