Carlos Reutemann was born in Santa Fé, a town 600 km from Buenos Aires. His father taught him to drive tractors and a Ford when he was 12 years old. He was interested in the “Carretera” races with old Fors and Chevrolets on the public road. He quit his studies in 1959 and stated to work on the family farm. The racing scene changed in Argentina with the creation of a touring car championship. He convinced a local Fiat dealer in Santa Fé to give him a chance to drive a Fiat 500. So in July 1965, Carlos Reutemann made his debut in racing cars in these local touring car series. And because he won races and four times the championship, he became a local star and got his nicknamed noted to the public: Lolé. He raced with Fiat and a Ford Falcon. Then he entered in 1968 the F2 Temporada International series. In Argentina there was need for an Argentinian National Team (Automovil Club Argentino) with support from petrol giant YPF. But In 1969 he, they stayed local and Carlos drove a BWA-fiat for the ACA team.
In 1970 the ACA opted to go international with two Brabham BT30- Cosworth, which they painted white with a yellow stripe for Reutemann and Caldarella. The two cars were entered in the European F2 championship. The engines were the also reliable Cosworth FVA of 1596 cm3 and 225 HP. Carlos Reutemann was already 30 years old when he entered the European F2 scene. Everything was new to him. The power of the car, type and size of the tyres, the circuits with smooth surface, the set-up of the car, dealing with his rivals and authorities and the climate. In his first race at Hockenheim, he pushed hero Jochen Rindt off track.
In 1971, YPF paid for Carlos to race on the Autodromo Oscar Alfredo Galvez in Buenos Aires. The circuit was constructed 20 years earlier because dictator Juan Peron wanted to see his hero Juan Fangio drive on it. In January he was behind the wheel of a Porsche 917 to partner Emerson Fittipaldi in the 1000 km Buenos Aires. Remember thit in this race, Ignazio Giunti got killed after he crashed his Ferrari in the back of the stricken Matra from JP Beltoise. Then he drove a rented McLaren M7A (ex-Bonnier) in a non-championship Argentine GP race. He finished third in the second heat.
In 1971, when his partner was Carlos Ruesch and after the first races, the F2 BT30s were replaced by two BT36s. In the company of drivers like Ronnie Peterson, Francois Cevert and Fittipaldi, he ended runner-up in the championship with a win at Albi.
Because he had gained a lot of respect in the Brabham-team in his F2 year, he became officially a team member in 1972. New owner Bernie Ecclestone drafted him into the F1 squad, pairing with Graham Hill and Wilson Fittipaldi and the Brabham BT 34. Reutemann also wanted to go for the F2 crown with the Brabham Rondel team managed by Ron Tauranac and Ron Dennis.
Reutemann's first World Championship race was to be his home event and this would mean he had track knowledge to his advantage. Carlos made a huge impact. He took pole-position ! When the flag fell, he didn't lead away, however. Jackie Stewart beat him from the line and Carlos doggedly following the World Champion for the first part of the race. On lap 40, having fallen back to third, Carlos was forced to pit for new tyres. When he was back on the track, he was seventh. Later in the year he finished fourth in Canada.
In the F2, he finished fourth in the final standings; the BT38 was not always very reliable.
In 1973, still a member of the Brabham team he drove the entirely new BT42. This was the first Gordon Murray designed car with a triangular section monocoque, the sidepods each containing one fuel cell (third cell between the driver and engine) and a revived new front section. Reutemann got two podium finishes in France and the USA (where he started from the front line) and was fourth in Sweden and Austria. He ended seventh in the championship, while his team mate Wilson Fittipaldi only scored 3 points.
Carlos was already a Ferrari racer in the world Endurance championship that year. He drove the Ferrari 312 PB together with Tim Schenken. They ended second in the 6 hours Vallelunga and the 1000 km Monza, but did not see the finish in Le Mans.
For 1974, there was the BT44. After the Argentina ( which he nearly won, but low on fuel in the last lap) and Brazilian GP, there was the South African GP at Kyalami. Reutemann found that the Brabham was very fast on the main straight. In qualifying, he was fourth.And for the race, he got a new Cosworth engine. Lauda grabbed the lead at the start and Carlos tucked in close behind. He got past Lauda on lap 9 and edged away to take his first F1 win.The next races were marked by five non-finishes due to mechanical failures or a contact with others.In Zandvoort, a P12. In July at Brands Hatch, Carlos was sixth and at the Nurburgring, he was on the podium. He won for the second time at Zeltweg. In Monza he was driving third, when the gearbox gave out. After a troubled race at Mosport, Carlos won again the last GP at Watkins Glen. He eneded sixth in the championship.
He decided to stay at Brabham for 1975. He would go winning the German GP, but was seen six times on the podium. He was third in his home GP, second at Kyalami, third in Barcelona and Zolder and second again at Anderstorp. In the final standings. Carlos was third with 37 points.
