Mike Beuttler

Michael Simon Brindley Bream Beuttler (13 April 1940 - 29 December 1988): British racing driver from Cairo, Egypt who participated in 28 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix from 1971 to 1973 with the privately-funded Clarke-Mordaunt-Guthrie (later Clarke-Mordaunt-Guthrie-Durlacher) Racing team running March cars, achieving a best finish of seventh at the 1973 Spanish Grand Prix. Beuttler scored no championship points under the scoring system of his era but achieved six top-ten finishes that would have scored points under modern regulations. He died of AIDS complications in 1988 and is often described as Formula One's first openly gay driver, though contemporaries noted he was 'semi-closeted' during his racing career.

Born in Cairo, the son of Colonel Leslie Brindley Bream Beuttler of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment, O.B.E., Beuttler was descended on his mother's side from Scottish ornithologist William Robert Ogilvie-Grant, grandson of the 6th Earl of Seafield. His aristocratic background and private education gave him the social connections that would later help fund his racing. Beuttler was a talented Formula Three driver from the late 1960s who graduated to Formula Two.

In 1971, he won a Formula 2 race at Vallelunga in Italy before making his Formula One debut. His F2 success attracted the attention of a group of London stockbroker friends who agreed to fund his Formula One campaign—an unusual arrangement that earned his car the nickname the 'Stockbroker Special.' Beuttler made his Formula One debut at the 1971 British Grand Prix at Silverstone on 17 July, driving a privately-funded March. The finance came from Clarke-Mordaunt-Guthrie Racing, named after the stockbroker firm backing the operation.

In 1973, the team was renamed Clarke-Mordaunt-Guthrie-Durlacher Racing when additional backers joined. This stockbroker-funded approach was uncommon in Formula One, where most teams depended on commercial sponsors or wealthy individuals rather than investment pools. Beuttler raced on one occasion for the works March team—at the 1971 Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport Park—partnering Ronnie Peterson and Niki Lauda, two future stars. The outing demonstrated the quality of driver March considered him to be.

In 1972, Beuttler again raced as a semi-works March driver with Peterson and Lauda as teammates, further establishing his credentials. Beuttler's best result came at the 1973 Spanish Grand Prix at Montjuïch Park in Barcelona, where he finished seventh—outside the points but classified. Under the points system of his era, only the top six finishers scored, meaning Beuttler's six top-ten finishes across 28 races yielded zero championship points. Had modern points systems (where the top ten score) been in place, Beuttler would have accumulated multiple points.

When his stockbroker backers suffered financially amid the 1973 oil crisis, which devastated global markets and caused a recession, funding for Beuttler's racing dried up. The team folded, and Beuttler retired from Formula One at the end of 1973, aged 33. He competed in the 1000km of Brands Hatch in 1974 as his final professional race before retiring completely. Little is known about Beuttler's life after motorsport.

He eventually moved to the United States, living in Los Angeles. In 1988, Beuttler died of complications resulting from AIDS at age 48. His death received limited coverage, partly due to the stigma surrounding AIDS in the 1980s and partly due to his modest racing achievements. Beuttler is often described as the first openly gay Formula One driver, though former Autosport editor and friend Ian Phillips described him as 'semi-closeted,' noting that 'people weren't open about being gay in those days and he took this lovely girlfriend to all the races which I suspect was just to distract because people didn't come out as being gay in those days.

' The characterization suggests Beuttler's sexuality was known within the paddock but not publicly acknowledged—a reflection of the era's homophobia and the challenges LGBTQ+ individuals faced in professional sports. Beuttler's sexuality and death from AIDS have made him an important figure in LGBTQ+ motorsport history. Racing Pride, an organization promoting LGBTQ+ inclusion in motorsport, has highlighted Beuttler as 'The Pioneer in Yellow,' celebrating his courage in pursuing a Formula One career during an era when being openly gay could have ended his racing opportunities. Known for his Formula 2 victory at Vallelunga, unique 'Stockbroker Special' funding model, six top-ten finishes in Formula One that would have scored points under modern systems, retirement when stockbroker backers suffered in the 1973 oil crisis, death from AIDS complications in 1988, and status as Formula One's first known gay driver, Mike Beuttler represents both the gentleman racers of the early 1970s and the challenges LGBTQ+ individuals faced in professional motorsport.

While his racing statistics are modest, his significance extends beyond lap times and finishing positions.