Eugenio Castellotti(10 October 1930 – 14 March 1957) was aracing driverfrom Italy. He won the1956 Mille Migliaand1956 12 Hours of Sebring,and took severalFormula OneWorld Championship podiums. His career was cut short by a fatal testing accident atModenain 1957. He was nicknamed "Il Bello" ("The Handsome").[1][2]
 Castellotti in front of theMonzabanking | |
| Born | 10 October 1930 Lodi,Italy |
|---|---|
| Died | 14 March 1957(aged 26) Modena,Italy |
| Formula OneWorld Championship career | |
| Nationality |  Italian |
| Active years | 1955–1957 |
| Teams | Lancia,Ferrari |
| Entries | 14 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 3 |
| Career points | 19.5 |
| Pole positions | 1 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1955 Argentine Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1957 Argentine Grand Prix |
Driving career
edit
Castellotti was born inLodi,Italy. He acquired aFerrari 166MM s/n 0058M at the age of twenty, from a local benefactor,[4]and began racingsports cars.[5]In 1952 he won the Portuguese Grand Prix, was third atBariand second atMonacowhich was run that year for sports cars. In 1953 he won the10 Hours of Messinaand finished third in theCarrera Panamericanain Mexico.[4]In 1954, he signed forLanciaand again drove sports cars whilst awaiting the team's Grand Prix car.[4]He eventually made his Grand Prix debut atBuenos Aireson 16 January 1955, for Lancia, but struggled in the warmer temperatures and crashed.[4]However, he finished second atMonaco,[6]but in mid-season the team amalgamated withScuderia Ferrari,for whom Castellotti drove for the remainder of his career. He participated in 14 World Championship Grands Prix, achieving 3 podiums and scored a total of 19.5 championship points. He securedpole position,with Lancia, at the1955 Belgian Grand Prix,becoming the youngest driver to do so (at age 24 years, 7 months and 26 days), a record that stood for 13 years untilJacky Ickx's pole position at the1968 German Grand Prix.
He also participated in several non-Championship Formula One races. Castellotti won the March 195612 Hours of SebringatSebring, Floridapartnered withFangio.[4]He followed this triumph by winning theMille Migliarace inBresciaand the Grand Prix for sports cars inRouen, France.[5]Castellotti's Ferrari achieved a total race time of 2 hours 10 minutes 31.1 seconds, winning the race.[7]He was also second in theNürburgring 1000 kmrace again partnered with Fangio.[4]
Private life
editKnown for his sophisticated manners and tailored clothes, Castellotti had significantly prominent media profile in Italy for his relationship with ballerina and actressDelia Scala.Castellotti and Scala were officially engaged at the time of his death.[8]
Death
edit
Castellotti died at 26 years old during a private Ferrari test session at theModena Autodrome.[9]Castellotti was testing a newFerrariGrand Prix car for the 1957 season.[10]He had been told byEnzo Ferrariin person to test there and set a fast time, in order to beat an unofficial lap record that had just been set byJean BehraforMaserati.[11]He hit a high kerb at a chicane and was thrown out of the car; his body was hurled 100 yards (91.4 m). The car repeatedly overturned before coming to rest in the members' stand. No other people were hurt. According to physicians, Castellotti's skull fracture caused his instant death.[5]
Legacy
