GRAND PRIX DRIVER FITNESS: FROM NUVOLARI AND CHIRON TO SCHUMACHER AND VETTEL

Vettel

Today’s 300-kilometre Formula One races are over within one-and-a-half to two hours. Television shows the drivers postrace, drenched in sweat, some looking tired, others like Schumacher and Hamilton, as if they could do the race again. We read of their hours of supervised, personal-trainer routines in gyms, supplemented by jogging and cycling. The pre-race treatment by physios and masseurs. Dominating all are the specialised neck exercises to withstand the exceptional g-forces attained on corners. Such is this strain that even super-fit Michael Schumacher had to abort his 2009 comeback for Ferrari, due to a neck injury from several months earlier.

Consequently many of today’s fans denigrate the fitness of drivers from earlier times. Their cars with hard, narrow tyres could hardly pull the skin off a rice-pudding in terms of cornering g-forces. The drivers did not even need to be strapped into the cars. What about the ‘non-sixpack’ midriffs of champions Fangio and Ascari and of more corpulent winners Gonzalez and Campari ? Proof surely that these turkeys would not be fit enough to compete with today’s slim, trim and superfit stars?

The Fifties

Gonzalez

And yet, how could Fangio in his forties and Ascari in his late-thirties, have competed and won regularly? Especially against drivers ten years and more younger, some as gym-fit as Stirling Moss? Races then were 500-kilometre, 3-hour affairs. The cars were fairly big, heavy, wire-spoked wheel, front-engined machines. How was 44 year old Fangio able to drive through the heatwave of the 1955 Argentinian GP without relief to win, while other much younger drivers, including Moss, Hawthorn, Gonzalez and Musso, shared their cars with two and more drivers, as they wilted in the heat? This in the days of front-engined cars. As Moss stated, the change to rear-engines in the late fifties made driving so much more comfortable and less exhausting. Cockpit heat and oil fumes from the front-mounted engine, gearbox and radiator were no more.

What of earlier years?

Nuvolari

Take the 1931 season: the French, Italian and Belgian Grands Prix were each of 10 hours duration! Despite two-drivers-per-car, each man covered 600 to 800 kilometres in a race which started at eight in the morning and finished at six that evening! The season’s other events featured the usual one-driver-per-car. Longest was the Targa Florio, won by Nuvolari/ Monza Alfa Romeo in 9 hours and 27 seconds! The shorter races, such as the German GP at the 22 kilometre Nurburgring and the Czech/Masaryk GP at the 29- kilometre lap Masarykring, each lasted four to four-and-a-half hours. More than twice as long as today’s F1 events. The winners of these epic contests were Nuvolari/Alfa Romeo Monza, Chiron and Varzi/Bugatti T51, Caracciola/Mercedes-Benz SSKL and the Maseratis of Fagioli and Ernesto Maserati, who predated Brabham’s owner-winner feat by over 30 years. 

Old cars

Chiron

In the seventies Stirling Moss test drove a 1973 Tyrrell-Cosworth and a Bugatti T51 at Donington Park. He thoroughly enjoyed the Tyrrell for its lack of vices, particularly for the way it held the driver in place, allowing him to do his job so much more efficiently than the cars of his day. After just three laps in the Bugatti he pulled into the pits, exhausted from just from holding himself in the seat! And this on a smooth, tarmac surface. How did Chiron and Varzi manage over four hours racing in the blue cars? And how about Caracciola with the huge, 1200 kilogram, cart-sprung, supercharged, 7 litre SSKL? As well as winning the German GP, Rudi had managed a phenomenal ‘first non-Italian driver-and-car’ Mille Miglia win in 1931. This preceeded Moss’ feat by a quarter of a century. In addition Rudi drove the car from Stuttgart to Brescia and back again after the 1000km race! What of Nuvolari’s 9 hours over Sicily’s unmade roads? Anyone who has driven a pre-WW2 racing car knows how uncomfortable they are; bouncing and lurching along on their stiff leaf springs, solid axles and hard, narrow tyres. The shapeless and upright seats, dust and oil fumes pouring in from the engine, gearbox and open floor. Throw in the rough, unsurfaced roads of Sicily and such feats beggar belief.

