Williams' first driver Neve dies at 67

Above: Patrick Nève, in the first race for Williams Grand Prix Engineering.

Patrick Neve, Williams Grand Prix Engineering's very first driver, has died in his home country of Belgium at age 67.

"We are sad to hear of the passing of a man very close to our hearts, Patrick Neve," the team said in a statement. "Our thoughts are with his family and friends.

Born into a well-known Belgian family, Neve started at the Jim Russell Racing School, moving up from a floor sweeper to become an instructor. He benefited from occasional Formula Ford drives and won the 1974 STP Formula Ford championship. He raced a variety of cars and finished fourth in Formula 3 in 1975.

Nève raised the funds to make his Formula 1 debut in Belgium in 1976 with RAM Racing's privately-entered Brabham BT44B. He was also able to drive in the French Grand Prix in an Ensign. The following year, after driving for March in the International Trophy Formula 2 race at Silverstone, he was able to secure the budget to race for Williams in the first year of its partnership between Frank Williams and engineer Patrick Head. In eight races that season, he had two top-10 finishes, including a seventh at Monza. He made a total of 10 grand prix starts from 1976-78.

Unable to find an F1 budget, Neve moved to Formula 2 with the March team until it ran out of funding. He also briefly served as a test driver for the Kauhsen team.

Neve appeared twice in the 24 Hours of Le Mans for March Racing, in 1980 and 1982, but a crash and electrical issues prevented his entries from finishing the race.