Gunnar Axel Arvid Nilsson (20 November 1948 – 20 October 1978) was a Swedish
racing driver
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...
, who competed in
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
from to . Nilsson won the
1977 Belgian Grand Prix with
Lotus.
Born and raised in
Helsingborg
Helsingborg (, , ), is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania County, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, ninth ...
, Nilsson initially studied engineering at
Stockholm University
Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...
and served as a submarine radio officer in the
Swedish Navy. Nilsson began his racing career in the late 1960s, progressing into
Formula Super Vee in 1973 with
Ecurie Bonnier. His
junior formulae career culminated in his victory at the
1975 British Formula 3 Championship, in only his second season of
Formula Three
Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers.
History
Formula Three (adop ...
racing. Nilsson signed for
Lotus in , making his Formula One debut at the . Qualifying for every race in his rookie season, Nilsson scored podium finishes in
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
and
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
. Retaining his seat for , Nilsson scored his maiden win at the , with a further podium at the .
Having signed to
Arrows for , Nilsson was diagnosed with
testicular cancer
Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system. Symptoms may include a lump in the testicle or swelling or pain in the scrotum. Treatment may result in infertility.
Risk factors include an c ...
in December 1977, experiencing a rapid decline in health prior to his death 10 months later. Outside of Formula One, Nilsson was a race-winner in both the
World Sportscar and
European Touring Car Championships with
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
. The
Gunnar Nilsson Memorial Trophy was held in 1979, won by
Alan Jones.
Early life
Gunnar Axel Arvid Nilsson was born on 20 November 1948 in
Helsingborg
Helsingborg (, , ), is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania County, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, ninth ...
, the second son of a local building contractor.
He attended school in his home town and went into the service as a submarine radio officer in the
Swedish Navy. After leaving the navy, he studied engineering for four years at
Stockholm University
Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...
and gained a degree. It was hoped he would join the family business, but after eight months working as a supervisor in the construction industry; he left to start his own business.
Although his background and training was in construction, this held no attraction to the young Swede. Together with his associate, Dan Molim, they aimed to establish a transport business. This proved to be very successful and Nilsson continued to be a partner in the company, even when he became a full-time driver. He had seen the exploits of fellow Swedes;
Ronnie Peterson and
Reine Wisell and knew he wanted to be a racing driver.
Junior formulae
Nilsson began racing in national events in Sweden, in the late 1960s. It was 1972, when he acquired a RPB Formula Vee car and set forth to learn the trade. This first season in Formula Vee saw him race just ten times, and included one race win at
Mantorp Park. At the age of 26, he decided to try his hand and raced in
Formula Super Vee series in 1973, with
Ecurie Bonnier. Driving a
Lola T252 alongside his teammate
Freddy Kottulinsky, he would learn many valuable lessons from this seasoned campaigner. In his first race though, Nilsson finished third, and after a string of good performances, he finished fifth in the championship. He was clearly good as he stepped up to
Formula Two
Formula Two (F2) is a type of Open-wheel car, open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009 FIA Formula Two Championship season, 2009 to 2012 FIA Formula Two C ...
, and promptly finished fourth in the Norisring-Trophäe, at the
Norisring, in a Team Pierre Robert entered
GRD-Ford 273, mainly due to misfortunes of others. One of these lessons learnt was that if he wanted to race at the top and with the best, his next step would be in
Formula Three
Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers.
History
Formula Three (adop ...
. It was while racing at
Nürburgring
The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...
that he was approached by Västkust-Stugan, who offered sponsorship for 1974.
Formula Three/Formula Atlantic
With Västkust-Stugan help, a
March 743 was acquired along with a Toyota engine. This would enable Nilsson to contest the
Polifac Formula Three Championship. The results were as good as expected. He did score some second places, but victories and the season was punctuated by many spins and minor accidents. Nilsson did not go unnoticed and towards the middle of the season, he was given a drive with Team Västkuststugan, in their F2 March-BMW 732. Later in the season, he got another opportunity with Brian Lewis Racing, in their F2 March-BMW 732, where he did scored a fourth place in the second heat of the Preis von Baden-Württemberg und Hessen, at
Hockenheim
Hockenheim () is a town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 20 km south of Mannheim and 10 km west of Walldorf. It is located in the Upper Rhine Plain, Upper Rhine valley on the tourist theme routes "Baden Asparagus Route" ( ...
. This strong form in the German Formula Three series earned him a works
March
March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...
ride in the
British series in 1975.
With the advantage of adequate pre-season testing and growing self-confidence, Nilsson scored his first F3 win in the season-opener at
Thruxton. This was the catalyst for run of success that would see him win the
B.A.R.C. BP Super Visco British F3 Championship, and included wins at
Aintree
Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, northeast of Liverpool city centre. In 2011 the parish had a p ...
,
Ring Knutstorp
Ring Knutstorp is a Motorsport, motor racing Race track, circuit in Kågeröd, Sweden. The circuit was built in 1963, extended in 1970, and modified to its present configuration in 1980. During the seventies, rounds of the FIA European Formula T ...
