Chris Amon: A legend's career in pictures

©Cahier Archive

©Cahier Archive

When Chris Amon was offered a prize drive by Enzo Ferrari for 1967, there was no turning away from the gates of Maranello. In hindsight, it was also perhaps the most defining moment in Amon's career.

While the prospects of racing for the Scuderia were obviously enticing, it also meant parting ways with Bruce McLaren, Amon's friend and mentor, who had devised a plan for his company in the following years which included the pair racing in Formula 1 and in the lucrative Can-Am series, while a crack at the Indy 500 was also in the works.

Amon enjoyed a fantastic  debut with Ferrari however, winning at Daytona and Monza  in sports cars with Lorenzo Bandini in the stunning 330 P4. But tragedy struck the Italian team at Monaco when Bandini died after a fiery crash, elevating the 24-year-old Amon to the ranks of team leader.

In 1968, the title should have fallen to the Prancing Horse and Amon but dismal reliability deprived the Kiwi from that elusive first win and probably many others.

For many, the picture of Amon's career at the pinnacle of racing would have been painted quite differently had he stayed with McLaren from '67 onward, or perhaps pressed on with Ferrari in 1970.

©Cahier Archive

©Cahier Archive