editCastellotti was considered the greatest Italian driver sinceAlberto Ascari.[5]In 1958, Castellotti's friend Giuseppe Corsi founded Scuderia Castellotti inLodito honour his memory. The team used modified Ferrari Tipo 553 2.0-litre engines bored out to 2.5 litres and rebranded as "Castellotti", with "Eugenio" on the cam covers. The cars were easily distinguishable from other F1 T51s in that their exhausts were fitted on the left, while all other engines used in T51s had their exhausts on the right. The team competed in four events in 1960 with Italian driversGino Munaron,Giorgio ScarlattiandGiulio Cabianca.Cabianca scored the team's first championship points by finishing fourth at the1960 Italian Grand Prix.The team folded in 1961 after Cabianca fatally crashed in the same autodrome where Castellotti had his accident. Castellotti's legacy has been honoured by Club Auto Moto Storiche Castellotti in Lodi.[12]
Major career wins (sportscars):
- 1952: Coppa d'Oro di Sicilia
- 1952:Portuguese Grand Prix
- 1953: Circuito di Senigallia
- 1956:Mille Miglia
- 1956:12 Hours of Sebring
- 1957:1000 km Buenos Aires
Racing record
editComplete Formula One World Championship results
edit(key) (Races inboldindicate pole position)
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Scuderia Lancia | LanciaD50 | LanciaDS50 2.5V8 | ARG Ret |
MON 2 |
500 | BEL Ret |
3rd | 12 | ||||
| Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari625 | Ferrari107 2.5L4 | GBR 6 |
||||||||||
| Ferrari555 | Ferrari106 2.5L4 | NED 5 |
ITA 3 |
||||||||||
| 1956 | Scuderia Ferrari | LanciaFerrariD50 | LanciaFerrariDS50 2.5V8 | ARG Ret |
MON 4 |
500 | BEL Ret |
FRA 2 |
GBR 10 |
GER Ret |
ITA 8 |
6th | 7.5 |
| 1957 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari801 | LanciaFerrariDS50 2.5V8 | ARG Ret |
MON | 500 | FRA | GBR | GER | PES | ITA | NC | 0 |
Source:[13]
| |||||||||||||
Non-championship results
edit(key) (Races inboldindicate pole position) (Races initalicsindicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Scuderia Lancia | LanciaD50 | LanciaV8 | NZL | BUE | VAL 4 |
PAU 2 |
GLO | BOR | INT | NAP | ALB | CUR | COR | LON | DAR | RED | DAT | |||
| Scuderia Ferrari | OUT 7 |
AVO | SYR | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1956 | Scuderia Ferrari | LanciaD50 | LanciaV8 | BUE Ret |
GLV | SYR Ret |
AIN | INT | NAP Ret |
100 | VNW | CAE | SUS | BRH | |||||||
| 1957 | Scuderia Ferrari | LanciaD50 | LanciaV8 | BUE 5 |
SYR | PAU | GLV | NAP | RMS | CAE | INT | MOD | MOR |
- † Indicates shared drive withLuigi Musso
References
edit- ^"Eugenio Castellotti | The" forgotten "drivers of F1".www.f1forgottendrivers.com.2019-09-26.Retrieved2023-12-18.
- ^"Eugenio Castellotti - Alternative Formula-1".Alternative Formula1(in Russian).Retrieved2023-12-18.
- ^0048Min barchetta.cc.
- ^abcdefSmall, Steve.The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who.p. 95.ISBN0851127029.
- ^abcdCastellotti, Ace Italian Driver, Killed Testing New Racing Car,The New York Times,March 15, 1957, Page 29
- ^Steve Small.The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who.p. 94.ISBN0851127029.
- ^Castellotti Auto First,The New York Times,July 9, 1956, Page 29.
- ^"Eugenio Castellotti: Con le corse nel sangue"(in Italian). archivio.unita.news. 2 January 2013.Retrieved9 September2019.
Nei primi mesi del 1957 il nome di Castellotti compare sui giornali non per le sue imprese sportive, ma per la sua discussa relazione con la soubrette Delia Scala
- ^"Eugenio Castellotti".www.grandprix.com.Retrieved27 January2016.
- ^Memoirs of Enzo Ferrari's Lieutenant by Franco Gozzi p.58
- ^"Motorsport Memorial -".www.motorsportmemorial.org.Retrieved2023-12-18.
- ^"Club AutoMotoStoriche Eugenio Castellotti | Lodi | Benvenuti".www.camseugeniocastellotti.com.Retrieved18 December2019.
- ^Small, Steve (1994).The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who.Guinness. pp. 94–95.ISBN0851127029.