,
Snetterton
Snetterton is a village and civil parish in Norfolk, England. The village is about east-northeast of Thetford and southwest of Norwich. The civil parish has an area of . The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded a parish population ...
and
Silverstone. In winning the F3 support race at the
British Grand Prix meeting, partly from winning the FOCA Trophy, he attracted the attention of Ted Moore of Rapid Movements Ltd., who signed Nilsson to race their
Formula Atlantic Chevron. Gunnar had interspersed his success with some spectacular accidents, but with Ted Moore, he made no mistakes. Following a fourth place in his first Atlantic race, he would win the next five, four from pole position.
His F3 and Formula Atlantic performances earned him a test in a Formula One car, driving a
Williams FW03 at
Goodwood at the end of the 1975 season. He impressed and was offered a contract for
1976
Events January
* January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 18 – Full diplomatic ...
, but turned it down in favour of an
F2 drive with
March
March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...
which did not require a budget.
However, after just one Grand Prix for Lotus, Nilsson's countryman Peterson decided he wanted to drive for March in Formula One. As part of this deal, March offered Nilsson to Lotus, where he joined
Bob Evans, another new signing in the team to help develop their new car,
Lotus 77.
Grand Prix years
In all his Grands Prix, Nilsson only drove for
Colin Chapman and his
Team Lotus. He got his chance with the famous marque when
Jacky Ickx and
Ronnie Peterson abandoned ship when the
Lotus 76 proved a disastrous replacement for the legendary
Lotus 72. The replacement car for 1976,
Lotus 77 was promising, meanwhile the team was undergoing big change at the time and
Mario Andretti
Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an American former racing driver and businessman, who competed in Formula One from to , and American open-wheel racing, IndyCar from 1964 USAC Championship Car season, 1964 to 1994 IndyCar se ...
soon replaced Evans, the team was soon back on the way up, with Nilsson taking advantage of Andretti's experience.
Following Peterson's departure, Nilsson was thrown in at the deep end – racing the
Lotus-Cosworth 77 in the
South African Grand Prix. His debut was not an auspicious one; he qualified last of 25 drivers, in what was attributed to a bad car, which had caught fire during practice. The next was the non-championship,
Race of Champions
The Race of Champions (ROC) is an international motorsport event held at the start or end of each year, featuring some of the world's best racing and rally drivers from Formula One, World Rally Championship, IndyCar, NASCAR, sports car racin ...
at
Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts ...
. This was more promising: he started from the second row of the grid and stormed into an immediate lead. However, his race only lasted to lap six, when the
Cosworth DFV
The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. The name is an abbreviation of ''Double Four Valve'', the engine being a V8 development of the earlier four-cylinder FVA, which had f ...
shed a plug lead. Before the other English non-championship race, the
BRDC International Trophy, there was the small matter of the
US GP West, around the street of
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
. He had survived a huge first turn accident, only for his rear suspension to break half a lap later, pitching him into the wall at 160 mph.

His debut season saw a podium finish at only his third Grand Prix, the
Gran Premio de España. He also scored another impressive third place in the
Grand Prix von Österreich, fifth in Germany and sixth in Japan, but the rest of the season was marred by accidents – in Belgium, Sweden, and Holland – and by car failures – in Monaco, France, England, and at
Watkins Glen.
For 1977, Lotus retained Nilsson alongside Andretti, and the pair worked on developing the new ground-effect
Lotus 78. After a slow start to the season, as Andretti took over his car for the
Argentine Grand Prix
The Argentine Grand Prix (Spanish: ''Gran Premio de Argentina'') was a round of the Formula One championship, held intermittently from to , at the Autódromo Oscar y Juan Gálvez in the Argentine national capital of Buenos Aires.
Origins and ...
, Nilsson really got going at
Jarama with a 5th place. Two races later, he took a magnificent win at the rain-soaked Zolder. As the race progressed, and the track dried, Nilsson suffered from a vibrating wheel nut, therefore he made a stop to have a tyre change. On these new tyres, he drove around the outside of
Niki Lauda
Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian racing driver, motorsport executive and aviation entrepreneur, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Lauda won three Formula One World Drivers' Champ ...
's Ferrari with 20 laps to go, to take the lead and stayed ahead to take victory. With further good results at
Dijon-Prenois
Dijon-Prenois is a motor racing circuit located in Prenois, near Dijon, France. The undulating track is noted for its fast, sweeping bends.
Opened in 1972, Dijon-Prenois hosted the Formula One French Grand Prix five times, and the Swiss Grand P ...
(4th) and
Silverstone (3rd) Nilsson climbed the Championship standings. Come Autumn, his performance was blighted by poor qualifying efforts and there was a sudden downturn in his performances, retiring from all the last seven rounds of the Grand Prix season.
