Roger Penske's Formula One Chapter

America's great racing organization built its own Grand Prix cars in England for four seasons and won the 1976 Austrian Grand Prix with John Watson.

Team Penske is one of the most successful organizations in American racing, with wins in Trans Am, CanAm, IndyCar, NASCAR and sports car racing since its debut at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona. Its first star was Mark Donohue, who won the 1972 Indianapolis 500 for the team and drove a Penske sponsored McLaren to a podium at the 1971 Canadian Grand Prix.

Roger Penske entered Formula One properly at the 1974 Canadian Grand Prix with his own works team and his own car, the Cosworth powered PC1, built at a base in Poole in Dorset. The team held an American license. Donohue drove a full season in 1975, but after crashing in practice for the Austrian Grand Prix at the Österreichring he died from his injuries. Penske returned at the end of that year with John Watson.

With sponsorship from Citibank and the new PC4, the 1976 season was the team's best. Watson finished third in France and in Britain, and then, back at the Österreichring a year after Donohue's accident, he started second and won the 1976 Austrian Grand Prix. It was Penske's only Formula One victory and the last for a constructor holding an American license.

At the end of 1976 Penske withdrew to concentrate on IndyCar racing and sold its European operation to Günter Schmid, whose ATS team raced the PC4 in 1977, while Interscope Racing ran another for Danny Ongais. Penske chassis made their final appearance at the 1977 Canadian Grand Prix. Across four seasons they started 40 World Championship races, with one win and three podiums.

Drivers