Vittorio Brambilla


Vittorio Brambilla 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. He won one Formula One race during his career, the 1975 Austrian Grand Prix, held in the wet.

Career

Born in the town of Monza itself, Brambilla began racing motorcycles in 1957 and won the Italian national 175 cc 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, 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. 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 over. He drove an Abarth-Osella. Brambilla captured the pole for the Monza 4-hour auto race in a BMW 3.5 CSL.

Formula One

March 1974 – 1976

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 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. 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. 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.

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.
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 when he was hit by a flying wheel during the multiple collision on the opening lap. He recovered 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 move to the Autodromo Dino Ferrari circuit in Imola for the next three years although this did not actually happen until 1980 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. 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. 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.

Retirement and death

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.

Racing record

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

YearEntrantChassisEngine1234567891011121314151617Pts
Scuderia Picchio RossaBrabham BT23FordTHR
DNS		HOCBAR
10		ROU13th3
North Italian Racing DevelopmentsBrabham BT30FordPER
Ret		13th3
North Italian Racing DevelopmentsBrabham BT23FordTUL
13th3
Scuderia Ala d'OroBrabham BT30FordIMO
Ret		HOC
8		13th3
Scuderia Ala d'OroBrabham BT30FordHOC
Ret		THR
Ret		NÜR
Ret		JARPAL18th2
Scuderia Ala d'OroMarch 712MFordROU
MANTULALBVAL18th2
Vittorio BrambillaMarch 712MFordVAL
5		18th2
Vittorio BrambillaMarch 712MBMWMALTHRHOCPAUPALHOCROUÖST
9		IMO
Ret		MANPERSALALBHOCNC0
Beta Racing TeamMarch 712MBMWMAL
4th35
Beta Racing TeamMarch 732BMWHOC
11		THR
NÜR
PAU
Ret		KINNIV
3		HOC
4		ROUMNZ
Ret		MANKARPER
2		SAL
1		NORALB
1		VAL
2		4th35
Brian Lewis RacingMarch 732BMWBARHOCPAUSALHOCMUGKARPERHOCVAL
12		NC0
Project 3 RacingMarch 752BMWESTTHR
NC		HOC
Ret		NÜRPAUHOCSAL
12		ROUMUG
Ret		PER
Ret		SILZOLNOGVAL
1		13th9
Project Four RacingMarch 762LanciaHOCTHRVAL
Ret		SALPAUHOCROUMUGNC0
Vittorio BrambillaMarch 732FerrariPER
DNQ		ESTNOGHOCNC0
Willi Kauhsen Racing TeamElf 2JRenaultSILTHRHOCNÜRVALPAUMUGROUNOGPERMIS
Ret		ESTDONNC0

Complete Formula One results

YearEntrantChassisEngine1234567891011121314151617Pts
1974March EngineeringMarch 741Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8ARGBRARSA
10		ESP
DNS		BEL
9		MON
Ret		SWE
10		NED
10		FRA
11		GBR
Ret		GER
13		AUT
6		ITA
Ret		CAN
DNQ		USA
Ret		18th1
1975Beta Team MarchMarch 741Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8ARG
9		BRA
Ret		11th6.5
1975Beta Team MarchMarch 751Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8RSA
Ret		ESP
5		MON
Ret		BEL
Ret		SWE
Ret		NED
Ret		FRA
Ret		GBR
6		GER
Ret		AUT
1		ITA
Ret		USA
7		11th6.5
1976Beta Team MarchMarch 761Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8BRA
Ret		RSA
8		USW
Ret		ESP
Ret		BEL
Ret		MON
Ret		SWE
10		FRA
Ret		GBR
Ret		GER
Ret		AUT
Ret		NED
6		ITA
7		CAN
14		USA
Ret		JPN
Ret		19th1
1977Beta Team SurteesSurtees TS19Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8ARG
7		BRA
Ret		RSA
7		USW
Ret		ESP
Ret		MON
8		BEL
4		SWE
Ret		FRA
13		GBR
8		GER
5		AUT
15		NED
12		ITA
Ret		USA
19		CAN
6		JPN
8		16th6
1978Beta Team SurteesSurtees TS19Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8ARG
18		BRA
DNQ		RSA
12		USW
Ret		19th1
1978Beta Team SurteesSurtees TS20Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8MON
DNQ		BEL
13		ESP
7		SWE
Ret		FRA
17		GBR
9		GER
Ret		AUT
6		NED
DSQ		ITA
Ret		USACAN19th1
1979AutodeltaAlfa Romeo 177Alfa Romeo 115-12 3.0 F12ARGBRARSAUSWESPBELMONFRAGBRGERAUTNEDITA
12		NC0
1979AutodeltaAlfa Romeo 179Alfa Romeo 1260 3.0 V12CAN
Ret		USA
DNQ		NC0
1980Marlboro Team Alfa RomeoAlfa Romeo 179Alfa Romeo 1260 3.0 V12ARGBRARSAUSWBELMONFRAGBRGERAUTNED
Ret		ITA
Ret		CANUSANC0

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