Stamina of the early drivers

There is no question then, that the levels of stamina, mental and physical fitness required in earlier years must have been exceptional. The physical wear-and-tear was far severer than it is today. As historic racer Irvine Laidlaw said in 2009 of his Monza Alfa Romeo: “I did not enjoy it, the suspension was so hard, it was so uncomfortable and exhausting to drive. I spent more time two inches above the seat than on it!” Modern-day drivers are ergonomically-seated, well-strapped in and the loads and road shocks are spread through a far greater area of a driver’s body surface than they were on the short, non-supportive, small, upright seats of yore. Add the poor quality roads, far longer race distances and duration, heat from front-mounted radiators and engines, and there is no doubt about the stamina required.

However, I do not subscribe to the clichéd opinion of some of the older generation, who claim that “men-were-men in our day, unlike today’s cosseted stars”. I reckon that had Prost, Schumacher, Alonso or Vettel raced pre-War, they’d have done whatever it took to win then. Just as Nuvolari, Chiron or Caracciola would have been at the front had they been racing today. All had the sheer desire, will and talent to win; their bodies and minds would have coped.

© Patrick O’Brien. Nothing from this page can be used without the permission of Patrick E. O’Brien.

LUIGI VILLORESI

Grand Prix Career: 1938-1956

Villoresi’s elegant driving style belied his sheer speed and competitiveness

The Italian driver Luigi ‘Gigi’ Villoresi debuted for Maserati in 1938, stayed with the team until 1948, switched to Ferrari from 1949 to 1953, to Lancia in 1954-55 and retired after driving a Maserati in 1956. He only managed three wins. Posterity mentions his classic, smooth and sensitive style, and that he was Alberto Ascari’s mentor. Otherwise Villoresi is seldom mentioned or remembered. His rival contemporaries Farina and Wimille certainly are.

Two eminent journalist-commentators, Mark Hughes and Alan Henry, published their “Top Hundred Drivers” lists in 1999 and 2008 respectively. Hughes ranked Villoresi 85^th while Henry does not include him in his top-hundred. Respectively they rated Luigi’s rival contemporaries Alberto Ascari 16^th and 5^th, Farina 41^st and 59^th, Wimille 9^th and 43^rd, Sommer 24^th and 88^th. 

It is my contention that Luigi Villoresi was far better than this; that he was in fact one of the fastest, most accomplished drivers, from his 1938 debut at age 29 until the end of the 1950 season, when aged 41. All Luigi lacked was the right car in these, his prime years. Farina and Wimille both drove the dominant Alfa Romeos and achieved several wins, publicity and consequent fame.

Luigi Villoresi at the end of his long career in 1956. From 1938 to 1950 he was one of the fastest and most talented of drivers, but only drove a top-rated car for one season,the 1949 Ferrari 125C. He outraced younger team-mate Alberto Ascari, scoring a first and two seconds to Ascari's first and a third. This was before there was a World Championship however

Modern perspective

The modern driver’s career which was comparable to Villoresi’s, at least in part, is that of Jenson Button. From 2000 until 2008, Jenson was considered a talented, refined, sensitive driver, soft on his tyres and who used minimal steering-wheel inputs. As Jenson said, he based his style on the driver he most admired, Alain Prost.

In his first nine seasons Jenson scored just one win, in 2006 for Honda. Had Button’s 2009 Brawn-Mercedes not been a top-rated machine, enabling Button to win the Drivers Championship, it is doubtful that he’d have been considered one of the top drivers. Now or in posterity. Just talented, but not a real winner. Perhaps like Villoresi, Button would have been ranked in the eighties on some pundit’s ‘top-hundred drivers’ list, and not even featured on others?

Grand Prix career beginnings

As with many great drivers, Villoresi showed talent early on. After debut-retiring his 1.5 litre voiturette Maserati (a then-Formula Two equivalent) in the 1938 Tripoli Grand Prix, Luigi was promoted to drive the supercharged, 3.0 litre, Maserati 8CTF grand prix machine for three events at season’s end. As reserve driver at Pescara, Luigi took over from the unwell Trossi on lap five. From ninth place he drove superbly to reach and run second to Caracciola’s winning Mercedes-Benz by lap 10 of 16 and set fastest lap. This against three-car teams from Mercedes-Benz and Auto-Union, led by Caracciola and Nuvolari. Carburetion trouble then caused his Maserati’s retirement. At Monza and Donington Villoresi was unable to shine, the fast-but-fragile 8CTF again retired each time.

