Brian Henton
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:EngvarB {{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters | check | ignoreblank = y | unknown = Template:Main other | preview = Page using Template:Infobox F1 driver with unknown parameter "_VALUE_" | embed | child | subbox | name | Name | image | Image | image_size | upright | image_upright | alt | caption | birth_name | birth_date | birth_place | death_date | death_place | relations | relatives | nationality | Nationality | years | Years | teams | Teams | Team(s) | team | Team | engines | Engines | current_team | current team | Current team | 2025 Team | 2026 Team | car_number | car number | Car number | races | Races | championships | Championships | wins | Wins | podiums | Podiums | points | Points | poles | Poles | fastest_laps | fastest laps | Fastest laps | first_race | first race | First race | first_win | first win | First win | last_win | last win | Last win | last_race | last race | Last race | last_position | last position | Last position | last_season | last season | Last season | bf1_years | bf1 years | BF1 Years | bf1_races | bf1 races | BF1 Races | bf1_championships | bf1 championships | BF1 Championships | bf1_wins | bf1 wins | BF1 Wins | bf1_podiums | bf1 podiums | BF1 Podiums | bf1_points | bf1 points | BF1 Points | bf1_poles | bf1 poles | BF1 Poles | bf1_fastest_laps | bf1 fastest laps | BF1 Fastest laps | signature | signature_size | signature alt | signature_alt | website | module | module1 | module2 | module3 | module4 | module5 | record template1 | record template2 | record template3 | record template4 | record template5 | career template1 | career template2 | career template3 | career template4 | career template5 | updated | Updated }} Brian Henton (born 19 September 1946) is a former racing driver from England. He won both 1974 British Formula Three Championships and the 1980 European Formula Two Championship. He participated in 38 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 19 July 1975, but never scored any championship points.
Henton (nicknamed "Superhen" in the British racing press) came from a modest council house background and did not start racing until he was 23. On winning the minor British Formula Vee championship in 1971, ever-conscious of the value of public relations, he announced that he was going to be World Champion. This aim eluded him, but he enjoyed a successful career in Formula Three and Formula Two.
Henton's F1 debut came in 1975 for Lotus, theoretically a good drive but the team was in turmoil with the Lotus 72 finally uncompetitive and its replacement the Lotus 76 a failure, so nothing concrete was achieved. Between 1975 and 1978 he mixed Formula One and Formula Two drives (including a spell in a private March for his own British Formula One Racing Team), never quite establishing himself in either category, but clinched the 1980 F2 championship for Toleman, who took him into F1 for 1981. The first Toleman-Hart was something of a disaster, overweight and underdeveloped, and Henton only managed to qualify once. Unfruitful outings for Arrows and Tyrrell in 1982 led to no more success, though he did set the fastest lap at the British Grand Prix - Henton is the only driver in Formula One history to have set a fastest lap without ever scoring a championship point.
Perhaps fittingly, his last Formula One outing was at the Race of Champions at Brands Hatch in April 1983, which also turned out to be the last non-championship F1 race in the modern era.<ref>8W The last of the non-championship races</ref>
Following his retirement from the sport, he returned to running a car dealership and later moved into property development and in recent years has diversified into other areas, notably engineering. He has occasionally driven at historic events and holds equestrian events at his home in Ingarsby Hall, Leicestershire.<ref>OldRacingCars.com | Drivers | Where are they now?</ref>
Racing recordEdit
Career summaryEdit
Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1973 | John Player European British Formula Three | Brian Henton Racing | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 42 | 10th |
Lombard North British Formula Three | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 10th | ||
Forward Trust BARC British Formula Three | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 8th | ||
1974 | Lombard North British Formula Three | March Racing Team | 11 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 9 | 78 | 1st |
Forward Trust BARC British Formula Three | 10 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 81 | 1st | ||
European Formula Two | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 22nd | ||
1975 | European Formula Two | Brian Henton | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 11th |
Wheatcroft Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||
Formula One | John Player Team Lotus | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |
Japanese Formula Two | Victory Circle Club | 1 | 0 | 0 | ? | 1 | 0 | NC | |
1976 | Shellsport International Series | Netherton and Worth-Boxer Cars | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 27 | 11th |
1977 | European Formula Two | Netherton and Worth-Boxer Cars | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 10th |
Ardmore Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Formula One | Rothmans International Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |
HB Bewaking Alarmsystemen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Shellsport International Series | Hexagon Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 16th | |
1978 | European Formula Two | Brian Henton | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 17th |
Japanese Formula Two | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | ||
1979 | European Formula Two | Toleman Group Motorsport | 12 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 36 | 2nd |
1980 | European Formula Two | Toleman Group Motorsport | 11 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 61 | 1st |
1981 | Formula One | Candy Toleman Motorsport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
1982 | Formula One | Team Tyrrell | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | NC |
Ragno Arrows | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
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Complete European Formula Two Championship resultsEdit
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete Formula One World Championship resultsEdit
(key)
‡ Henton drove Rupert Keegan's No. 18 Surtees during practice for the 1978 Austrian Grand Prix but was not officially entered for the race.
Complete Formula One Non-Championship resultsEdit
(key)
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Template:F1 | British Formula One Racing Team | March 761 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ROC Template:Small |
Template:F1 | Theodore Racing Team | Theodore N183 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ROC Template:Small |
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ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
Template:S-start Template:S-sports Template:Succession box Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft Template:S-bef Template:Succession box Template:S-end Template:Formula One drivers from the United Kingdom Template:British F3 champions Template:Toleman Template:Authority control