Reine Wisell 1941-2022
Reine Wisell, one of the elite group of drivers to finished on the podium in their first grand prix start, has died aged 80. The Swede drove for the works Lotus, BRM and March teams before a career that started so promisingly faded away, and he slipped into the shadow of his close contemporary and long-time rival Ronnie Peterson.
Wisell began his career in saloon cars in 1962. He graduated to F3 in 1966, winning his national title the following year. By 1969 he had established a rivalry with Peterson.
Peterson made it to F1 first, racing a private March from early in 1970. But Wisell, who won races in F5000 that year, eventually landed the bigger opportunity. After Jochen Rindt’s death at Monza and the subsequent departure from Team Lotus of John Miles, he was called up by Colin Chapman, and finished third in his first race at Watkins Glen behind winner and team-mate Emerson Fittipaldi.
That was enough to earn a full-time Lotus seat in 1971. Wisell earned an encouraging fourth in the first race in South Africa and scored points three more times. In 1972 he moved to BRM as part of an expanded multi-car line-up, and at the end of the year he was called back to Lotus for the final two GPS.
By now Wisell’s single-seater career was losing momentum. In 1973 he made only a couple of F1 appearances in private March chassis, but scored a famous F2 victory for GRD at the Nurburgring. He made one more start, in a works March at Anderstorp in 1974, before his F1 career fizzled out. He never quite came to terms with the fact that Peterson had become one of the superstars of the sport.
Wisell would continue to compete in GTS and touring cars. He made four starts at Le Mans between 1969-74, and latterly his highest profile appearances were in the Spa 24 Hours, where he last competed in 1981. After walking away from the sport he spent his later years in Thailand, and would make occasional visits to the paddock at the Malaysian GP.