During 1940 two events were staged for the 1.5 litre Voiturette class cars at Tripoli and Palermo, Italy not having yet entered the War. This was to have been the grand prix formula anyway, had the War not ended racing in the rest of Europe. The lithe, four cylinder Maserati 4CLs were no match for the big-budget, eight-cylinder Alfa Romeo 158 ‘Alfettas’. However at Tripoli’s very high-speed, palm-lined, Mellaha desert oasis venue, Maserati team-leader Luigi Villoresi really shone, for he was on a mission. His brother Emilio had recently crashed fatally at Monza testing an Alfetta. The reasons for the crash and the insurance situation were never clarified by team manager Enzo Ferrari. A furious Luigi was determined to try and beat the Milano team. At this last-ever Tripoli race, after an outstanding third place in qualifying, ahead of two of the Alfas, Villoresi actually led from a blistering start for the first two laps. Inevitably Farina’s Alfa Romeo 158 overtook, but with great determination Luigi hung on to the Alfa’s tail and went ahead again on laps 8 and 9! Although the Maserati could not hold the Alfas, Villoresi did manage to beat two of them through sheer desire and skill. His fourth place finish must rate as one of his finest races. The Alfas did not race at Palermo in Sicily, where Luigi dominated from pole and set fastest lap. His fire and talent were obvious. Then, in his prime at age 31, the War interrupted Villoresi’s career, just as it did for other young stars, including his talented, rival contemporaries: Farina, Sommer, Wimille and Lang.

Historical misperceptions

Always mentioned for his elegant, smooth, classic driving style, few commentators and historians recognised Villoresi’s sheer, competitive speed. This was due to his not being in the top-rated car-team for the seasons 1938-1940 and 1946-48 when he drove for Maserati, and in 1950 when Ferrari too were outclassed by the Alfa Romeos. World War Two negated his prime years and crash injuries late in 1950 caused a significant slowing in Luigi’s performances. Until then he had been at least as fast as Farina, Wimille, Sommer and Ascari. During 1950, driving for Ferrari against the mighty Alfa Romeos, 41-year-old Luigi was faster than all except Fangio and was on a par with the next best, young Alberto Ascari. It was also unfortunate for Luigi that he came up against two of grand prix racing’s greatest talents, Fangio and Alberto Ascari, as he was going into his forties.

Winless drivers in off-pace cars are always under-rated. As were Surtees 1960-1962, Mansell from 1980 -1984 and Button 2000 to mid-2006. So with Villoresi. For the six seasons 1938-1948 his Maseratis were off-pace; as was his Ferrari in 1950. That is seven years in uncompetitive cars. Age-wise they were his prime years, from 28 to 40.

Born in 1909 Luigi was one year younger than Wimille and three years younger than Farina and Sommer. Throughout the thirties and forties these three were to be great rivals, all very talented and fast. From 1950 to 1955 Villoresi and Farina continued their rivalry.

The 1948 Maserati 4CLT/48 was a beautifully-designed car which was next-fastest to the Alfa Romeo 158. It won two of the seven major races that year, the San Remo and the British Grands Prix,driven by friends Luigi Villoresi and Alberto Ascari

1946 Return to Maserati

After the War, Villoresi reappeared for Maserati in 1946 aged 37. He suffered crash injuries in the first race at Geneva when a brake locked as he was overtaking Trossi’s Alfetta. Gigi started the next grand prix at Milan and, behind the dominant Alfa Romeos led the rest of the field to get a fine fourth place ahead of Sommer’s Maserati..

Staying with Maserati was unfortunate for his career, the Bologna cars being no match for the Alfettas, now run by Alfa Romeo themselves. Enzo Ferrari had departed to build his own cars.

1947 A lifelong partnership

For 1947 Gigi enticed his young friend, protege and prewar Maserati privateer, 29-year-old Alberto Ascari, back to racing. Driving the outclassed Maseratis, Villoresi managed a sixth place and one fastest lap in three appearances, Ascari a fifth and a sixth in two races. Speedwise the two friends were very close-matched.

