Gunnar Nilsson

For other people named Gunnar Nilsson, see Gunnar Nilsson (disambiguation).

Gunnar Nilsson

Nilsson in 1976
Born	20 November 1948(1948-11-20)
Died	20 October 1978(1978-10-20) (aged 29)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Swedish
Active years	1976 - 1977
Teams	Lotus
Races	32 (31 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	1
Podiums	4
Career points	31
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	1
First race	1976 South African Grand Prix
First win	1977 Belgian Grand Prix
Last race	1977 Japanese Grand Prix

Gunnar Nilsson (20 November 1948 – 20 October 1978) was a Swedish racing driver, born in Helsingborg. Before entering Formula One, he won the 1975 British Formula Three Championship.

Nilsson entered 32 Formula One Grand Prix races, qualifying for all of them. He won once, at the 1977 Belgian Grand Prix. For 1978, he signed for Arrows, but was never well enough to drive the car. He did compete in three International Race of Champions (IROC) races in 1978. He had two sixth place finishes and a fifth place finish.

He died of testicular cancer in London in 1978. After his death, his mother, Elisabeth Nilsson, created the Gunnar Nilsson Cancer Foundation.

Gunnar Nilsson is buried in Pålsjö kyrkogård (cemetery) in Helsingborg, Sweden, close to his parents Arvid and Elisabeth Nilsson.

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	WDC	Points
1976	John Player Team Lotus	Lotus 77	Cosworth V8	BRA	RSA Ret	USW Ret	ESP 3	BEL Ret	MON Ret	SWE Ret	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER 5	AUT 3	NED Ret	ITA 13	CAN 12	USA Ret	JPN 6		10th	11
1977	John Player Team Lotus	Lotus 78	Cosworth V8	ARG DNS	BRA 5	RSA 12	USW 8	ESP 5	MON Ret	BEL 1	SWE 19	FRA 4	GBR 3	GER Ret	AUT Ret	NED Ret	ITA Ret	USA Ret	CAN Ret	JPN Ret	8th	20

External links

• Gunnar Nilsson article on The Speed Blog
• The Gunnar Nilsson Cancer Foundation

Sporting positions
Preceded by Brian Henton	British Formula Three Championship BARC Series Champion 1975	Succeeded by Rupert Keegan