Olivier Gendebien

Olivier Gendebien, a Belgian driver born in 1924, competed in the Formula 1 World Championship between 1956 and 1961, making sixteen starts over five seasons. Much of his Grand Prix career was spent with Ferrari, though his record also includes drives in Cooper-Climax, Lotus-Climax and Emeryson machinery.

He opened his account with two points for Ferrari in 1956, and after a pointless 1958 added three more in 1959 to take fifteenth in the championship. His two career podium finishes and a total of eighteen points reflect a driver who was regularly competitive when opportunities arose.

Gendebien's strongest season came in 1960, when he left Ferrari for Cooper-Climax and scored ten points, good enough for sixth place in the World Championship — comfortably his best final classification. A final year in 1961 brought three further points and fourteenth in the standings.

Across his five seasons he scored points in four of them for three different constructors, a consistent return in an era when only a handful of finishers were rewarded at each race.