Vittorio Brambilla

Vittorio Brambilla (Italian pronunciation: [vitˈtɔːrjo bramˈbilla]; 11 November 1937 – 26 May 2001) was an Italian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1974 to 1980. Nicknamed "the Monza Gorilla", Brambilla won the 1975 Austrian Grand Prix with March.

Born and raised in Monza, Brambilla competed in Formula One for March, Surtees and Alfa Romeo. A wet weather specialist, Brambilla won the curtailed Austrian Grand Prix in 1975 with a 27-second margin over James Hunt in only 29 laps.

Born in the town of Monza itself, Brambilla began racing motorcycles in 1957 and won the Italian national 175cc title in 1958. He continued to race motorcycles on a casual basis throughout his career, finishing 12th in a guest appearance at the 1969 Italian 500cc motorcycle Grand Prix riding a Paton. Before becoming a mechanic he also raced go-karts. His older brother, Ernesto ("Tino"), was also a racing driver.

Brambilla returned to racing in 1968, in Formula 3 and won the Italian championship in 1972, by which time he was already racing Formula 2. Brambilla was second to Jacky Ickx in a 1970 2-heat Formula Two race at the Salzburg Ring in Salzburg, Austria. He drove a March BMW to fourth place in Hockenheim, in a 1973 Formula Two race. There were two 10-lap heats covering 271.5 km (168.7 mi). Brambilla won the City of Enna Cup, the 5th 1973 event in the European automaker's championship for 2,000 cc cars. He averaged 195 km/h (121 mph) over 290 km (180 mi). He drove an Abarth-Osella. Brambilla captured the pole for the Monza 4-hour auto race in a BMW 3.5 CSL.

In his first year of Formula One, Brambilla was as quick as his teammate Stuck, although more accident-prone. In the Swedish GP he ran in fifth until an engine problem. Brambilla finished tied for 18th, last, in the 1974 Formula One World Championship standings. In 1975 he amazed many at the Belgian GP, where he led until encountering brakes problems after 54 laps, and at the 1975 Swedish Grand Prix, where he secured pole position until a transmission failure forced him to retire after 36 laps. His great day came at the Österreichring in 1975, when he won a wet Austrian Grand Prix. He spun off and wrecked the nose of his car as he took the chequered flag, and completed his slowing down lap with the front of the car destroyed while waving to the crowd (being the first victory of an Italian driver since the 1966 Italian Grand Prix with Ludovico Scarfiotti). As the race was shortened, with 60% of it completed, he only received 4.5 points instead of 9 for the win. A more serious accident occurred that season when Brambilla crashed his March through a new curve at Watkins Glen during qualifying for the 1975 United States Grand Prix. He backed into a guard rail afterwards but was unhurt. The session ended at that point with Niki Lauda leading. Before his accident, Brambilla was second fastest with a lap of 190.24 km/h (118.21 mph). During 1976 he suffered several accidents and mechanical retirements, collecting only one point at the 1976 Dutch Grand Prix. He qualified his March in 8th position for the 1976 United States Grand Prix West. In the race Brambilla was tapped from behind by Carlos Reutemann before they reached the first turn. He lost the right rear wheel on his March on the 35th lap of the 1976 United States Grand Prix after holding fifth place for a time.

In 1977, Brambilla moved to the Surtees team, where he scored six points. At the same time he also drove for the Alfa Romeo sports car team, achieving the World Championship for the team. Brambilla finished eighth in the 1977 Monaco Grand Prix.

Brambilla continued with Surtees in 1978. At the 1978 United States Grand Prix West he placed 17th in qualifying, with a time of 1:23.212. His No. 19 Beta Surtees TS 19 finished 14th after experiencing engine failure on lap 50.

In a multiple pileup at Monza in the 1978 Italian Grand Prix, Brambilla suffered serious head injuries when he was hit by a flying wheel during a multiple car collision on the opening lap. In reaction to that race, in which Ronnie Peterson sustained fatal injuries, it was announced in October 1978 that the Italian Grand Prix would move to the Autodromo Dino Ferrari circuit in Imola for the next three years although this did not actually happen until 1980. The 1979 Italian Grand Prix was at Monza again, and Brambilla recovered and returned to participate in that race.

Brambilla drove briefly for the Alfa Romeo Formula One team in 1979 and 1980. On the first day of qualifying for the 1979 United States Grand Prix Brambilla was timed at 134.98 km/h (83.87 mph). Heavy rain caused a slick track and slower times. In December 1979, Alfa Romeo revealed its Formula One race car for the 1980 season. The company named Patrick Depailler, Brambilla, and Bruno Giacomelli as its drivers. The racer was nearly identical to one driven by Giacomelli in the 1979 Italian Grand Prix. It was a wing car design with a V-12 engine that generated more than 520 hp (388 kW). Alfa Romeo announced that it was working on a 1,500 cubic centimeter turbocharged engine which was to begin track testing in a Formula One car in the summer of 1980.

Brambilla retired at the end of the 1980 season. In the early 1990s, he opened a Formula One memorabilia shop in Milan, occasionally driving the safety car during the Italian Grand Prix. He died at Lesmo, near Milan, of a heart attack at the age of 63 while gardening at his home. He reportedly collapsed while mowing the lawn.

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

^‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance completed.