Bernie Ecclestone’s bribery that stripped Reutemann of his F1 title in 1981

Lole was runner-up in Formula 1 behind Nelson Piquet and, 42 years later, the former F1 president admitted he had hurt the Argentine driver, who should have been champion.

Carlos Reutemann, who now marks three years since his death, is one of the best pilots in the history of Argentina. In ten years competing Formula 1 for teams Brahms, Ferrari, Lotus and Williams, completing a total of twelve victories and 45 podiums in 144 races. His best seasons were in 1975, 1978 and 1980, where he finished third, but undoubtedly the most outstanding was in 1981, whereand finished second, one point behind Nelson Piquet, who was embroiled in a scandal over a bribe from Bernie Eccleston to hurt Lole, who should have been champion.

Reutemann was born on April 12, 1942 in Santa Fe and began his career in racing cars and entered motorsports professionally in May 1965. In 1972 he moved to the highest competition, Formula 1, representing the team of Brabham. After coming third in 1975, The following year he moved to Ferrari as a substitute driver. before definitely replacing Niki Lauda and ending up on the podium in 1978, which he also repeated in 1980, that of Williams.

In 1981 came the year of controversy. In the final race of the championshipthe Las Vegas Grand Prix, Lole came into the lead with a one-point advantage over Brazilian Nelson Piquet’s Brahma. He got pole position and was the big favourite, but A bribe from Bernie Eccleston, then president of F1 and Brahbam, caused the Santa Fe native’s dream to become a nightmare..

“After the first day of practice, it’s obvious that the drivers will have problems with all the neck pain. Carlos talked to the masseuse in the pit. I went to this person and after a financial discussion, they decided to favor Nelson“Ecclestone said in the F1 documentary Lucky. “We won the championship in 1981 and it was the end for Carlos, who stopped racing that year”he added.

The legality of Brabhams in 1981, the “other side” of the Reutemann controversy

Carlos Reutemann died on this day in 2021. Ecclestone’s confession came in 2023, through Lucky, the series in which he tells the story of his life. The truth is, even Cora Reutemann, his daughter, acknowledges that Ecclestone’s statements are “a way to respond to the public and it is much better”, it is also understood that there is a part of that story that remains untold: the legality of Brabham’s cars – champion Piquet’s team – that season.

“I already know all this. Not only what he confessed about the masseuse, but something more serious: that the Brabham is not suitable for running because of the ground effect, which is prohibited. Then, there was also the issue of tires Williams Changed was good at Michelin, but he switched to Goodyear at the behest of Bernie, who should be good at Goodyear You can see in the championship that the performance in Brazil , dad was the champion in 1981.”he said in statements to Chain 3 from Santa Fe.