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Merzario1.jpg
Arturo Merzario
Born 11 1943 (1943-Template:Pad2digit-Template:Pad2digit) (age 81)
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Died {{{death_date}}}
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Formula One career
Nationality 25px Italy Italian
Years 1972-1979
Alfa Romeo Mac 97 Donnington 1997

Merzario with class SR2 Centenari MAC97 Alfa Romeo in 1997 FIA Sportscar Championship in Donington.

Arturo Francesco "Little Art" Merzario (born 11 March 1943 in Civenna, Como) (real name Arturio - blunder on name registration - sometimes used on his helmet) is a former racing driver from Italy. He participated in 85 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 15 July 1972. He scored 11 championship points.

During his first season in Formula One in 1972 with Ferrari, Merzario also participated in sports car racing, winning the Spa 1000 km, the Targa Florio and the Rand 9 Hour races. After a difficult year with Ferrari in 1973, he moved to Williams and finished third in a non-Championship race in Brazil, but the Championship seasons of 1974 and 1975 proved unsuccessful. Merzario quit during the 1975 season to return to sports cars with Alfa Romeo, winning four races plus the Targa Florio again.

Merzario returned to Formula One in 1976, first with March sponsored by Ovoro, and then with Wolf, but again there were no decent results. When Merzario could no longer find a drive with established teams, he set up his own Merzario team in 1977 which struggled in Formula One for three years, initially with March cars before building their own chassis, and later moving down to Formula Two.

Merzario is perhaps most renowned for being one of the drivers, along with Guy Edwards, Brett Lunger and Harald Ertl who saved Niki Lauda from his burning car during the 1976 German Grand Prix.

In his time in Formula One in the 1970s he was often photographed wearing a cowboy hat with sponsorship patches from Marlboro.

Merzario is still active in sports car racing well into his sixties, driving mostly in an Italian prototype series.

Important results[]

1963
  • 1st Cl. Sardinia Rally - Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ
1964
  • 1st Cl. Bolzano-Mendola - Fiat Abarth 1000
  • 1st Cl. Trofeo Micangeli - Fiat Abarth 1000
  • 1st Cl. Trofeo Lumezzane - Fiat Abarth 1000
1967
  • 3rd European Touring Championship - Fiat Abarth 1000
1968
  • 1st Cl. Colle di Nizza - Fiat Abarth 1000
  • 1st Cl. V.Veneto-Cansiglio - Abarth 1000SP
  • 1st Cl. Acqua Cerelia Cup - Abarth 1000SP
  • 3rd 500 Kilometres of Nurburgring - Abarth 1600SP
1969
  • 1st Mugello GP - Abarth 2000
  • 1st European Mountains Championship - Abarth 2000
1970
  • 1st Mugello GP - Abarth 2000
  • 1st Cesana-Sestrierre - Abarth 2000
  • 3rd 24 hours of Daytona - Ferrari 512S
  • 4th 1000 Kilometres of Monza - Ferrari 512S
1971
  • 1st Imola - Ferrari 512M
  • 1st Vallelunga - Abarth 2000
1972
  • 1st 1000 Kilometres of Spa (with Brian Redman) - Ferrari 312 PB
  • 1st Targa Florio (with Sandro Munari) - Ferrari 312 PB
  • 1st European Sport Championship 2000
  • 1st 500 Kilometres of Imola - Ferrari 312 PB
  • 1st 9 hours of Kyalami - Ferrari 312 PB
  • 6th British GP- Ferrari 312 B2
1973
  • 2nd 1000 Kilometres of Nurburgring - Ferrari 312 PB
  • 2nd 24 hours of Le Mans - Ferrari 312 PB
  • 4th Brazilian GP - Ferrari 312 B2
  • 4th South African GP - Ferrari 312 B2
  • 7th French GP - Ferrari 312 B3
  • 7th Austrian GP - Ferrari 312 B3·
1974
  • 1st 1000 Kilometres of Monza - Alfa Romeo 33
  • 3rd Presidente Medici GP - Iso Williams
  • 4th Italian GP - Iso Williams
  • 6th South African GP - Iso Williams
1975
  • 1st 800 Kilometres of Dijion - Alfa Romeo 33
  • 1st Enna - Alfa Romeo 33
  • 1st 1000 Kilometres of Nurburgring - Alfa Romeo 33
  • 1st Targa Florio - Alfa Romeo 33
  • 7th Race of Champions - Iso Williams
1976
  • 2nd 500 Kilometres of Imola - Alfa Romeo 33
  • 9th French GP - March
1977
  • 1st Dijon - Alfa Romeo 33
  • 1st Enna - Alfa Romeo 33
  • 1st Estoril - Alfa Romeo 33
  • 1st Paul Ricard - Alfa Romeo 33
  • 1st Hockenheim - Alfa Romeo 33 Turbo
1978
  • 5th Adriatic GP - Chevron B42
  • 6th Mugello GP - Chevron B42
1980
  • 7th Donington - Bmw M1
  • 8th Avus - Bmw M1
  • 9th Pau - Merzario-Bmw M1
1985
  • 1st Italian Prototype Championship
1992
  • 1st Pergusa - Lucchini
1993
  • 1st Mugello - Osella
1996
  • 1st Monza - Centenari M1
  • 1st Mugello - Centenari M1
1997
  • 1st Vallelunga - Centenari M1
  • 1st Donington - Cenetanri M1
  • 1st Brno - Centenari M1
  • 1st Jarama - Centenari M1
1998
  • 1st Paul Ricard - Centenari M1
1999
  • 1st Monza - Tampolli AR
  • 1st Spa - Tampolli AR
  • 1st Cl. 6 hours of Vallelunga - Porsche 996
  • 2nd Pergusa - Tampolli AR

