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Ronnie Peterson's greatest drives

This week is the 40th anniversary of the tragic death of Ronnie Peterson, one of the most spectacular protagonists of an epic era of Formula 1. We pay tribute with a look back at his finest moments

Forty years ago this week Formula 1 lost one of its most exciting talents when Ronnie Peterson died following a crash in the Italian Grand Prix.

The Swede won 10 grands prix from his 123 world championship F1 starts, but his status in the pantheon of F1 greats far exceeds these relatively modest statistics.

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Author Kevin Turner

Kevin Turner is Autosport’s Chief Editor. While studying History at the University of York, Kevin began covering UK club events as a freelance reporter for Autosport and Motorsport News. He joined the Autosport staff as Editorial Assistant on the magazine in 2006, winning what is now known as the Motorsport UK Young Journalist of the Year Award. He became National Editor in 2008 and over the next few seasons covered a range of international events, including the Le Mans 24 Hours, as well as the British Touring Car Championship and British GT. Kevin became Features Editor before switching to edit Motorsport News in 2014.

He returned to Autosport in 2016 to become editor of the magazine, a dream job that is still part of his role.

He became Chief Editor in 2020, helping to plan content for autosport.com and Autosport’s podcast as well as seeing the magazine through the coronavirus pandemic. Kevin also led work on the special publication celebrating 70 years of Autosport and has been a judge on the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award, formerly known as the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award, since 2008. He lives in Warboys with his wife and two children.