Piers Courage, F1 Driver
British Formula 1 Driver
Piers Courage had no need to race cars. From a privileged upbringing, including an Eton education, he was also an heir to the Courage brewing dynasty. Despite the prospect of a comfortable life and a position as a director of the company, Courage could not quell his obsession with motor racing. From humble beginnings in illegal airfield sprints he rose all the way to Formula 1.
Courage has often been unfairly labelled as a rich boy who didn’t have to struggle for anything on his road to the top of the sport. In fact he received very little financial assistance from his father, and any money which was received was expected to be paid back in full. Throughout the sixties Courage would tour the continent to compete in various races, more often than not sleeping in the back of his transporter with a tarpaulin for cover.
For a while Courage shared a flat in London with several other racing addicts, including Frank Williams and ‘Bubbles’ Horsley, who would later go on to run the Hesketh Formula 1 team. Although his Formula 1 career began with BRM it was only when Courage began driving for Frank Williams that he truly started to shine.
For the 1970 season Williams had negotiated a useful deal with the Italian car firm De Tomaso, which gave him free chassis's. Although the car was overweight Courage put in some impressive performances. At Zandvoort in June he was involved in a spirited tussle when, on lap 23, the red De Tomaso failed to appear. Instead, a column of smoke rose from the far side of the circuit. Magnesium used in the chassis construction fuelled the fire and, by the time it was extinguished, there was barely any of the car left.
In Adam Cooper's 2003 book, 'Piers Courage, Last of the Gentleman Racers', Sir Jackie Stewart recalls the scene. The race was not stopped and the drivers continued to drive past until the chequered flag:
"We had to go right through the smoke when we were racing, and there was a stench. The fire was very real. But you never stopped in cases like that. You never stopped, it was just part and parcel of the job."
The race was won by Courage's great friend Jochen Rindt, followed home by Stewart, but the podium ceremony was extremely muted. Stewart and his wife were also great friends with the Courages. By the end of the season Rindt would also be dead, winning the World Championship posthumously. Since that dreadful day in Holland Sir Frank Williams has gone on to establish one of the world's most successful racing teams, but he has never forgotten his old friend. In his foreword to Adam Cooper's book Williams remembers his first Formula 1 driver:
"He was a great man, highly popular, and I remember clearly that when he died a nation grieved."
Piers Courage, 1969
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