1948 Beats Alberto Ascari

Leading the Maserati team again in 1948, Villoresi competed in all seven major races. The 4CLT/48 Maserati was however about 1.7 % slower than the Alfa 158, the same as the Toyota and Honda performances in 2007 compared with the front-runners, McLaren-Mercedes. In the absence of the Alfas at Monaco Gigi led convincingly until gearbox trouble slowed him to finish fifth. At San Remo he had a great battle with Ascari and Farina, taking second place right behind Alberto. Against the Alfas he then took a fine third place at the Bremgarten. At Reims Gigi was again running third to two Alfettas until mechanical trouble intervened. He put up another great performance in the Italian GP at Monza, where he outqualified and outraced Ascari to a fine second place finish behind Wimille’s Alfa. In the absence of the Alfa Romeos Luigi took a fine win with fastest lap in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, again outpacing Ascari. In the season’s finale, the Monza Grand Prix, Villoresi managed to pass and lead the fourth of the Alfetta for 30 laps. Inevitably however he could not maintain this pace and the Maserati four expired. Against so talented a 30-year-old team-mate as Ascari, these excellent performances proved Villoresi’s stature at the very top. 

Luigi Villoresi winning the 1948 British Grand Prix at Silverstone in a Maserati 4CLT/48

1949 Joins Ferrari!

For 1949 the two friends joined the new Ferrari team. It had taken some persuasion from Alberto, for Luigi still had little time for Enzo. The Alfa Romeos having retired from racing for the year, the new 125C Ferrari and the Maserati 4CLT/48 were equally-matched and threatened by the unsupercharged, fuel-efficient Talbot-Lagos T26C. The main adversaries were Ascari and Villoresi for Modena, Farina, Fangio and Bira for Bologna and Rosier, Etancelin and Chiron for Paris. At Spa Villoresi finished second, chasing Rosier’s non-stop, winning Talbot-Lago with Ascari third. At Switzerland’s scenic Bremgarten circuit he placed second behind Ascari, while at Zandvoort Alberto retired and Luigi won. For the Italian GP at Monza, they had the new longer-wheelbase, more neutral-handling and far faster, twin-stage supercharged, four-cam 125C2 model. The friends took the first two grid slots with equal times, over two seconds ahead of Farina’s Maserati. Ascari took the lead from the start and won convincingly. Villoresi ran second until gear-change trouble caused retirement before half distance. In equal cars again, the 40-year-old just about matched his brilliant 31-year-old protege.

1950 Outpaced by the Alfa Romeos, yet again

For 1950 the Ferraris faced the returned Alfettas, now led by Fangio and Farina. The Ferraris were totally outclassed as Alfa Romeo dominated every event, taking the first three places almost each time. Although the 125C2 Ferrari performed at the same level relative to the best car as did the Spyker-Ferrari in 2007, Gigi really went well again. At Monaco he outqualified Ascari, ran second to Fangio early on, when a spin dropped him to eighth. Then according to The Motor “Villoresi from his eighth place slammed his Ferrari round the circuit with a dash and passion which was staggering.” He climbed back to second place until mechanical trouble struck on lap 63 of 100. In the Swiss GP he again outqualified Ascari, but both retired after getting in amongst the Alfas. At Spa Luigi again got ahead of Fagioli’s Alfa for a while, but could only manage a sixth place finish after suffering plug troubles. This was to be the last time Villoresi was a competitive front-runner. In a rainy non-championship event at Geneva he crashed on oil and suffered injuries that caused him to miss the season’s finale at Monza.

1951-53 Injury-slowed

Reappearing for Ferrari 1951, the recuperating 42-year-old Luigi was way off-pace. He competed in all seven championship events and through sheer racing finesse and experience managed three thirds and two fourths for Ferrari against the Alfa Romeos. He was significantly outpaced by young team-mates Ascari and Gonzalez.

Early in 1952 Luigi suffered injuries from a road accident that kept him out of F1 for the first five of the seven races. In the last two, the Dutch and Italian grands prix, he managed two third places. Although continuing to drive for Ferrari in 1953, he was now only a fourth team driver, behind Ascari, Farina and Hawthorn. Luigi scored two seconds and a third place. Largely by virtue of the dominant Ferrari Type 500, partly through his vast experience.

1954-56 Maserati and Lancia

Thanks to Ascari, Villoresi was taken on by the new Lancia Team. They only appeared at the 1954 season-finale in Barcelona. For three races in mid-season Luigi and Alberto were released to drive for Maserati, who had lost Fangio to Mercedes-Benz. In the outclassed 250F Luigi managed a fifth at Reims, but retired at Spa and Monza. Starting on the Lancia’s debut in Barcelona from a good fifth place grid position, he retired on the first lap with transmission trouble. Team-mate Ascari led for ten laps until his clutch packed up.

