People

Charlie Crichton-Stuart

One of the first major sponsor-hunters in Formula 1, Crichton-Stuart came from a famous aristocratic Scottish family. He was educated at the Ampleforth public school and joined the Royal Air Force when he left school and became a pilot. He began racing in Formula Junior in the early 1960s with his own team, known as Anglo-Scottish Racing. He was one of a gang of young hopefuls which included Piers Courage, Frank Williams and others. In 1965 Crichton-Stuart won the Argentine Temporada Formula 3 series and then retired from the sport to pursue a career as an executive jet pilot. He returned to racing 10 years later as the sponsorship coordinator for Frank WilliamsÕs new team Williams Grand Prix Engineering, which had landed a deal with Saudia airlines. The charming Crichton-Stuart was able to find more money from Saudi Arabia and built up a strong relationship with Mansour Ojjeh of TAG and so left Williams when TAG decided to set up its own engine program with Porsche and McLaren. The link that existed between Crichton-Stuart and Alan Jones, who had the World Championship for Williams in 1980, resulted in his move to be director of public affairs with Team Haas USA during the short-lived FORCE program. He also helped to furtherb the racing career of his cousin Johnny Dumfries (who was actually John Crichton-Stuart, the Earl of Dumfries. In his later years he had an unusual career which included, amongst other things, a period as a treasure-hunter. He married the 1960s British movie star Shirley-Anne Field, best known for her performances in films such as Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and Alfie. He died from a heart attack at the age of 62.