Dear Nigel,
In 1973, we lost François Cevert in a horrific qualifying accident at the US GP at Watkins Glen. My question is: did François know at the time of his accident that Tyrrell was retaining him for 1974? Jody Scheckter was confirmed for Tyrrell that weekend. He and Cevert had been involved in an accident in the previous round in Canada and François had hurt his ankle. He was quite angry with Jody.Anyone watching Cevert over the US GP weekend thought he was driving a bit over the limit. Do you think that caused him to loose it in the uphill section? Did Arturo Mezario, blending into the course from the pits, affect his line?
And finally, did he have a solid offer to go to Ferrari in ’74? As we know, François had an amazing season, with six second places, three of them 1-2 with Jackie Stewart. It’s very sad that we lost him before he reached his peak.
Allan Fields
Cevert was secure at Tyrrell
It’s been Formula 1 all the way for Nigel – he started covering the sport in 1971. In the mid-1970s he worked for Graham Hill’s Embassy F1 team, before joining Autosport for whom he has written over 400 Grand Prix reports. Nigel joined Motor Sport full-time on January 1 2008. As well as reporting on F1 for national newspapers, he has written 19 books on motor racing. His insightful writing and candid interviews with the great names in racing have made him one of the recognised authorities on F1. 
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