In 1955 the Lancia team competed in just the first three events. In Buenos Aires Villoresi retired early, but at Monte Carlo he managed to finish fifth. The company gave up racing, due to their financial troubles and following Ascari’s fatal crash while casually testing a friend’s sports-racing Ferrari at Monza during a lunch-hour.

Villoresi’s last season, 1956, saw him start in just four races driving a Maserati 250F to a fifth and a sixth place. After yet another sports-racing car crash at year-end, Gigi was eventually persuaded by his family to retire. He was 47.

In a grand prix career spanning 18 years, Gigi managed just three wins, six seconds and seven thirds in major grand prix races. These results do not do justice to his ability. Like Sommer, Manzon, Surtees, Amon, Trulli and many others throughout grand prix racing history, Villoresi was only once, 1949, in a top-rate car while in his prime. Had he driven for Alfa Romeo in the years 1940 to 1950 he could have done at least as well as Farina, whom he certainly matched for speed and surpassed for smoothness and style. To close-match and sometimes beat Ascari when they were in same-team Maserati and Ferrari cars from 1947 to1950, is proof of Villoresi’s ability.

Dedication

This essay is dedicated to my good friend and colleague, Michael Preston. One of the most widely-read enthusiasts on all aspects of cars, racing and the personalities, Mike is always ready to research obscure facts, proofread, contribute to and correct any of my historical work. His deep interest in cars and racing started as a pre-teenager, during the forties in Cape Town. His broad-based, personal library collection on motoring is most impressive.

© Patrick O’Brien. Nothing from this page can be used without the permission of Patrick E. O’Brien.

VETTEL/RED BULL-RENAULT 2011: DOMINANCE EXAGGERATED

During and after the 2011 season many media commentators and fans reckoned that Sebastian Vettel and his Red Bull-Renault were so dominant; that Sebastian had such an easy ride, thanks to his utterly superior car. Some were Vettel fans, others were detractors or supporters of other drivers, claiming that Vettel was not a good racer, that he could only lead from the front, was not an overtaker. Similar comments were levelled at Alberto Ascari in the early fifties and Jim Clark in the sixties, because they too often led from the start.



The 2011 Sebastian Vettel/Red Bull-Renault RBR7 package scored 11 wins from 19 races, a rate of 57.8%. This is only tenth in the rankings of dominance since 1950



Firstly, Vettel has proved that he can overtake: his 160 mph/260 kmh move around the outside of Alonso on the grass at Monza’s Curva Grande, was masterful. The way he has qualified, raced, led and overshadowed his team-mate, is proof of sheer talent and ability. It is patent nonsense to suggest that Ascari, Clark and Vettel were deficient; all three were and are great drivers.

Secondly, the matter of the Vettel/Red Bull-Renault package dominance: this has been exaggerated. It was often very little faster than the McLaren-Mercedes packages of Button and Hamilton. The Vettel/Red Bull-Renault won 11 times, others packages 8 times. The McLarens scored six wins and on occasion were faster, and overall very little slower than the Vettel/Red Bull-Renault. Only good packages ever won six races in a season, that is almost a one-in-three rate. Both the 2011 McLaren-Mercedes packages were good.

What is dominance in F1 racing? Winning every second race definitely is, a win-rate of 50.0%. So, the Vettel/Red Bull-Renault was undoubtedly dominant.

But it was not the most superior package in F1 history. How it ranks is listed below on a table of dominance in F1 since 1950:

Note: The total races shown are not necessarily for the whole season, just those races competed in by the driver/car package concerned.

Table of Dominance

1. The 1952 Alberto Ascari/Ferrari package won 6 out of 6 races for a 100.0% score.

2. Fangio/Mercedes-Benz in 1954 took 4 wins from 6 races to score at 75.0%.

3. Fangio/Mercedes-Benz in 1955 won 4 of 6 events, to again rate at 75.0%.

4. In 2004 the Schumacher/Ferrari steamroller managed to win 13 of 18 races, for a score of 72.2%; included were two streaks of 5 and 7 consecutive wins.

