Remembering the last American born Grand Prix winner

©PeteBiro

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©PeteBiro

As extraordinary as it may seem, the late Peter Revson, born on this day in 1939, remains the last American born driver to have won an F1 Grand Prix.

After unfruitful attempts to garner success in F1 in the mid-sixties, Revson returned to the pinnacle of motorsport in 1972, better prepared and as a McLaren works driver who had won the Can-Am series the year before.

Armed with McLaren's M23, Revson won twice in 1973 but at the end of the year, when team boss Teddy Mayer decided to make way for Emerson Fittipaldi, Revson was forced to move on.

He signed up with Don Nichols' promising Shadow outfit for 1974 but, sadly, it would all go terribly wrong early on in the season.

During private testing at Kyalami a week before the South African GP, Revson was killed when his Shadow suffered a suspension failure and hit the guardrail with devastating consequences.

Peter Revson was 35.

Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.