BRM P153/05 – A Mexican Connection Across Generations

Few racing drivers are as closely associated with their country as Pedro Rodríguez is with Mexico. Fast, fearless and remarkably versatile, Rodríguez excelled in both Formula One and endurance racing. One car in particular accompanied him through the second half of the 1970 Grand Prix season: the BRM P153/05, today owned by fellow Mexican racer Adrián Fernández.

Designed by Tony Southgate and powered by BRM’s three-liter V12, the P153 had already proved its potential when Rodríguez won the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps on June 7, giving BRM its first Formula One victory since 1966. That victory was achieved with chassis P153/02.

Two weeks later at Zandvoort, however, the Belgian Grand Prix winning car met a violent end. Rodríguez later recalled in a 1971 interview that BRM suffered no fewer than four punctures on its Dunlop tires. The third occurred as Pedro entered at full speed the corner where Piers Courage would suffer his fatal accident later that weekend. The BRM snapped sideways, struck the bank, slid along it for some 500 feet, demolished a steel traffic-light pole, crossed the track and ended up against a fence. P153/02 was destroyed and reduced to scrap. Remarkably, Rodríguez walked away unhurt.

After returning to the pits, Pedro turned to the brand-new P153/05 that was entered as the T-car, only to suffer yet another puncture two laps later while entering the Tarzan hairpin. Rodriguez qualified seventh and finished tenth after 2 pitstops to fix the BRM’s nose cone. The French Grand Prix ended after just six laps due to gearbox trouble, while another accident damaged 05’s front suspension at Brands Hatch. The car was repaired for Hockenheim, but Pedro was unhappy with its handling and chose to race the newer P153/06 instead.

He returned to P153/05 at Zeltweg in Austria, one of his favorite tracks. From 22nd on the grid, Rodríguez charged through the field to finish fourth. At Monza he demonstrated the car’s speed by qualifying second, only for engine trouble to end his race while running with the leaders. In spite of a fuel stop just 3 laps from the finish, another fourth place followed in Canada.

The finest performance of P153/05 came at Watkins Glen. Starting fourth, Rodríguez eventually took the lead and appeared headed for his second Grand Prix victory of the year. With only eight laps remaining, however, fuel problems forced him into the pits, again. Emerson Fittipaldi swept past to claim his first Formula One victory, while Pedro recovered to finish second – the best Grand Prix result of P153/05’s career.

The season ended at Mexico City, where Rodríguez qualified seventh and brought chassis 05 home sixth before an over-enthusiastic home crowd.

More than half a century later, P153/05 has returned to Mexican hands. In 2024 it was acquired by Adrián Fernández, a multiple CART/IndyCar race winner for whom Rodríguez had been a childhood hero.

Today, P153/05 is more than a beautifully preserved Grand Prix car. It is a tangible link between two generations of Mexican motor racing – raced by Pedro Rodríguez from Zandvoort to Mexico City in 1970, and now preserved and driven by another of Mexico’s great international racers.