5. Clark/Lotus-Climax scored 7 times in 10 races to make 70.0%.

6. Clark/Lotus-Climax in 1965 won 6 of 9 races for 66.6%.

7. Schumacher/Ferrari in 2002 won 11 of 17 for 64.7%;

8. Ascari/Ferrari in 1953 managed 5 of 8 for 62.5% and

9. In 1960 Brabham/Cooper-Climax won 5 of 8 races for 62.5%

10. The 2011 Vettel/Red Bull-Renault package won 11 of its 19 races, for 57.8%.

This was almost identical to the following three dominant examples:

11. Fangio/Maserati in 1957 with 4 wins of 7events at 57.1%.

12. In 1994 Schumacher/Benetton-Cosworth won 8 of 14 for 57.1%

13. Mansell/Williams-Renault in 1992 scored 9 of 16 at 56.3%

So, the Vettel/Red Bull-Renault superiority of 2011 ranks 10th in F1 history; not as highly as some commentators and fans would have us believe. Also some way off the Fangio/Mercedes-Benz, Schumacher/Ferrari, Clark/Lotus-Climax and Brabham/Cooper-Climax records. And way behind the 1952 Ascari/Ferrari full-house score. This last feat becomes even more exceptional when considering that this package went on the win the next three races of 1953. That makes 9 consecutive wins! In days of just 7 or 8 races per season. Designer Lampredi’s deep-breathing, torquey Ferrari four and Alberto’s driving were obviously exceptional.

None of this detracts from Sebastian Vettel or the Red Bull-Renault RBR7 car and team. All I am doing is highlighting that they did not enjoy as much superiority or speed advantage as nine other combinations in F1 history.

The 1971 Jackie Stewart/Tyrrell-Cosworth 001-3 package scored 6 wins from 11 races for a rate of 54.5%. Jackie had achieved exactly the same stats with the Matra-Cosworth in 1969

For interest’s sake and to make the list-ranking complete, the other dominant winning packages that scored at least a win in every second race:

14. Stewart/Matra-Cosworth in 1969, 6/11 at 54.5%

15. Stewart/Tyrrell-Cosworth in 1971 with 6/11 at 54.5%

16. Schumacher/Benetton-Renault in 1995 with 9/17 for 52.9%

17. Schumacher/Ferrari in 2000 with 9/17 for 52.9%

18. Schumacher/Ferrari in 2001 with 9/17 for 52.9%

19. Farina/Alfa Romeo in 1950 with 3/6 for 50.0%

20. Fangio/Alfa Romeo in 1950 with 3/6 for 50.0%

21. Senna/McLaren-Honda in 1988 with 8/16 for 50.0%.

22. Hakkinen/McLaren-Mercedes in 1998 with 8/16 at 50.0%

Dominance depends on rival packages

All is down to ‘the gap’, the difference in speed between packages, which is almost randomly accidental each season. Rivals can be other team packages or one’s own team-mate. In 2010 Vettel only just outscored his team-mate Mark Webber 5:4 in wins; in 2011 he was so much faster and more successful at 11:1 in victories. So, for 2011 a major rival for wins was eliminated. Ascari had little opposition from his mates, being so much faster. As were the cases with Fangio, Jim Clark and Michael Schumacher.

Unlike Prost who accepted one of the best drivers joining him at McLaren-Honda in 1988: Senna. Had either of them been paired with slower team-mates in those years, they’d each have been more dominant. If one adds their wins to the races when they finished second to each other, Prost would have scored 14 wins in 1988 to Senna’s 11 from 16 races; and Alain 10 in 1989 to Ayrton’s 8 also from 16 events! Jackie Stewart obviously knows what he is talking about, when he said: “Without Prost in the Team, Senna would not have won as many races”.

It seems a strange quirk that such exceptional drivers as Moss, Surtees, Rindt, Andretti, Lauda, Piquet, Gilles Villeneuve and Prost do not make it onto the ‘Dominance List’ here. And Senna only once.

The ultimate in dominance: the 1952 Alberto Ascari/Ferrari Tipo 500/52 package won all six of the races entered, for a perfect score of 100.0%. The six consecutive wins was extended into 1953 with another 3 to make a yet unbeaten 9-in-a-row

This is why results and scores are in large part due to the level of opposition. Either one’s own team-mate or rival team packages. If Ascari had Fangio as team-mate at Ferrari in 1952-53, his wins would have been severely reduced, maybe halved? Vice-versa Fangio at Mercedes-Benz in 1954-5 paired with Ascari. Or Clark at Lotus in the sixties, had Surtees remained his team-mate? Instead Jim had much slower drivers, and in poorly-prepared cars. Would Michael Schumacher have dominated as much if he’d had Hakkinen, Raikkonen or Alonso in the Ferrari team?

