Imagine someone central in Formula 1’s steps into ground effect, the carbonfibre monocoque and active suspension – three of its most important developments of the last half century. Imagine also that person had worked directly with some of the most revered drivers, including with Ayrton Senna.
Imagine too that subsequently they moved to an FIA role and were at the cutting edge of developing motorsport safety measures, including alongside Sid Watkins, as well as of Balance of Performance and modern-day regulations around kinetic energy recovery. You probably will have concluded by now that this someone is a highly significant figure. And that’s exactly what Peter Wright is.
Wright cut his engineering and motorsport teeth with BRM in the late 1960s, and then was a long-time Lotus servant including being vital to its late-1970s glory days dominating with the mentioned ground effect advance. He also was there in Lotus’s post Colin Chapman era and led on its active suspension.
Wright then joined the FIA as president Max Mosley’s technical assistant, and became the head of its safety commission, spearheading a vital time of F1 and motorsport safety progress. As noted Wright’s role at the governing body went far beyond safety too.
He now has taken on his latest challenge, of answering Motorsport News readers’ questions about his long and varied career. His recollections and observations are fascinating, and it’s appropriate that we start at the beginning.
Question: Where did your passion for motorsport begin?
James Squires Via email
Peter Wright: “Consciously in about 1962 where I decided, as one does at that age, that I would follow Formula 1 and I would cast in my lot with one of the top drivers, and I chose Stirling Moss. Unfortunately in the Easter race at Goodwood he injured himself and was unable to participate that year so I was left with the dilemma of choosing someone else, and it was basically Graham Hill with BRM or Jimmy Clark with Lotus.
“I decided to go with Graham, he won the World championship that year so that was a good selection and set me on the course that I would follow in motor racing which was determined to go and work for BRM.”
MN: So where did your passion for the engineering side start, was that all part of the same thing?
PW: “It started before then. I like making things, messing about with things, I wasn’t particularly orientated towards cars. Although, I can never quite remember the age I started, I built a car with my dad, between us we made every single automotive error, design error, you could possibly make, which was a lesson that my dad didn’t know anything about making cars and therefore I’d have to find out for myself.
“And I made lots more errors along the way and I built a couple of cars or carts, but it was hands-on learning and at the same time I read anything I could about the subject. Initially I thought I was going to be God’s gift to racing engine designers.”
MN: So how did it come about for you to turn the dream of working for BRM into reality?
“When I went to university I wrote to [chief engineer] Tony Rudd at BRM and said I’m passionate about engineering, cars, engines, I want to get into motor racing. He wrote back and said no you don’t, go and become a proper engineer by working for Shell or Rolls-Royce or somebody like that, and I went ‘no
