Vittorio Brambilla

Vittorio Brambilla (November 11, 1937 - May 26, 2001) was a Formula One driver from Italy who raced for the March, Surtees and Alfa Romeo teams. Particularly adept at driving in wet conditions, his nickname was "The Monza Gorilla", due to his often overly aggressive driving style and sense of machismo.

Career
Born in the town of Monza itself, Brambilla began racing motorcycles in 1957 and won the Italian national 175 cc title in 1958. Before becoming a mechanic he also raced go-karts. His older brother, Ernesto ("Tino"), was also a racing driver.

Formula Three, Formula Two, Sports cars
He returned to racing in 1968, in Formula 3 and won the Italian championship in 1972; by the time he was already racing Formula 2, where he won several races and bought his way into Formula 1. Brambilla was 2nd to Jacky Ickx in a 1970 2-heat Formula Two race at the Salzburg Ring in Salzburg, Austria. He drove a March BMW to 4th place in Hockenheim, in a 1973 Formula Two race. There were two 10-lap heats covering 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 121 miles per hour (195 km/h) over 180 mi. He drove an Abarth-Osella. Brambilla captured the pole for the Monza 4-hour auto race in a BMW 3.5 CSL.

March 1974 – 1976


In his first year of Formula One, Brambilla was as quick as his teammate Stuck, but was a bit accident-prone. In the Swedish GP he ran in fifth until an engine problem. Brambilla finished tied for 18th, last, in the Formula One World Championship standings. He amazed many at the 1975 Belgian GP, where he led; and at the 1975 Swedish Grand Prix, where he secured pole position. But his great day came at the Österreichring in 1975, when he won a wet Austrian Grand Prix. He is best remembered for spinning off and wrecking the nose of his car as he took the chequered flag and completing his slowing down lap with the front of the car destroyed and waving madly to the crowd. As the race was shortened, he only received 4.5 points instead of 9 for the win. In fact, the chequered flag was flown in error for the red. The race was halted on the 29th lap, with 60% of the race completed. He drove a March. 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 afterward but was unhurt. The session ended at that point with Niki Lauda leading. Before his accident Brambilla was second fastest with a lap of 118.21 mi/h. During 1976 he suffered several accidents and mechanical retirements, collecting only one point, while his teammate Ronnie Peterson won the 1976 Italian 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. Brambilla skidded off the course and was stationary, sitting near the intersection of Ocean Boulevard and Linden Avenue. 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.

Surtees 1977 – 1978


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 posted a time of 1:59:01.41 in qualifying his Surtees 8th for the 1977 Monaco Grand Prix.

He was known for his 'Punch and Crunch' routine, in which, he would greet the unfortunate victim with an extremely strong handshake. He enjoyed watching the recipient wince whilst they were shaking hands. He would then follow this up with a rabbit punch to the back of one's neck.

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 #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, in which Ronnie Peterson died, Brambilla suffered serious head injuries. Brambilla was hit by a flying wheel and returned to race in the 1979 Italian Grand Prix. In reaction to that race, it was announced in October 1978 that the Italian Grand Prix would moved to the Autodromo Dino Ferrari circuit in Imola for the next three years although this did not actually happen and the 1979 Italian Grand Prix was at Monza again.

Alfa Romeo 1979 – 1980
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 83.87 miles per hour (134.98 km/h). 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. 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.

Death
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.

Complete Formula One results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) $‡$ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance completed.