Quick Facts
LeoBiography
Michael May (born 18 August 1934 in Stuttgart, Germany) is a former racing driver from Switzerland. He participated in three Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 14 May 1961. He scored no championship points.
After a crash during practice for the 1961 German Grand Prix, May concentrated on engineering, helping to develop a fuel injection system for Porsche and Ferrari.
May is generally credited with introducing the first manipulated elevated wing onto a racing car - a Porsche 550 - to produce downforce (or down thrust) for enhanced braking and cornering speeds to reduce lap times.
He also worked in designing high-compression engines, improving fuel economy among other things. The most notable example was his reworked 'Fireball' head for the 'high-efficiency' high-compression Jaguar V-12 HE engine.
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Scuderia Colonia | Lotus 18 | Climax 1.5l straight-4 | MON Ret | NED | BEL | FRA 11 | GBR | GER DNS | ITA | USA | NC | 0 |
Non-Championship
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Scuderia Colonia | Lotus 18 | Climax Straight-4 | LOM | GLV | PAU | BRX | VIE | AIN Ret | SYR | NAP | LON | SIL Ret | SOL Ret | KAN | DAN | MOD | FLG | OUL | LEW | VAL | RAN | NAT | RSA |
| 1962 | Michael May | - | - | CAP | BRX | LOM | LAV | GLV | PAU | AIN | INT | NAP | MAL | CLP | RMS | SOL | KAN | MED | DAN | OUL | MEX | RAN | NAT |
