New Zealand’s deep legacy in F1

This Sunday I will imagine Bruce McLaren, Denny Hulme and Chris Amon – the departed kings of New Zealand motorsport – will be looking down with wide smiles, urging on fellow Kiwi Liam Lawson as he undertakes his most important Grand Prix in Melbourne as team-mate to four-time world champion Max Verstappen following his promotion to Red Bull.

Self-confident and quick, the 23-year-old who was born in Hastings and raised in race-town Pukekohe, has long known that he deserves an F1 seat.

Eventually, after much stop-and-go in negotiations, he got one, with AlphaTauri, and made his long-awaited debut in the 2023 Dutch GP, after Daniel Ricciardo had been called up to replace Nyck de Vries but then sustained a hand injury in the second practice session.

Behind Liam lay a career in which he had aways shown good speed in the junior categories such as Toyota Racing Series, F3, F2 and Japan’s Super Formula, and on outings for both Toro Rosso and Red Bull in FP1 sessions at Grands Prix.

And he impressed at Zandvoort, qualifying 20th, battling Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and finishing 13th, ahead of established team mate Yuki Tsunoda. He then finished 11th in Italy and scored his first points with an impressive ninth in Singapore. But then Red Bull put Ricciardo back in the car after Qatar.

I remember bumping into Liam in Vegas back then and pointing at him: “You should be in an F1 seat!” “I know!” he said, managing to muster a small smirk.

Getting to know Liam Lawson

Life must have been tough for him back then, as Ricciardo stayed in the car right through until the US GP in 2024. But Liam’s commendable patience and loyalty were rewarded when he did the final six races and they yielded solid ninths in Austin and Sao Paulo.

And after weeks of debate it was finally confirmed he would replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull for 2025.

Some see the second Red Bull seat alongside Max as a poisoned chalice, like the second Lotus seat alongside Jimmy Clark back in Bruce’s day.

Ask Ricciardo, into whose camp Max had sprung with that wonderful victory in Spain back in 2016 when he took Daniil Kvyat’s seat at Red Bull. Or Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, or Checo Perez. But there’s something about Liam that suggests he has the inner fortitude to look and learn, without letting the world champion’s pace get to him.

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 26: Liam Lawson of New Zealand and Oracle Red Bull Racing and Max — Liam Lawson will be racing alongside Max Verstappen this year

Of course, he and his family, who sacrificed so much to keep him racing, are all too aware of the glittery legacy forged so many years ago by Bruce, Denny and Chris, and their fellow Kiwi Howden Ganley, the last survivor of that bygone era.

Bruce made an immediate impression when he came over on the inaugural NZ Driver to Europe scheme in 1958, won twice in F1 with Cooper by 1962, then once again in his eponymous M7A at Spa in 1968 after he had set up the team that still bears his name and values at the end of 1963.

McLaren would go on to dominate the CanAm series between 1967 and 1971, with Bruce and Denny, then Denny and Dan Gurney, Peter Gethin and Peter Revson after the tragedy of Bruce’s death on June 2nd, 1970 in a testing crash at Goodwood.

Denny, New Zealand’s only F1 world champion, achieved that honour after winning two races with Brabham in 1967 but switched to join countryman Bruce for 1968, when he won two more.

Bruce McLaren, Cooper-Climax T45, Grand Prix of Germany, Nurburgring, 03 August 1958. Bruce McLaren — Bruce McLaren was a trailblazer for New Zealanders in F1

In 1969 he did it again, and added three more wins, one apiece in 1972, 1973 and 1974, his triumph in the season opener in Argentina marking the last for a New Zealander in Formula 1.

He often joked with Bruce that part of the secret of their success was that they had such a lot of fun doing what they loved. Along with fellow New Zealanders Howden, Phil Kerr and Alastair Caldwell, he would be instrumental in helping McLaren to survive Bruce’s death.

