1972 Surtees TS9B

The relationship between money and success in an F1 team has always been a subject of interest and debate. There have been teams with very little money, in real and relative terms, that manage to do reasonably well—Minardi is perhaps a good example of that at present. In the past, Lola put in some very good performances with very little money, though their results weren’t outstanding. Ferrari, in the past several years, with a vast budget, has done immensely well and then fallen into the doldrums in spite of their rich budget. Many teams have blamed lack of money for their lack of success, and many have clearly not succeeded in spite of their bags of gold.

When John Surtees announced that he was going to build his own F1 car, many people on the racing scene were sure he would be one of those who would draw lots of backing and had all the ingredients to build a winning team. That neither of these came to pass was shock to many, though not to all, because it had always been clear that Surtees was a man who wanted to take charge, make his own decisions, and could be less than easy to work with. He was always direct and sometimes brutally honest, something of a cover perhaps for a somewhat shy man. He put his heart and soul into being a success as a constructor, but success was limited and in F1 pretty much missing. Those who didn’t know him and the motor racing business so well, just assumed that the great driver would be able to transfer his skill and energy into building a top Grand Prix team.