David Walker is an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n former racing driver who drove for Lotus

Team Lotus

Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...

 in the 1971 and 1972 Formula One

Formula One

Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 Championships.

Career

After initially struggling in his racing career during the 1960s (he was the 1969 British Formula Ford Champion and finished third in the 1969 European Formula Ford Championship), Walker finally broke through racing a Lotus in Formula 3 during 1971. He won 25 out of 32 races that year, including the F3 support races at the Monaco Grand Prix

Monaco Grand Prix

The Monaco Grand Prix is a Formula One race held each year on the Circuit de Monaco. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the world, alongside the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans...

 and the British Grand Prix

British Grand Prix

The British Grand Prix is a race in the calendar of the FIA Formula One World Championship. It is currently held at the Silverstone Circuit near the village of Silverstone in Northamptonshire...

 at Silverstone

Silverstone Circuit

Silverstone Circuit is an English motor racing circuit next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side...

. By the end of the year he had won both the Shell and Forward Trust UK F3 titles. Coming to the attention of Lotus founder Colin Chapman

Colin Chapman

Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman CBE was an influential British designer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and founder of Lotus Cars....

, Walker was handed his Formula One debut at the 1971 Dutch Grand Prix

1971 Dutch Grand Prix

The 1971 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Zandvoort on June 20, 1971. Due to heavy rain, the track was treacherously wet and slippery, giving a large advantage to "wet-weather men" Ickx and Rodriguez, who also happened to be equipped with highly suitable cars and...

 to drive the Lotus 56B

Lotus 56

The Lotus 56 was a racing car, designed by Maurice Philippe as Team Lotus' 1968 entry in the Indianapolis 500, replacing the successful Lotus 38. The Lotus 56 was not based on the STP-Paxton Turbocar that almost won in 1967, but was an entirely new and more advanced design...

, powered by a Pratt & Whitney

Pratt & Whitney

Pratt & Whitney is a U.S.-based aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation . Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation and military aviation. Its headquarters are in East Hartford, Connecticut, USA...

 turbine engine. During the rain-affected race, Walker used the turbine car's advantages of four wheel drive

Four Wheel Drive

The Four Wheel Drive Auto Company, more often known as Four Wheel Drive or just FWD, was founded in 1909 in Clintonville, Wisconsin, as the Badger Four-Wheel Drive Auto Company by Otto Zachow and William Besserdich.-History:...

 and superior torque to rise from his starting position of 22nd to 10th place within five laps, but eventually spun off into retirement.

Walker was given a full time F1 seat to drive the Lotus 72

Lotus 72

The Lotus 72 was a Formula One car designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Philippe of Lotus for the 1970 Formula One season.- Development :The 72 was yet another innovative design by Chapman featuring inboard brakes, side mounted radiators in sidepods, as opposed to the nose mounted radiators which...

 in the 1972

1972 Formula One season

The 1972 Formula One season was the 23rd FIA Formula One season. It featured the 23rd World Championship of Drivers, the 15th International Cup for F1 Manufacturers and numerous non-championship Formula One races. The World Championship season commenced on January 23 and ended on October 8 after...

 season, as number two driver to Emerson Fittipaldi

Emerson Fittipaldi

Emerson Fittipaldi |São Paulo]], Brazil) is a Brazilian automobile racing driver who throughout a long and successful career won the Indianapolis 500 twice and championships in both Formula One and CART.-Early and personal life:...

. As the season went on, however, both Walker and the team became increasingly disenchanted. After Lotus discovered Walker had tested a Formula 2 car for another team, he was dropped from the team for the Italian GP

1972 Italian Grand Prix

The 1972 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Monza on September 10, 1972.- Classification :- Notes :* Pole Position: Jacky Ickx - 1:35.65* Fastest Lap: Jacky Ickx - 1:36.3...

 and the Canadian GP

1972 Canadian Grand Prix

The 1972 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Mosport Park on September 24, 1972.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standingsConstructors' Championship standings...

, where he was replaced by Reine Wisell

Reine Wisell

Reine Wisell is a former racing driver from Sweden. He participated in 23 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on October 4, 1970. He achieved 1 podium, and scored a total of 13 championship points. He also participated in several non-Championship Formula One races...

. Walker was back for the US GP

1972 United States Grand Prix

The 1972 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 8, 1972 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York.__FORCETOC__-Summary:...

