Masten Gregory

Masten Gregory, an American driver born in 1932, raced in Formula 1 from 1957 to 1965, making forty-two starts across eight seasons. Unusually for an American of his era, his career was built entirely on the European road-racing circuit rather than at Indianapolis, and it took in no fewer than eight different constructors, from Maserati and Cooper-Climax to Lotus and BRM.

His debut season was his best: ten points with Maserati in 1957 brought him sixth place in the World Championship, a remarkable first-year return. He matched the ten-point haul in 1959 with Cooper-Climax, taking ninth in the standings, and those two seasons account for most of his three career podium finishes and twenty-one points.

The 1960s were leaner. Drives with Behra-Porsche, Cooper-Climax, Lotus-Climax and Lotus-BRM yielded only a single point, scored in 1962, and after missing 1964 he made his final championship appearances with BRM in 1965.

Gregory's record — front-running form in his first three seasons followed by years in less competitive cars — made him one of the notable American road racers of the period, a pioneer for his countrymen in European Grand Prix racing.