The grave of ten-time Formula 1 race winner Ronnie Peterson has been attacked by vandals, according to local media reports.
The Swedish driver raced in F1 between 1970 and 1978 for March, Tyrrell and Lotus with a best championship result of second in ’71 and ’78 – the year he died.
Peterson was involved in a crash during the start of the Italian Grand Prix and later passed away in hospital. He was buried in the Almby cemetery in his home town of Orebro, Sweden.
At his funeral, Niki Lauda, James Hunt, Jody Scheckter and Emerson Fittipaldi acted as pallbearers for his coffin.
Local reports in the Nerikes Allehanda newspaper say Peterson’s grave was amongst several others that were destroyed on Sunday night. It’s not thought that Peterson’s was specifically targeted.
Brita Wennsten, who is the local church leader, told the newspaper: “It’s just shameful. It had nothing to do with Peterson specifically. Everything indicates that the perpetrators acted indiscriminately.”
It’s not known if his widows grave was also attacked. Barbro Peterson was buried in the same cemetery after committing suicide not long after the death of her husband.
They have a daughter named Nina Louise, who is named after the wife of Jochen Rindt, Nina Lincoln.
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