, but retired.

In all, Fittipaldi won 5 races and scored 61 points, winning the championship, while Walker never finished a Grand Prix higher than 9th place (in Spain

1972 Spanish Grand Prix

The 1972 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Jarama on May 1, 1972.- Classification :- Notes :* Pole Position: Jacky Ickx - 1:18.43* Fastest Lap: Jacky Ickx - 1:21.01* Last Race: Alex Soler-Roig-Standings after the race:...

). Lotus blamed Walker's allegedly inadequate driving technique, poor fitness and lack of mechanical sensitivity; while Walker claimed Lotus gave him inferior equipment and gave far more attention to Fittipaldi's needs than his. He was not retained for the 1973

1973 Formula One season

The 1973 Formula One season included the 24th FIA Formula One World Championship season, which commenced on January 28, 1973, and ended on October 7 after fifteen races.-Season summary:...

 season, and was replaced by Ronnie Peterson

Ronnie Peterson

Bengt Ronnie Peterson was a Swedish racing driver. He was a two-time runner-up in the FIA Formula One World Drivers' Championship.Peterson began his motor racing career in kart racing, traditionally the discipline where the majority of race drivers begin their careers in open-wheel racing...

. David Walker remains the only driver not to score a single F1 Championship point in the same season his team-mate won the F1 driver's title.

For 1973, Walker drifted into Formula 2 but was unfortunate to be badly injured in two road accidents that year. He retired from motor racing at the end of 1975, and now lives in Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