His last appearance in a
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
car, was at
Fuji, where he drove an Imperial-liveried
Lotus 78. Nilsson's last race was a lacklustre performance. Towards the end of the season, Nilsson's relationship with Chapman deteriorated to some extent, and with Peterson having signed to return to Team Lotus, he was on the way out at Lotus. By now, he was already experiencing symptoms of cancer. He would finish the season in eighth place with a total of twenty points. He might have scored more points but for a whole catalogue of accidents.
Nilsson signed to race for Arrows in 1978, in their debut season, but as it happened he did not have the health required to drive the car, and was forced to stand down before the first race.
Rolf Stommelen was signed to replace him instead. As Nilsson got weaker, Andretti and Peterson raced to the World Championship.
Away from Formula One

Nilsson was versatile; having driven a BMW saloon in both the
World Championship for Makes and
European Touring Car Championship
The European Touring Car Championship was an international touring car racing series organised by the FIA. It had two incarnations, the first one between 1963 and 1988, and the second between 2000 and 2004. In 2005 it was superseded by the World ...
in 1976 and 1977. For 1977, he joined
Dieter Quester in a BMW-Alpina to contest a limited-numbered of races, taking the
BMW 3.0 CSL to victory at
Salzburgring
The Salzburgring is a motorsport race track located in Plainfeld, east of Salzburg.
Key facts
Track Length
Bends 15
Straights ...
and
Nürburgring
The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...
.
Nilsson briefly sampled American style oval racing in the
International Race of Champions
International Race of Champions (IROC) was a North American auto racing competition, created by Les Richter, Roger Penske and Mike Phelps, promoted as an American-motorsports equivalent of an all-star game. Despite its name, IROC was primarily ...
series, scoring a fifth at
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
in September 1977. A month later, he followed this with two sixth places at
Riverside, and expressed plenty of enthusiasm for this form of racing.
Cancer
In December 1977, during a routine check-up with a London doctor, Nilsson was informed he had cancer. From then on, he experienced a rapid decline in health. At the
Charing Cross Hospital, London, Nilsson was treated for his cancer by intensive radiotherapy. By July 1978, he was almost unrecognisable, having lost over 30 kg in weight and all his hair, but he still talked of a possible comeback.
But the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes.
After resigning from Arrows, he dedicated his remaining months on founding and running the Gunnar Nilsson Cancer Foundation, linked to Charing Cross Hospital, declining pain-killing drugs so he could work as long as possible. His death came just five weeks after that of fellow Swede, rival and friend,
Ronnie Peterson, who died from complications to injuries suffered in a crash at
Monza
Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...
. Peterson's death deeply affected Nilsson, who attended the funeral.
He returned to the Charing Cross hospital where five weeks later, on 20 October 1978, he died due to his testicular cancer.
According to his obituary in ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'', "His rare talent had taken him swiftly to the top as No. 2 to Mario Andretti" "
ndhe was perhaps the most naturally gifted of the new generation of grands prix drivers".
Personality
Those who knew Nilsson described him as a warm, energetic character with a love of life. His enthusiasm and confidence made him naturally persuasive, which F3 teammate
Alex Ribeiro attributed to helping him progress in his early career.
Even in later years as his condition worsened in hospital, he was an entertaining character to medical staff and convinced them to break certain rules for him, such as placing a telephone in his room.
Despite this outwardly friendly persona, Nilsson's true character was complex. He could become quite solitary and would sometimes detach himself from social situations, so that few people became truly close to him. His contemporaries attributed this to the lack of a father figure in his life, Nilsson's father having died when he was young.
Nilsson grew particularly close to
Danny Sullivan after racing together in F3, eventually sharing a flat in London. The friendship continued and Sullivan was among those attending to his increasing needs toward the end of his life. He formed a strong student/teacher relationship with Lotus teammate
Mario Andretti
Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an American former racing driver and businessman, who competed in Formula One from to , and American open-wheel racing, IndyCar from 1964 USAC Championship Car season, 1964 to 1994 IndyCar se ...
, who regarded Nilsson as his first true friend among racing drivers. He learnt from Andretti during their two years together, but inevitably felt the need to establish himself as a driver in his own right – this played a part in his decision to sign with
Arrows for
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
.
Racing record
Career summary
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(
key) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Formula One non-championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
(Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete European Formula Two Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
International Race of Champions
(
key) (
Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)
References
Further reading
*Fredrik af Petersens. ''The Viking Drivers: Gunnar Nilsson and Ronnie Peterson''. William Kimber & Co Ltd. .
External links
*
Gunnar Nilsson article on The Speed BlogThe Gunnar Nilsson Cancer Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nilsson, Gunnar
1948 births
1978 deaths
Sportspeople from Helsingborg
Deaths from testicular cancer
Swedish racing drivers
Formula One race winners
International Race of Champions drivers
Swedish Formula One drivers
Team Lotus Formula One drivers
European Formula Two Championship drivers
British Formula Three Championship drivers
Deaths from cancer in England
World Sportscar Championship drivers