Peter Warr, previously a team manager at Wolf, Fittipaldi and Lotus, sadly passed away on October 4th after suffering a fatal heart attack.
The former Royal Guards officer spent several years racing in Formula Junior where he joined Lotus at the age of 20. He managed to win the first Japanese race at Mount Fuji in 1963, driving a Lotus 23 sportscar.
That saw the Lotus founder, Colin Chapman, invite the Brit to manage his Formula One team in 1969 where he guided Emerson Fittipaldi to the 1972 title.
He then moved to Wolf in 1976 thanks to a generous offer from team owner, Walter Wolf. The team merged with Fittipaldi in 1981 where Warr remained as team manager until Chapman convinced him to return to Lotus, becoming team principal in 1982 after the death of the founder.
In later life, after his many years with Lotus, Warr filled a permanent stewarding role within the FIA as well as being the secretary to the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC).
During his years in F1, Warr became a good friend of Bernie Ecclestone. The F1 rights holder told F1.com that he would be sorely missed by the many that knew him.
“Not only have I lost a good friend who was the Team Manager for Lotus when Colin Chapman ran the company but Peter Warr, who died yesterday of a heart attack will be missed by the thousands of people that knew him.
When Peter was in Formula One he helped me to build it to what it is today. Thank you Peter,” Ecclestone added.
