On this second visit, the old woman claimed that her loved one would be a huge success, but that his job would eventually force them apart. I didnt tell him, but Ken and I agreed that Id be the one who told him that he was going to be number one. Francois Cevert, 1973 US Grand Prix Qualification. He was an incredibly smooth yet aggressive driver. He lost control of his Tyrrell 006-Ford Cosworth on the fast uphill right-left Esses section and crashed horribly. Eddie Sachs & Dave MacDonald's Fatal Crash. Jackie Stewart was our hero and Francois Cevert was poised to replace him in our regard. Three hours after the accident, the cars were back on the track for the final qualifying session for the $275,000 race, the richest in road racing. "Richard's website is well worth the viewing, especially if you loved Formula 1, but if you love the look of 35mm Tri-X well interpreted, it will reward you as well. Had he survived, Franois would have just turned 73 years old. I wanted to make images of him going through the Esses on the back of the circuit; something, anything to erase the memory of his thousand-mile stare. At Watkins Glen, with Stewart having already clinched his third World Championship, Cevert was killed during Saturday morning qualifying, while battling for pole position with Ronnie Peterson. Despite the hard slog, though, there were no results. For sure. When WWII broke out he joined the Resistance and, as a Jew, he had to live in hiding. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Cevert, however, preferred to use third gear and be at the top end of his engine's power range: it was always something of a compromise because of the need to accelerate through the combination of corners. That's what's so disturbingbut not in a morbid manner, mind youabout Mr. Kelley's photo. Since US television generally carried one race a year (Monaco), the sport was almost invisible and existed largely through Rob Walker's superb race reports in Road & Track. Cevert was died after a fatal crash on the uphill Esses. surprised at how flimsy the armco was and how far away the side pod and wheel were from the car. I've been through this too many times he was seen crying behind the Tyrrell garage. It set the family thinking. That's how I got familiar with Franois Cevert, but also with Jean-Pierre Beltoise, Jacky Ickx, Clay Regazzoni, Jochen Mass, and some other drivers. News, stories and discussion from and about the world of Formula 1. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Jackie had opened everything to him, and the reason he was so good was because he was younger, greedier because he hadnt had the title yet and he had acquired the experience from Jackie. . Fighting the car as he went up the hill, he brushed the curb on the left, whipped across the track and hit the guardrail on the right. (At least as much as pictures and TV coverage allowed me to perceive them.) When Jackie Stewart had a hard time getting around Cevert in an F2 race at Crystal Palace the same year, Stewart told his team manager Ken Tyrrell to keep an eye on the young Frenchman. And now Cevert. Overall view of guardrail collision that killed Francois Cevert during Saturday morning trials session at Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course. ", Posted on Wednesday, 27 December 2017 at 09:02 AM in Photographers, current, Random Excellence | Permalink. A bit like the last TV images of Ayrton Senna before he died, which show his anxiety and strain. Fourth was James Hunt, a 26yearold Englishman in his first season of Formula One racing, driving the only car without advertising plastered over its body a privately entered MarchFord. Privacy Policy. Introduction: The tragic death of of the talented French driver Franois Cevert at age 29 was one of the epochal events in Formula One history, documented in books and in films such as 1: Life on the Limit and The Quick and the Dead. Stewart said he was "disgusted by the severity of the impact.". //