Bob Evans

Robert Neville Anthony Evans (born 11 June 1947 in Waddington, Lincolnshire, England) is a British former racing driver who competed in Formula One during the mid-1970s. Evans progressed to Formula One through the conventional route of junior single-seater racing, with his breakthrough coming in 1973 when he became a competitive factor in Formula 5000, driving an Alan McKechnie-run Lola T101. His career truly took off in 1974 when he captured the Rothmans European F5000 Championship, demonstrating the speed and consistency that would earn him an opportunity in Formula One. This F5000 title secured Evans a Formula One drive with BRM for 1975, but he joined the team at the worst possible time.

BRM was in terminal crisis, having lost its Motul sponsorship and forced to revert to entering a single, sponsorless P201, an outdated Mike Pilbeam design. The car was poor and Evans struggled to make an impression in the uncompetitive machinery, with ninth place in Belgium his only top-ten finish during the season. His Formula One career consisted of 12 World Championship Grand Prix appearances, debuting on 1 March 1975, though he scored no championship points. In 1976, Evans moved to Lotus, primarily serving as a test driver before switching to Brabham later in the season.

He did not feature in Formula One after 1976, instead moving to the Aurora F1 Championship where he finished second driving a Cosworth-powered car in 1978, demonstrating that with competitive equipment he could be a front-runner. In 2024, Evans released his autobiography, which turned out to be an award-winning book, finally telling his story of navigating the challenging world of 1970s Formula One as a talented driver without the backing needed to truly showcase his abilities.