Vern Schuppan

Vern Schuppan, an Australian driver born in 1943, made nine Formula 1 World Championship starts spread across three seasons in the 1970s. He debuted in 1974 with Ensign at the age of thirty-one, taking his first steps in Grand Prix racing with one of the smaller teams on the grid.

His career at the top level was fragmented rather than continuous. After the Ensign outings of 1974 he appeared for Embassy Hill in 1975, then sat out the 1976 season entirely before returning for a final campaign with Surtees in 1977.

None of those three stints produced championship points, and Schuppan was never classified in the drivers' standings. Nine starts for three different teams over four years tells the story of a driver picking up drives where he could rather than holding down a settled seat.