AGI – Carlos Roteman, the Argentine senator and former Formula One driver, is He died at the age of 79 in Rosario About intestinal disease, his daughter Cora announced on social media. “My father passed away in peace and dignity after a fight as a hero with a noble and strong heart that accompanied him to the end. I feel proud and blessed for my father. I know he will be with me every day. of my life. Until we meet again in the house of the Lord,” Cora Reitman wrote.
The greatest Argentine driver in Formula 1 after the five-time champion Juan Manuel Fangio He was driving cars for teams Brabham, Ferrari, Lotus E Williams In a career that has spanned eleven seasons since then 1972-1982, with 12 victories, 45 podiums, and second place in the Drivers’ Championship.
The National Senate boycotted the plenary session to honor him with a minute’s silence. Reutemann was affiliated with the Justice Party (PJ, government), but took office in the Senate through an alliance with former right-wing liberal president Mauricio Macri (2015-2019), and is now a leader of the opposition.
“Sorry for the passing of National Senator and former Governor of Santa Fe (Central East), Carlos Roteman. My condolences to his family and friends,” the vice president and Senate president wrote on social media. Christina Kirchner.
The former runner suffered from liver cancer in 2017 and underwent surgery in the United States. His health deteriorated over time and he was hospitalized with intestinal bleeding for two months, first in his hometown of Santa Fe and then in Rosario, 300 kilometers north of Buenos Aires.
In 1981, with Williams, he finished second in the Formula One Championship, one point ahead of Brazilian champion Nelson Piquet. He also finished third in the F-1 Championships in 1975, 1978 and 1980. Former Peronist President Carlos Menem (1989-1999) introduced him to Rottmann. On behalf of PJ, he twice ruled Santa Fe County, in the central agricultural and industrial district of the humid Pampa. In 2015 he was re-elected to the Senate, but this time on a list supporting Macri.
Reutemann was a wealthy agricultural producer, favored in his business because of Santa Fe’s proximity to grain export ports. 1974 was a brilliant year in his sporting career, when with Brabham he won South Africa, Austria and the United States Grand Prix. But he was also feeling even more frustrated. When he was leading the race at the Buenos Aires circuit, on the last lap, a few meters from the finish line, he ran out of gas. Even the hugs and congratulations given to him by then-President Juan Perón at the Fair of Honor cannot console him. With Williams, he took another step away from the company, but stayed behind Pique in 1981.
In his leap into politics, he was also close to dedication. In 2003, Eduardo Duhalde, then head of the Judicial Party, offered him a candidate for head of state, when opinion polls gave him 40% of support. No, said Reitman, a frugal and slow-talking man. “I saw something that didn’t convince me,” he told the press. He never said what he saw
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