Ronnie Peterson (Örebro, February 14, 1944 – Milan, September 11, 1978), nicknamed The Flying Swede, was a racing driver who competed in Formula One in the 1970s.

Ronnie He made his Formula 1 debut driving for March at the 1970 Monaco Grand Prix. Before that, after his karting days, he participated in Formula 3 competing for the Svebe team. In 1971 he achieved 5 second places, which earned him the runner-up position in the championship; that same year he also won the European Formula 2 championship driving for March.

Lotus arrived at the Italian GP with the possibility of making Andretti champion early. In practice, Peterson His main car was damaged, and he had to resort to the reserve car, which was an older Lotus model.

It was during this race that Peterson's Lotus was thrown off the track, crashing into the guardrail and causing a large fire. Peterson was pulled from the car with serious leg injuries by firefighters and other drivers, and was hospitalized after the driver's left leg was amputated. Ronnie Peterson He passed away.