Frederick "Rikky" von Opel (born October 14, 1947) is a former racing driver from Liechtenstein, the only driver from that nation to have competed in the Formula One World Championship. He won the Lombard North British Formula 3 Championship in 1972. He participated in 14 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix for the Ensign and Brabham teams, debuting on July 1, 1973. He scored no championship points. He is the son of Fritz von Opel and a great-grandson of Adam Opel, the founder of the German car-maker Opel, today a subsidiary of Groupe PSA.

Formula One career

1973

Opel's Formula One debut coincided with that of the team that provided him with his big break, Ensign. Both began at Paul Ricard in France, the eighth race of the 1973 season, with Opel qualifying his N173 25th and finishing 15th, three laps down. Great Britain was next, while Opel finished 13th, six laps down, after starting from 21st. More promising signs appeared to be on the horizon at Zandvoort for the Dutch Grand Prix where he qualified a very creditable 14th, ahead of former World Drivers' Champions Emerson Fittipaldi and Graham Hill. However, on the morning of the race, cracks were found in the chassis. With too little time to make repairs, Opel was unable to start and the same issues prevented the team from starting in Germany too.