Johnny Servoz-Gavin
Johnny Servoz-Gavin (18 January 1942 – 29 May 2006) was a French racing driver who competed in sportscars and Formula One.
Born in Grenoble, France, he grew up in the Alps area and earned the nickname “Johnny” as a teenager while working as a ski instructor. He began racing by developing sports cars for Matra and later moved into single-seater racing. He was French Formula Three Champion in 1966 with a Matra MS5 and won the European Formula Two Championship in 1969, which helped him move up to Formula One.
In Formula One, Servoz-Gavin competed from 1967 to 1970, driving for Matra, Cooper, and Tyrrell. He took part in 13 World Championship Grands Prix (12 starts), scored 9 championship points, and earned one podium. His best season was 1968, with a second-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix and several strong results. He also made a notable appearance at Monaco in 1968 as Jackie Stewart’s stand-in, starting from the front row and leading early before a crash ended his race.
In 1969 he finished sixth at the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport in a Matra MS84, becoming the only driver to score a world championship point in a four-wheel-drive F1 car. He also co-drove in Matra endurance racing with Pedro Rodríguez.
An eye injury from a winter 1969–70 off-road event affected him, and he later raced a March 701 for Tyrrell, finishing fifth (and last) at the 1970 Spanish Grand Prix in Jarama. He failed to qualify for the 1970 Monaco Grand Prix and then retired, partly due to concerns about the risks of racing and his vision.
After racing, Servoz-Gavin lived on a houseboat. In 1982 a gas bottle exploded on his boat, causing serious burns. He died in May 2006 from a pulmonary embolism after a period of ill health, aged 64.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 07:51 (CET).