John Nicholson (born 6 October 1941 and died 19 September 2017) was a racing driver from New Zealand. He participated in six Formula One races between 1974 and 1975, four of which were non-championship rounds. He used a privately entered Lyncar he had commissioned from the company.
Nicholson worked as an engine builder for McLaren, also working for Cosworth, Lotus, and Embassy Hill later in his career. But he also enjoyed racing in his spare time using a Lyncar chassis in junior formulae.[1]
After winning the Formula Atlantic championship in 1973 and 1974, Nicholson asked Lyncar owner Martin Slater to build him a Formula One car. Unable to commit to a full Formula One season due to his other work commitments, Nicholson participated in Race of Champions at Brands Hatch as well as the International Trophy at Silverstone in both 1974 and 1975, the highlight of which was a sixth-place finish at the 1974 International Trophy.
In addition to those non-championship races, he also participated in the 1974 British Grand Prix where he failed to qualify for the race. He returned for the 1975 British Grand Prix, running as high as 15th position before crashing in the late-race hail storm that took out various other cars.
He planned to compete more seriously in Formula One, but his attempt to purchase a privateer McLaren M23 was unsuccessful and instead he continued racing in Formula 2 and Formula 5000 the following year before returning to New Zealand. He began powerboat racing through the late 1970s and 1980s.
Formula One Statistical Overview[]
Formula One Record[]
| Year | Entrant | Team | WDC Points | WDC Pos. | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Pinch Plant Ltd. | Lyncar-Ford Cosworth | 0 | NC | Report |
| 1975 | Pinch Plant Ltd. | Lyncar-Ford Cosworth | 0 | NC | Report |
Career Statistics[]
| Entries | 3 |
| Starts | 1 |
| Pole Positions | 0 |
| Race Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Fastest Laps | 0 |
| Points | 0 |
| Laps Raced | 51 |
| Distance Raced | 241 km (150 mi) |
Career Results[]
| Complete Formula One Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Pts | Pos | ||||||||
| 1974 | 
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0 | NC | ||||||||
| DNA | DNQ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1975 |
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0 | NC | |||||||||
[2] |
17th | [3] |
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| Key | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Symbol | Meaning | Symbol | Meaning | ||
| 1st | Winner | Ret | Retired | ||
| 2nd | Podium finish | DSQ | Disqualified | ||
| 3rd | DNQ | Did not qualify | |||
| 5th | Points finish | DNPQ | Did not pre-qualify | ||
| 14th | Non-points finish | TD | Test driver | ||
| Italics | Fastest Lap | DNS | Did not start | ||
| 18th† | Classified finish (retired with >90% race distance) | NC | Non-classified finish (<90% race distance) | ||
| 4thP | Qualified for pole position | [+] More Symbols | |||
References[]
- ↑ Cooper, Adam (20 September 2017). "Obituary: John Nicholson, 1941-2017". Motorsport.com. https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/obituary-john-nicholson-1941-2017-955653/3047519/. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
- ↑ Race stopped after 29/75 Laps. Half points awarded
- ↑ Race stopped after 29/54 Laps. Half points awarded