Peter Arundell

8/11/1933 - 16/6/2009

Record updated 17-Jun-09

Formula One driver who raced for the Lotus team. He won the British Formula Junior championship in 1962 and 1963. He also won the Monaco Formula Junior race in 1961 and 1962. He retired from F1 in 1966 having completed in only 11 races, achieving two podiums and scoring a total of 12 championship points.

Peter Arundell was born in Ilford, Essex, England and started racing when he was 21 driving an MG. He turned professional after finishing his time with the Royal Air Force, driving Lotus and Elva cars.

In 1962 he won the British Formula Junior championship in a Lotus 22 He was so dominant that he was accused of using illegal engines. Arundell then went to Monza for the Monza Lotteria in responce to a challenge from his fellow competitors. He went and won.

He also won the prestigious Monaco Formula Junior race in 1961 and 1962.

In 1963 he did some non-championship Formula 1 races with Team Lotus after Trevor Taylor was injured in a spectacular crash in the non-championship Mediterranean GP at Enna. Arundell, however, concentrated on the British Formula Junior winning the title for the second time driving a Lotus 27. He thus did not make his Grand Prix debut until the following year after Taylor was dropped.

Driving as number two to Jim Clark in 1964 was a difficult task but he finished third on his debut at Monaco and repeated the performance at the Dutch GP two weeks later. Then, less than two months later, in a Formula 2 at Reims-Gueux, he spun and was hit a high speed by Richie Ginther. Arundell was thrown out of his car and sustained serious injuries that kept him out of racing for most of the 1965 season. However Colin Chapman saved his place in the team for 1966.

1966 was dissapointing, failing to post any notable finishes. At the end of that year he retired from Formula One. In his career he started 11 races and achieving two podiums.

He retired from racing altogether in 1969, and later moved to Florida, where he set up a software company.



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