Complete Formula One World Championship results[]

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 WDC Points
1972 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 312B2 Ferrari Flat-12 ARG
RSA
ESP
MON
BEL
FRA
GBR
6
GER
12
AUT
ITA
CAN
USA
20th 1
1973 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 312B2 Ferrari Flat-12 ARG
9
BRA
4
RSA
4
ESP
BEL
12th 6
Ferrari 312B3 MON
Ret
SWE
FRA
7
GBR
NED
GER
AUT
7
ITA
Ret
CAN
15
USA
16
1974 Frank Williams Racing Cars Iso-Marlboro FW Cosworth V8 ARG
Ret
BRA
Ret
RSA
6
ESP
Ret
BEL
Ret
MON
Ret
SWE
DNS
NED
Ret
FRA
9
GBR
Ret
GER
Ret
AUT
Ret
ITA
4
CAN
Ret
USA
Ret
17th 4
1975 Frank Williams Racing Cars Williams FW03 Cosworth V8 ARG
NC
BRA
Ret
RSA
Ret
MON
DNQ
BEL
Ret
SWE
NED
FRA
GBR
GER
AUT
NC 0
Williams FW04 ESP
Ret
Fittpaldi-Copersucar Fittipaldi FD03 ITA
11
USA
1976 Ovoro March March 761 Cosworth V8 BRA
RSA
USW
DNQ
ESP
Ret
BEL
Ret
MON
DNQ
SWE
14
FRA
9
GBR
Ret
NC 0
Walter Wolf Racing Williams FW05 GER
Ret
AUT
Ret
NED
Ret
ITA
DNS
CAN
Ret
USA
Ret
JPN
Ret
1977 Team Merzario March 761B Cosworth V8 ARG
BRA
RSA
USW
ESP
Ret
MON
DNQ
BEL
14
SWE
FRA
Ret
GBR
Ret
GER
DNQ
NED
DNQ
ITA
USA
CAN
JPN
NC 0
Shadow Racing Shadow DN8 AUT
Ret
1978 Team Merzario Merzario A1 Cosworth V8 ARG
Ret
BRA
DNQ
RSA
Ret
USW
Ret
MON
DNPQ
BEL
DNPQ
ESP
DNQ
SWE
NC
FRA
DNQ
GBR
Ret
GER
DNQ
AUT
DNQ
NED
Ret
ITA
Ret
USA
Ret
CAN
DNQ
NC 0
1979 Team Merzario Merzario A1B Cosworth V8 ARG
Ret
BRA
DNQ
RSA
DNQ
USW
Ret
NC 0
Merzario A2 ESP
DNQ
BEL
DNQ
MON
FRA
DNQ
Merzario A4 GBR
DNQ
GER
DNQ
AUT
DNQ
NED
DNQ
ITA
DNQ
CAN
DNQ
USA
DNQ

External links[]

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