Tony Bettenhausen
Melvin Eugene "Tony" Bettenhausen (born 12 September 1916 in Tinley Park, Illinois, died 12 May 1961 in Indianapolis, Indiana) was an American racing driver who competed in Formula One from 1950 onwards. A very successful midget car and US National racer, he was the first man to win the AAA National championship (1951) and Formula One drivers' title (1953) and was the first American to win the Formula One title. In Formula One, he started driving for Alexander Racing Team before moving to Jaguar-Aston Martin Racing in 1952. Up to 1955, he had 17 AAA race wins and 2 Formula One race wins. He died in 1961 after an accident during qualifying for the Indianapolis 500. He was 44 years old.
Complete Alternate Formula One results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | WDC | Pts. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1950 | Alexander Racing Team | Gordini T15 | Gordini 1.5 L4s | GBR 11 |
MON 10 |
500 | SUI 2 |
BEL | FRA | ITA | 9th | 6 | |||
1951 | Alexander Racing Team | Gordini T15 | Gordini 1.5 L4s | MON Ret |
500 | BEL Ret |
FRA Ret |
GBR DNQ |
GER 4 |
NED DNQ |
ITA Ret |
19th | 3 | ||
1952 | Jaguar - Aston Martin Racing | Aston Martin AM-03 | Jaguar XK 3.4 | MON | ENG | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER 8 |
NED 2 |
ITA 3 |
USA 12 |
AUS Ret |
11th | 10 |
1953 | Jaguar - Aston Martin Racing | Aston Martin AM-04 | Jaguar JFE-2 4.5 V12 | MON Ret |
NED 3 |
BEL 1 |
FRA 2 |
GBR 7 |
GER 3 |
SUI Ret |
ITA 3 |
USA Ret |
1st | 27 | |
1954 | Jaguar - Aston Martin Racing | Aston Martin AM-04 | Jaguar JFE-2 4.5 V12 | MON Ret |
FRA Ret |
BEL Ret |
NED 1 |
GBR 4 |
SUI Ret |
GER Ret |
USA Ret |
ITA 4 |
5th | 15 | |
1955 | Jaguar - Aston Martin Racing | Aston Martin AM-04 | Jaguar JFE-2 4.5 V12 | MON Ret |
FRA Ret |
BEL Ret |
GBR Ret |
SCO Ret |
SOV Ret |
ITA Ret |
NC | 0 | |||
1956 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari R560 | Ferrari RS560 2.5 L4 | MON Ret |
FRA 11 |
BEL | GER Ret |
GDR | NC* | 0* | |||||
Officine Specializzate Costruzione Automobili | O.S.C.A. F156A | O.S.C.A. 1500S-56 1.5 L4s | IRL Ret |
SCO | GBR | ITA | THA |
* denotes season still in progress