Teddy Mayer

Teddy Mayer in front with trophy at James Hunt's victory celebration at the 1976 John Player Grand Prix

Edward Everett "Teddy" Mayer (born September 8, 1935 in Scranton , Pennsylvania , † January 30, 2009 in England ) was an American entrepreneur and manager . From 1970 to 1982 he was co-owner and team leader of the Formula 1 team McLaren .

Life

Mayer studied law and came into contact with Formula Junior during his studies through his brother Timmy, who was active there as a driver . After graduating in 1962, both of them moved to England , accompanied by driver Peter Revson , where they joined Bruce McLaren 's newly founded Formula 1 team . After the fatal racing accidents of his brother in 1964 and Bruce McLaren's 1970, he became team boss of the McLaren racing team. Under his leadership, Emerson Fittipaldi won the Formula 1 world title in 1974 and James Hunt in 1976. After the successes waned towards the end of the 1970s, McLaren and Project Four merged , led by Ron Dennis , at the instigation of the main sponsor Marlboro . After two years of managing the team together, Mayer sold his shares and left the team.

He then switched to the Championship Auto Racing Teams racing series, where he had his own team under the name Mayer Motor Racing . In 1985 he briefly returned to Formula 1 as manager of the Haas Lola team, but the withdrawal of the main sponsor forced the team to give up in 1986. He then joined the NASCAR and Indycar team Penske Racing , where he worked as a manager and consultant until 2007.

Web links

• Obituary at motorsport-total.com
• Obituary ( memento of February 4, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) at itv-f1.com (English)