 running a boat charter business.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	WDC	Points
1971 1971 Formula One season The 1971 Formula One season included the 22nd FIA Formula One World Championship season, which commenced on March 6, 1971, and ended on October 3 after eleven races.-Season summary:...	Gold Leaf John Player & Sons John Player & Sons, known simply as Player's, was a tobacco and cigarette manufacturer based in Nottingham, England. It is today a part of the Imperial Tobacco Group.-History:...  Team Lotus Team Lotus Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...	Lotus Team Lotus Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...  56B Lotus 56 The Lotus 56 was a racing car, designed by Maurice Philippe as Team Lotus' 1968 entry in the Indianapolis 500, replacing the successful Lotus 38. The Lotus 56 was not based on the STP-Paxton Turbocar that almost won in 1967, but was an entirely new and more advanced design...	Pratt & Whitney Pratt & Whitney Pratt & Whitney is a U.S.-based aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation . Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation and military aviation. Its headquarters are in East Hartford, Connecticut, USA...  Turbine Turbine A turbine is a rotary engine that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work.The simplest turbines have one moving part, a rotor assembly, which is a shaft or drum with blades attached. Moving fluid acts on the blades, or the blades react to the flow, so that they move and...	RSA 1971 South African Grand Prix The 1971 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami Circuit on March 6, 1971. The race, which was the first round of the 1971 Formula One season, was won by Mario Andretti who was driving for the Ferrari team.-Report:...	ESP 1971 Spanish Grand Prix The 1971 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Montjuïc circuit on April 18, 1971. It was the second round of the 1971 Formula One season....	MON 1971 Monaco Grand Prix The 1971 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Monaco on May 23, 1971.- Race report :Qualifying was extremely wet and so it was Friday morning times that really counted for the grid - for Mario Andretti this was particularly unfortunate as his car was stranded out on the track at this...	NED 1971 Dutch Grand Prix The 1971 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Zandvoort on June 20, 1971. Due to heavy rain, the track was treacherously wet and slippery, giving a large advantage to "wet-weather men" Ickx and Rodriguez, who also happened to be equipped with highly suitable cars and... Ret	FRA 1971 French Grand Prix The 1971 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Circuit Paul Ricard on 4 July 1971.- Race report :The race was taking place for the first time at the brand new Paul Ricard circuit in the mountains outside Marseille. Jackie Stewart gained pole position - helped by extensive tyre...	GBR 1971 British Grand Prix The 1971 British Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Silverstone on July 17, 1971.- Race report :On one of the fastest circuits on the calendar, horsepower counted for everything...	GER 1971 German Grand Prix The 1971 German Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Nürburgring on 1 August 1971.The race returned to the Nürburgring after a year at the Hockenheimring after the safety was improved on the track. The race distance was shortened to 12 laps. Notable driver changes included Vic Elford, who...	AUT 1971 Austrian Grand Prix The 1971 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Österreichring on August 15, 1971.- Race report :Jo Siffert took a surprise pole position from Jackie Stewart and led away at the start from Clay Regazzoni and Jacky Ickx. The front two drew away from the pack, where Regazzoni was duelling...	ITA 1971 Italian Grand Prix The 1971 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Monza on September 5, 1971. This race is often referred to as the fastest Formula One race of all time, with a record average speed of 242.615 km/h , a record that was not broken until 32 years later at the 2003 Italian Grand Prix at...	CAN 1971 Canadian Grand Prix The 1971 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Mosport Park on September 19, 1971. Jackie Stewart took the win in the awful conditions and the race was stopped after 64 laps due to the weather...	USA 1971 United States Grand Prix The 1971 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 3, 1971 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York.__FORCETOC__-Summary:...		NC	0
1972 1972 Formula One season The 1972 Formula One season was the 23rd FIA Formula One season. It featured the 23rd World Championship of Drivers, the 15th International Cup for F1 Manufacturers and numerous non-championship Formula One races. The World Championship season commenced on January 23 and ended on October 8 after...	John Player John Player & Sons John Player & Sons, known simply as Player's, was a tobacco and cigarette manufacturer based in Nottingham, England. It is today a part of the Imperial Tobacco Group.-History:... Team Lotus Team Lotus Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...	Lotus Team Lotus Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...  72D Lotus 72 The Lotus 72 was a Formula One car designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Philippe of Lotus for the 1970 Formula One season.- Development :The 72 was yet another innovative design by Chapman featuring inboard brakes, side mounted radiators in sidepods, as opposed to the nose mounted radiators which...	Cosworth Cosworth Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...  V8	ARG 1972 Argentine Grand Prix The 1972 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez on January 23, 1972.- Classification :- Notes :* Pole Position: Carlos Reutemann - 1:12.6* Fastest lap: Jackie Stewart - 1:13.66... DSQ	RSA 1972 South African Grand Prix The 1972 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Kyalami on March 4, 1972.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standingsConstructors' Championship standings... 10	ESP 1972 Spanish Grand Prix The 1972 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Jarama on May 1, 1972.- Classification :- Notes :* Pole Position: Jacky Ickx - 1:18.43* Fastest Lap: Jacky Ickx - 1:21.01* Last Race: Alex Soler-Roig-Standings after the race:... 9	MON 1972 Monaco Grand Prix The 1972 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Monaco on May 14, 1972. This was the last race on the original Monaco circuit, before the swimming pool was installed and the tunnel was lengthened... 14	BEL 1972 Belgian Grand Prix The 1972 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Nivelles on June 4, 1972.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standingsConstructors' Championship standings... 14	FRA 1972 French Grand Prix The 1972 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Charade Circuit on July 2, 1972.Due to cutting the corners, a stone thrown from Emerson Fittipaldi's Lotus hit Helmut Marko in the eye during the 1972 French Grand Prix, ending his F1 career. The stones also had caused ten deflated tyres,... 18	GBR 1972 British Grand Prix The 1972 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Brands Hatch on July 15, 1972. It was won by Brazilian driver Emerson Fittipaldi driving a Lotus 72D.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings... Ret	GER 1972 German Grand Prix The 1972 German Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Nürburgring on July 30, 1972.- Classification :- Notes :* Pole position: Jacky Ickx - 7:07.0* Fastest lap: Jacky Ickx - 7:13.6... Ret	AUT 1972 Austrian Grand Prix The 1972 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One held at Österreichring on August 13, 1972.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standingsConstructors' Championship standings... Ret	ITA 1972 Italian Grand Prix The 1972 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Monza on September 10, 1972.- Classification :- Notes :* Pole Position: Jacky Ickx - 1:35.65* Fastest Lap: Jacky Ickx - 1:36.3...	CAN 1972 Canadian Grand Prix The 1972 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Mosport Park on September 24, 1972.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standingsConstructors' Championship standings...	USA 1972 United States Grand Prix The 1972 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 8, 1972 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York.__FORCETOC__-Summary:... Ret	NC	0

Sources

• Lotus 72 - Formula One Icon by Michael Oliver (Coterie Press, 2004)
• Motor Sport, June 2004 issue pp 72-77
• Forix
• Grandprix.com

External links

• F1 Rejects biography