Rolf Stommelen

Rolf Stommelen, a German driver born in 1943, competed in Formula 1 across the 1970s, making fifty-four World Championship starts in eight seasons between 1970 and 1978. His rookie campaign with Brabham proved to be his best: he scored ten points and finished eleventh in the championship, a total he never matched again.

From there his career moved through a long succession of teams. He took three points with Surtees in 1971, then endured barren seasons with March, Brabham and Lola through the mid-1970s. During his career he also stood on the podium once, and his team list additionally includes Hesketh and Embassy Hill among his employers.

A single point with Brabham-Alfa Romeo in 1976 was his last championship score. After missing the 1977 season entirely, he returned with Arrows in 1978 for a final campaign that brought no points.

Stommelen's fourteen career points, earned mostly in his first two seasons, tell the story of a career that began promisingly and then continued for years in machinery that rarely gave him another chance to score.