Johnny Claes
Octave John 'Johnny' Claes (born 11 August 1916 in London, died 3 February 1956 in Brussels) was a Belgian racing driver and jazz trumpeter who competed in Formula 1 from 1950 until 1955. Starting off as the owner-driver of the initially competitive Claes Racing Developments, he competed as a privateer (employing other drivers alongside him) until significant rule changes in 1953 drove him to drive for other teams, notably Leader and Mercedes-Benz before buying into Jacques Swaters' Ecurie Nationale Belge in early 1955. After a couple of entries that year, Claes retired from racing due to ill health. He died shortly thereafter from tuberculosis, aged 39.
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 | 11 | WDC | Pts. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1950 | Claes Racing Developments | Maserati 4CLT/48 | Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4s | GBR Ret |
MON Ret |
500 | SUI Ret |
BEL 10 |
FRA 9 |
ITA Ret |
NC | 0 | ||||
1951 | Claes Racing Developments | Maserati 4CLT | Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4s | MON 6 |
500 | BEL Ret |
FRA 6 |
GBR Ret |
GER 6 |
NED Ret |
ITA DNQ |
NC | 0 | |||
1952 | Claes Racing Developments | Maserati 4CLT/48 | Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4s | MON Ret |
ENG DNQ |
BEL 14 |
FRA 6 |
GBR DNQ |
GER Ret |
NED Ret |
ITA 5 |
USA Ret |
AUS 7 |
18th | 2 | |
1953 | Leader | Leader LF153 | Mercedes-Benz UM153 4.5 V10 | MON DNQ |
NED DNQ |
BEL Ret |
FRA Ret |
GBR DNQ |
GER 20 |
SUI 13 |
ITA DNQ |
USA Ret |
NC | 0 | ||
1954 | Mercedes-Benz Team Europe | Mercedes-Benz WM-2 | Mercedes-Benz UM153 4.5 V10 | MON DNQ |
FRA Ret |
BEL Ret |
NED 8 |
GBR DNQ |
SUI 11 |
GER 9 |
USA | ITA | NC | 0 | ||
1955 | Ecurie Nationale Belge | Cooper T41 | Jaguar JFE-2 4.5 V12 | MON | FRA DNQ |
BEL | NED | GBR | SCO | SOV | GER | ITA | POR | MOR | NC | 0 |
* denotes season still in progress