WATCH: From one man’s dream to serial title winners – The origins of the McLaren F1 team

Somehow the cards never fell for Amon as he lost at least nine potential victories with Ferrari, March and Matra between 1967 and 1972, making him arguably the sport’s unluckiest man in some respects.

But he was the best of the three, one of the few capable of running with Clark and Jackie Stewart, and had to be content with victory for Ford with Bruce at Le Mans in 1966, and the Tasman title in 1969 with Ferrari.

Chris Amon(NZL) Ferrari 312.\rDutch Grand Prix, Zandvoort, Holland, 23 June 1968.\rBEST IMAGE\r\r\r — Chris Amon never quite managed to snatch a Grand Prix victory

Howden, too, was a charger. As BRM team-mate Peter Gethin won the 1971 Italian GP, Howden’s sister car was only 0.61s behind – but with Ronnie Peterson, Francois Cevert and Bruce between them…

He may just possibly have won the controversial and disputed 1973 Canadian GP for Frank Williams’ Iso Marlboro team depending on whose lap chart you chose to believe, and went on to establish a strong career as a tester and sportscar racer, and to make Tiga racing cars with Australian partner Tim Schenken. Today, he is the perfect ambassador for his country on the F1 scene.

Of course, there have been other Kiwi racers in F1. Graham McRae burst on to the scene in the famed Tasman Series which took place in Australia and New Zealand back in the sixties and early seventies.

Having won the Tasman in three times, McRae, briefly made it to F1 in one of Frank’s Iso Williams cars in 1973, but his mercurial character often worked against him, and he was unable to progress further after the throttle stuck open on the opening lap of the 1973 British GP.

New Zealand racing driver Howden Ganley races for the Marlboro BRM team, UK, March 1972. (Photo by — New Zealand racing driver Howden Ganley was also highly talented

New Zealand had several other strong racers who showed well against their European opposition. Tony Shelly was fast in events Down Under, then took some respectable results in 1962 in non-championship F1 events but retired from the British GP when his John Dalton Lotus 18 blew its cylinder head gasket. After his brief European foray he went home for good.

In Formula Junior in the sixties (the forerunner of Formula 3) George Lawton shared the 1960 NZ Driver to Europe deal with Hulme and showed similar speed. He was due to graduate to F1 with Yeoman Credit for the non-title Lombank Trophy race at Snetterton, but was killed in an F2 race at Roskilde the week before, in September, 1960.

Ironically, a shattered Denny eventually took over the F1 seat, to make his own debut in the big league.

Graeme Lawrence won the Tasman title in 1970 driving the ex-Amon Ferrari Dino; Jim Palmer was always fast and stylish in that series, as were Roly Levis, David Oxton, Bill Stone and Bert Hawthorne, while John Nicholson would win races in UK Formula Atlantic and create Nicholson-McLaren engines, and also raced briefly in non-championship F1 races in England with the one-off Lyncar.

Only Nicholson made it to F1, failing to qualify for the British GP in 1974 and crashing in the rainstorm in the 1975 race. The rest either lacked the backing, were content to race at home or, as in Hawthorne’s case at Hockenheim in 1972, met tragic ends in racing accidents.

Denny Hulme (NZL) McLaren.\rFormula One World Championship, c. 1973. — Denny Hulme is New Zealand's only F1 world champion

Thus the country had to wait until 1980, when 19-year-old Mike Thackwell’s phenomenal pace in F3 in 1979 (five wins and third overall in the prestigious Vandervell Championship) had suggested a very bright future.

Cannily he turned down offers from Ensign and Arrows (after failing to qualify for the Dutch GP) as he graduated well to F2 in an ICI March, before signing with that great talent spotter Ken Tyrrell to race in the late-season Canadian GP.

He qualified 24th, within three-tenths of experienced team mate Derek Daly, but when fellow team mate Jean-Pierre Jarier’s car was damaged as title contenders Alan Jones and Nelson Piquet collided at the first start, he was unable to take the subsequent restart as he had to hand his car over.

