Francois Cevert, 1973
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Born | Albert François Cevert Goldenberg 25 February 1944 Paris, France |
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Died | 6 October 1973 Watkins Glen, New York, United States |
(aged 29)||||||||||
Formula One World Championship career | |||||||||||
Nationality | French | ||||||||||
Active years | 1970–1973 | ||||||||||
Teams | Tyrrell | ||||||||||
Entries | 47 (46 starts) | ||||||||||
Championships | 0 | ||||||||||
Wins | 1 | ||||||||||
Podiums | 13 | ||||||||||
Career points | 89 | ||||||||||
Pole positions | 0 | ||||||||||
Fastest laps | 2 | ||||||||||
First entry | 1970 Dutch Grand Prix | ||||||||||
First win | 1971 United States Grand Prix | ||||||||||
Last win | 1971 United States Grand Prix | ||||||||||
Last entry | 1973 United States Grand Prix | ||||||||||
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24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
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Participating years | 1970, 1972–1973 |
Teams | Equipe Matra-Simca |
Best finish | 2nd (1972) |
Class wins | 0 |
Albert François Cevert Goldenberg (25 February 1944 – 6 October 1973) was a French racing driver who took part in the Formula One World Championship. He competed in 47 World Championship Grands Prix, achieving one win, 13 podium finishes and 89 career points.
The son of Charles Goldenberg (1901–1985), a successful Parisian jeweler, and Huguette Cevert. Charles was a Russian Jewish émigré brought to France as a young boy by his parents, to escape the persecution of the Jews under the Tsarist autocracy. During World War II, under the Nazi occupation of France, Goldenberg joined the French Resistance to avoid forced deportation to Poland, as he was a registered Jew. In order not to draw further attention, Charles and Huguette's four children were all registered with her surname rather than his. Some years after the liberation of France, Cevert's father wanted to rename his children Goldenberg, but the family objected as by now they had become known as Cevert.
Cevert was the brother-in-law of Grand Prix driver Jean-Pierre Beltoise.
When he was 16, François Cevert began his motorsport career on two wheels, rather than four, initially racing his mother's Vespa scooter against friends, before graduating to his own Norton at the age of 19. After completing his National Service, Cevert switched his attention to cars. In 1966 he completed a training course at the Le Mans school, before enrolling at the Magny-Cours racing school. At the same time he registered for the Volant Shell scholarship competition, which offered the top finisher the prize of an Alpine Formula Three car. Cevert duly qualified for the final race and won.
His first season in F3, at the wheel of his prize Alpine, did not go well. He lacked the funds and experience to properly set up and maintain his car. After finding sponsorship for the 1968 season, Cevert traded in his Alpine for a more competitive Tecno car. With his new mount Cevert finally started to win races, and by the end of the season he was French Formula 3 Champion, just ahead of Jean-Pierre Jabouille.