The car that made BRM a winner again

The BRM P153, designed by new recruit Tony Southgate, represented a conscious (and visual) break from the company’s dwindling 1960s fortunes and kicked off the new decade with a rejuvenating fresh start for the Bourne-based constructor. Built around a simple and light monocoque, it was characterised by its broad flat nose and bulbous flanks. It was conventional for its time and just what BRM needed.

Aubrey Woods’ V12 was the heart of the matter, giving up to 440bhp and powering Pedro Rodríguez to his second and last F1 victory, at Spa in June 1970. At what turned out to be the final Belgian GP held on the fearsome 8.7-mile version of the circuit, Rodríguez – in P153/02 – used the V12’s brute force to hold off Chris Amon’s March to score BRM’s first world championship win since 1966, at an average speed of 149.94mph.

Fernández’s car is P153/05, which Rodríguez raced in eight other grands prix through 1970, scoring a best result of second at Watkins Glen. Retained by the works until 1981, it was sold to Tom Wheatcroft for his Donington Collection. P153/05 passed to Barrie Baxter in 2012 and then on to Jaime Bergel in ’15, making appearances at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique driven by ex-GP2 racer Andy Soucek and Esteban Gutiérrez, before Fernández bought the car last year. He intends to display it in his own museum in Miami, but has not ruled out further Festival of Speed visits.