He failed to qualify for the US GP, and thus switched back to F2 in 1981 with Ron Tauranac’s Ralt Hondas. He won the opener at Silverstone before being sidelined with a life-threatening accident at Thruxton.

Mike Thackwell from New Zealand drives the #9 Casio Ralt Racing Ltd Ralt RH6/83H - Honda during the — Mike Thackwell – seen here racing in F2 – was a big talent

Tauranac dropped him, but after struggling for F2 drives in 1982 he was re-signed by Ralt for 1983, but had to play second fiddle to team mate Jonathan Palmer. In 1984 he finally realised his potential with victory in the championship thanks to six pole positions, nine fastest laps and victories in seven of the 11 races; altogether he led 408 of the season’s 580 laps.

That year he retired a RAM-Hart from the Canadian GP, and again failed to qualify a Tyrrell in the German GP at Hockenheim. Later, after further disillusionment in F3000 in 1985 – despite consistently proving himself the class of the field – Peter Sauber hired him for his World Sportscar Championship campaign and he was able to showcase his speed and class yet again.

But, always his own man, he chose to walk away from the sport altogether and, among other things, to work with special needs children. He remains an enigma, remembered by many who saw him at his peak as one of the sport’s genuine lost talents.

Thirty three years later, New Zealand welcomed Brendon Hartley from Palmerston North, whose father Brian had also raced. After test and development roles with Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Mercedes, he finally got his F1 race chance with Toro Rosso in Texas in 2017 when he replaced Pierre Gasly.

MELBOURNE GRAND PRIX CIRCUIT, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 23: Brendon Hartley, Toro Rosso during the — Brendon Hartley was the last Kiwi to race in F1 before Lawson

That was the prelude to a further 24 Grands Prix, before he took over a testing role with Ferrari for 2019. His best F1 results were ninth in the US and 10th in Azerbaijan and Germany in 2018. Subsequently he won four World Endurance titles, and the Le Mans 24 Hours three times.

There have been plenty of Kiwis to make their mark in F1 off-track, too.

Through Bruce McLaren, Phil Kerr got his chance to switch from managing Jack Brabham to running McLaren with Teddy Mayer; Alastair Caldwell rose from mechanic to manage the team’s success, notably with James Hunt in 1976; and former Lotus mechanic Allan McCall joined Bruce, George Begg and Chris Amon by turning constructor with his Tui F2/F3/SuperVee cars, and later penned the F1 Tecno with which Amon scored a point for sixth in Belgium in 1973.

McLaren mechanic Colin Beanland came over with Bruce in 1958, buying a Ford Zephyr tow car and trailer as his part of the deal, and many other Kiwis mechanics would flock to Bruce’s door.

Among them were Wally Wilmott (the McLaren team’s first official employee after Bruce in 1963); Leo Wybrott, the Porteous brothers Roger and Dale; John Muller; Bruce Harre who later starred as a Firestone engineer; Pete Kerr who would later spearhead Brabham and March efforts; Bill Stone who when not racing would be a huge part of Adrian Reynard’s activities; Cary Taylor; Tyrrell stalwarts Max Rutherford and Roger Hill; and Dave Ryan, who would work at McLaren from 1974 to 2009.

James Hunt (GBR) is unveiled as the new McLaren driver for 1976, sitting in a McLaren M23 with — New Zealander Alastair Caldwell (R) was a key figure in running McLaren during James Hunt's success with the team

On the media side, Bill Gavin carved a name for himself writing race reports and profiles, while the late Eoin Young started out as Bruce’s secretary in 1961 (and was the team’s third employee), and later developed his skills as an outstanding F1 journalist and PR man, while also running a rare motoring book dealership.

Today, Jono Halliday at Racing Bulls and Tom Batch at Mercedes continue the work of their illustrious forebears, continually reminding the F1 world of New Zealand’s deep legacy in the sport.