Keiran Sutherland

Keiran Sutherland (born October 30th, 1956 in Portree, Scotland) is a former Scottish Formula One and RTCC racing driver. He is the father of current Formula One drivers Allie Sutherland and Scott Sutherland.

Formula One

1979

Sutherland was signed up to compete for the Arrows team in 1979 for the team's first year of competition under new ownership. He was partnered by Italain Riccardo Patrese, who had already spent a year at the team.

In the first race of the year, the Argentinian Grand Prix, Sutherland qualified 28th out of 30 starters, while Patrese could only manage 27th. In his first ever race, Sutherland managed to haul the car home in a race of high attrition to finish 12th of 14 classified finishers. Arrows were disappointed by an apparent lack of pace in their futuristic new chassis, the A2. For the Brazilian Grand Prix, the second race of the year, Arrows brought updates to cure the lack of pace and dodgy handling apparent on the car, and Sutherland duly went 13th fastest. Another solid 12th place was saddened though by a huge crash for Patrese, who broke his left arm and would be out until France.

Kyalami, the venue for the South African Grand Prix, was suited to the sleek bodywork of the A2, and Sutherland qualified 6th. He went on to finish 8th, securing his first world championship point, in a thrilling race which saw Andrea de Cesaris, Patrese's replacement, take the lead at one point.

Sutherland qualified an impressive 13th at the US West Grand Prix, around the streets of Long Beach which didn't suit the design of the A2. A chance of a points finish was robbed on lap 2 by a collision with Wolf driver James Hunt, which sent Sutherland head-on into the pit wall. James Hunt was banned for 3 races for coasuing an avoidable collision, and although there were initial concerns over Sutherland's health, he was able to walk away from the car and wave to the crowds, albeit with a slight limp. The accident came not long after Arrows management made scathing personal comments about Hunt, which almost saw the young team kicked from the championship for misconduct.

The Spanish and Belgian Grand Prix were much more disappointing for Sutherland, as the Arrows was mired in the bottom half of the field, and he was unable to make it to the finish in both races due to engine failures.