Gunnar Axel Arvid Nilsson (20 November 1948 – 20 October 1978) was a Swedish racing driver. Before entering Formula One, he won the 1975 British Formula 3 Championship. Nilsson entered 32 Formula One Grand Prix races, qualifying for all of them. He won the 1977 Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder while driving for Team Lotus. After losing his Lotus seat, he signed for Arrows for 1978, but was later diagnosed with testicular cancer which meant he could not drive the car. However, he did compete in three International Race of Champions (IROC) races in 1977. He had two sixth-place finishes and a fifth-place finish.As soon as the cancer was determined to be terminal, he created the Gunnar Nilsson Cancer Foundation. He died in October 1978. Gunnar Nilsson is buried in Pålsjö cemetery in Helsingborg, Sweden, close to his parents Arvid and Elisabeth Nilsson.

Early years

Nilsson was the second son of a Helsingborg building contractor.