Lole looked a serious candidate for a world- champion position. However, the switch from the new Brabham BT45 to 12V Alfa-Romeo engines would prevent that. His team mate was Carlos Pace. The gorgeous Martini-liveried machines were neither swift nor reliable. Carlos rarely saw the finish line because of numerous technical failures of the engine or the clutch. Reutemann got demotivated and went into negotiations with Ferrari. For the Italian team, he was the right replacement of Niki Lauda, who got injured at the Nürburgring. But nobody had taken into account that Lauda was a tough guy. He was physically well recovered to take his place again. So Carlos could only be entered as a third driver and so his only race remained the Italian GP. His teammate Regazzoni was second, Lauda fourth and Reutemann P09.
The 1977 Argentinian Grand Prix at Buenos Aires the first race of the season, the Maranello Scuderia fielded Niki Lauda and local hero Carlos Reutemann in the 312 T2, which has contested the 1976 season, updated particularly on the aerodynamic front but with a Fiat Logo on it. Carlos drove from thirteen place to a third place after a spin and a tyre change. Great start for the season. He did better in Brazil: winning. He saw the podium again in Spain finishing second with a clean drive. The first problem with his team-mate Lauda became obvious in Monaco, At lap 20, Reutemann was third closely followed by Lauda. The Austrian was the number one, so from the pits came the signal to let him past, which happened in lap 25. Both Ferrari drivers were on the podium after winner Jody Scheckter in his WolfWR1. A crash at Belgium, but a third place at Anderstorp got Carlos in the game for the championship. In the second half of the year, Reutemann got some points, but only in the last race at Fuji he was second again after Lafitte fell out of fuel. While Lauda with four wins was crowned world champion, Carlos ended fourth in the championship. For the history: In Canada just three hours before qualifying, Lauda announced to team manager Roberto Noseto he would quit the team immediately. Gilles Villeneuve would stand in as his replacement.
Four victories with the Ferrari 312T3 in 1978 wasn't enough against the dominant JPS 79's and Carlos could only finish 3rd in the points standings. The Mauro Foghieri developed car was good and simple without wing-car configuration and other aerodynamic devices but needed to adapted to Michelin tyres. Reutemann dominated the Brazilian GP and the Long Beach race from lap 39 when his team mate Villeneuve crashed his car. Only when both Lotus drivers were out at Brands Hatch, he won again and repeated that in Watkins Glen. On three other occasions, Carlos stood on the podium.
It seemed a good idea to move to Lotus next to Mario Andretti for 1979. The first part of the season saw a number of good placings. Calos was second in Argentina and Spain and third in Brazil and Monaco. The newly designed Lotus 80 with a totally progressive aerodynamical concept was a waste, so he raced mostly with the old 79. Carlos scored no points in the latter half of the season, ending up 6th in the Championship.
Reutemann then moved to the Williams team. There, he helped the team to the constructors’ championship with the FW 07, and Alan Jones to the drivers’ title. He won the Monaco Grand Prix. Pole-position was for the Ligier of Pironi. At the start of the race, he was passed by Jones. Together with Lafitte the four cars got away; the rest of the field was well behind because of the first corner shunt from Derek Daly. In Lap 25, Jones lost his differential and spun at la Rascasse and Pironi was getting issues with the gearbox. With 20 laps left came the LIgier to a standstill and Carlos flew over the finish line. He ended second in the GP of Argentina, Germany, Canada and at Watkins Glen. He scored a third place on the podium in Belgium, England, Austria and at Monza. That put him third in the championship.
For 1981, he refused to be a number two at Williams. In the first race of the year at Long Beach, he was ordered by Frank Williams to stay behind Jones, which he did. But in he next race in Brazil Reutemann disobeyed team orders and refused to move over. He won the race. After a second place in Argentina, a third at Imola, he won the Belgian GP. With again a second place at Silverstone, he was leading the championship with 43 points over Piquet with 26 and Jones with 24. Three races later, he crashed at Zandvoort and found himself with equal points as Piquet. Carlos arrived in Las Vegas for the final race of the year a point ahead of Brabham’s Nelson Piquet, and after clinching pole, the championship was his to lose. In one of racing’s most mysterious performances, he did just that. Piquet passed him on lap 17, and came in fifth, securing the two points he needed, while Reutemann trailed in eighth after driving “as if in a trance”, according to Motor Sport’s Nigel Roebuck. Alan Jones had his revenge: his team mate has lost the championship. While Jones took win, Reutemann quietly packed his gear and slipped away.
Las Vegas was the last race for Alan Jones ( for the moment as history will learn) and Carlos got Keke Rosberg as his team mate for 1982. Two races into the season, he walked away from Williams and returned to Argentina. Reutemann turned to politics, becoming governor of his local state of Santa Fe and even had an option to become president.
At the age of 53 he took to the track once more, in Argentina in a Ferrari 412T. It was a demonstration, nothing more, but his best lap was actually the 11th fastest of the day. “Amazing, isn’t it?” murmured John Watson. “Same style, same timing, same flair. It’s all there still.”
Carlos Reutemann died on July 7 2021 at the age of 79, after being in the hospital for several weeks.
