Frederick "Rikky" von Opel (born October 14, 1947) is a former racing driver who represented

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarch ...

in the Formula One World Championship, the only driver to have done so. He won the Lombard North

British Formula 3 Championship The British Formula Three Championship was an international motor racing series that took place primarily in the United Kingdom with a small number of events in mainland Europe. It was a junior-level feeder formula that used small single seat ...

in 1972. He participated in 14

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

World Championship Grands Prix for the

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

and Brabham teams, debuting on July 1, 1973. He scored no championship points.

Formula One career

1973

Opel's Formula One debut coincided with that of the team that provided him with his big break,

. Both began at

Paul Ricard Paul Louis Marius Ricard (; July 9, 1909 – November 7, 1997) was a French industrialist and creator of an eponymous pastis brand which merged in 1975 with its competitor Pernod to create Pernod Ricard. Ricard was also an environmentalist and t ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, the eighth race of the

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

season, with Opel qualifying his N173 25th and finishing 15th, three laps down.

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

was next, while Opel finished 13th, six laps down, after starting from 21st. More promising signs appeared to be on the horizon at

Zandvoort Zandvoort () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands; it has a long sandy beach. It is bordered by coastal dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park and the Amsterdam ...

for the Dutch Grand Prix where he qualified a very creditable 14th, ahead of former World Drivers' Champions

Emerson Fittipaldi Emerson Fittipaldi (; born 12 December 1946) is a Brazilian former automobile racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the Indianapolis 500 twice each and the CART championship once. Moving up from Formula Two, Fittip ...

and Graham Hill. However, on the morning of the race, cracks were found in the chassis. With too little time to make repairs, Opel was unable to start and the same issues prevented the team from starting in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

too. Fuel system issues curtailed Opel's Austrian Grand Prix where he qualified 19th, and an overheating engine ended his

Italian Grand Prix The Italian Grand Prix ( it, Gran Premio d'Italia) is the fifth oldest national Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix (after the French Grand Prix, the United States Grand Prix, the Spanish Grand Prix and the Russian Grand Prix), having been he ...

, after qualifying 17th. The North American climax offered little better; he qualified 26th and last in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and was unclassified in the race, finishing 12 laps down, whilst in that year's

United States Grand Prix The United States Grand Prix is a motor racing event that has been held on and off since 1908, when it was known as the American Grand Prize. The Grand Prix later became part of the Formula One World Championship. , the Grand Prix has been held ...

he once again qualified dead last, 27th, and retired on the opening lap with his throttle jammed open. Opel's debut season produced no points, and he was unclassified in the Drivers' Championship.

1974

Ensign's car for the new season, the N174, was much like the N173, but at the opening round of 1974 in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, Opel discovered how little progress had really been made. He qualified 26th, again dead last, more than seven seconds slower than pole-sitter

Ronnie Peterson Bengt Ronnie Peterson (; 14 February 1944 – 11 September 1978) was a Swedish racing driver. Known by the nickname 'SuperSwede', he was a two-time runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship. Peterson began his motor racing caree ...

and almost one and a half seconds slower than

Guy Edwards Guy Richard Goronwy Edwards, QGM (born 30 December 1942) is a former racing driver from England. Best known for his sportscar and British Formula One career, as well as for brokering sponsorship deals, Edwards participated in 17 World Champion ...

, who qualified 25th. The handling of the car was so flawed that he chose to withdraw from the meeting. Shortly afterwards Opel quit the team. He sat out the races in the Brazilian Grand Prix and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

until he took over the second Brabham seat from

Richard Robarts Richard Robarts (born 22 September 1944 in Bicknacre, Essex) is a British former racing driver from England. He participated in 4 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 13 January 1974. He scored no championship points. Robarts ...

, starting with the

Spanish Grand Prix The Spanish Grand Prix ( es, Gran Premio de España, ca, Gran Premi d'Espanya) is a Formula One motor racing event currently held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The race is one of the oldest in the world still contested, celebrating it ...

. Their BT44 was powered by the same

Cosworth DFV The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. The name is an abbreviation of ''Double Four Valve'', the engine being a V8 development of the earlier four-cylinder FVA, which had fo ...

V8 as the Ensign, but the chassis was far superior, so hopes were raised. However, Opel could not make the most of it and he struggled to match the performance of new teammate, Argentine

Carlos Reutemann Carlos Alberto "Lole" Reutemann (12 April 1942 – 7 July 2021) was an Argentine racing driver who raced in Formula One from to , and later became a politician in his native province of Santa Fe, for the Justicialist Party, and governor o ...

. Retiring with an oil leak in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, after qualifying 24th, and again a fortnight later in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

with a blown engine, from which he started 22nd, were not the lift in performance Opel wished for.

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

was worse still, where he was the only driver that failed to qualify. Brief respite was found in Sweden and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

with his first top-10 finishes, 9th on both occasions (after qualifying 20th and 23rd respectively). The promise was short-lived though, as failure to qualify next time out in

was the final straw for Brabham boss Bernie Ecclestone, and Opel was replaced by

Carlos Pace José Carlos Pace (October 6, 1944 – March 18, 1977) was a racing driver from Brazil. He participated in 73 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting at the 1972 South African Grand Prix. He won one race, achieved six podiums, a ...

. For the second year running he was unclassified in the Driver's Championship with no points. A little over a year after his debut, the career of Liechtenstein's only Formula One driver was over.

Personal life

He is the son of

Fritz von Opel Fritz Adam Hermann von Opel (4 May 1899 – 8 April 1971) was a German rocket technology pioneer and automotive executive, nicknamed "Rocket-Fritz". He is remembered mostly for his spectacular demonstrations of rocket propulsion that earned him an ...

and a great-grandson of

Adam Opel Adam Opel (9 May 1837 – 8 September 1895) was the founder of the German automobile company Adam Opel AG. Biography Adam Opel was born on 9 May 1837 to Wilhelm, a locksmith, and his wife in Rüsselsheim. Opel studied with his father unti ...

, the founder of the German car-maker Opel. His mother is Von Opel's second wife, Emita Herrán Olozaga, the daughter of a Colombian diplomat. He was born in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and lived in St. Moritz, Switzerland during his youth - often secretly challenging his cousin

Gunter Sachs Fritz Gunter Sachs (14 November 1932 – 7 May 2011, also Gunter Sachs von Opel) was a German photographer, author, Rosenberg student, industrialist, and latterly head of an institute that researched claims of astrology. As a young man he bec ...

and friend Alexander Onassis to flat-out midnight

bobsled Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

runs at the St. Moritz-Celerina Olympic Bobrun. He chose to represent

in racing despite having no connection to the country, and proclaimed before one of his Grands Prix that "When I win, I want to hear the German national anthem". After his stint in Formula One, Von Opel retired to a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

monastery in rural

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

and became a

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

. His exact whereabouts are unknown and his only contact with the outside world comes in the form of a post office box, the location of which is known by only a select few of his acquaintances.

Results

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key)

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Opel, Rikky von 1947 births Living people Brabham Formula One drivers British Formula Three Championship drivers Ensign Formula One drivers Liechtenstein Formula One drivers Liechtenstein racing drivers Rikky