Without diminishing any of these great drivers and their team’s achievements, they would all have suffered the more equalising fate that Prost-Senna (1988-9), Fittipaldi-Peterson (1973), Piquet-Mansell (1986-7), and Moss-Brooks (1958) did, when sharing their top-rated team/cars with other high-rated drivers.

Racing competition has not changed

In the pre-F1/1950 era it was no different: Whenever two good drivers were paired at one team, none dominated, and the wins were shared, usually fairly evenly. Just as was the case with the Prost-Senna pairing:

1948-9 at Maserati with Villoresi and Alberto Ascari.

1938 when most Mercedes-Benz wins went to Caracciola and Lang.

1934 Alfa Romeo had Chiron, Varzi and Moll sharing wins.

1932 Nuvolari-Caracciola shared wins for Alfa Romeo.

1931 at Bugatti it was Chiron-Varzi.

1925 Divo and Benoist for Delage.

1924 Masetti and Antonio Ascari for Alfa Romeo.

1922 Bordino and Nazzaro for Fiat.

1916 Resta ,Wilcox and Aitken in Peugeots.

1915 Cooper and Anderson for Stutz

1910 at Fiat it was Hémery and Bruce-Brown.

1898 Panhard had Charron, de Knyff and Leys sharing their wins.

No dominance has ever been possible when close-matched drivers were in the same team cars. Nor was it possible when rival packages were equal or close-matched. Which makes grand prix racing so interesting and exciting: two or more very close-matched drivers at the top and a bonus when the cars are almost equal too. Roll on the 2012 season.

© Patrick O’Brien. Nothing from this page can be used without the permission of Patrick E. O’Brien.

***

THE AUTO-UNION V16

MOST DEFINITELY NOT THE ILL-HANDLING MONSTER THE MEDIA WOULD HAVE US BELIEVE

Lethal handling; rear-engined monsters; killed von Delius; drivers sat so far forward that they could not tell when the tail was sliding; too much rearward weight bias; only ex-motorcyclist Rosemeyer could get the best out of the tail-heavy brutes, having had no experience of driving a car; drivers had to have exceptional reaction times to catch the vicous tail-slides...

Recently, esteemed ex-Brabham-McLaren design-engineer Gordon Murray dismissed the Auto-Unions for having “got the mid-engined concept wrong, with all the fuel and weight slung out the back.” These are just some of the many derogatory comments that continue to be bandied about ever since Dr Porsche’s revolutionary, mid-engined V16 Auto-Union appeared three-quarters of a century ago in 1934.



1936 Auto-Union C-Type which dominated the season, scoring six wins to Mercedes-Benz’s two and Alfa Romeo’s three



MODERN TIMES

“Most grand prix races are won by the best cars” as Gordon Murray said. Second-best machines, those just a tenth or so off-pace, have usually only won when driven by really top-rate drivers. For instance, the Williams-BMWs and McLarens-Mercedes of 2000 -2004 managed few wins against the superior Ferraris: 10 for Williams, 15 for McLaren versus 57 for Ferrari. No-one ever suggested that those Williams-BMW models FW22-26A or McLaren-Mercedes MP4/15-19B were significantly deficient, ill-conceived or in any way bad cars. At worst they were criticised for being just off-pace. Their drivers Montoya-Ralf Schumacher and Hakkinen-Coulthard-Raikkonen were close-matched with the Michael Schumacher-Barrichello Ferrari duo. The 2010 -2011 McLaren-Mercedes cars won 11 races against the Red Bull-Renault’s 21. Despite scoring 52.4% as many wins, no-one would suggest that these McLaren-Mercedes models were bad or seriously deficient cars.

This, by way of placing the 1934-1937 Auto-Union performances in related perspective. No better test crucible for inter-car/team performance than grand prix racing, with its direct comparisons.

SURPRISING RESULTS

If the V16 Auto-Unions were as bad as the media and expert commentators have been claiming, one would expect their win and podium placing record to have been poor. Somewhere down with the much-maligned 1956-1958 BRM P25, the overweight 1967 Cooper-Maserati, or the resource-scarce Minardi and HRT team performances in more recent times?

1936 Auto Union C-Type which the brilliantr Rosemeyer drove to five wins, Varzi one

Between the Eifel GP in June 1934 and the Donington GP in October 1937, the Auto- Union and Mercedes-Benz rivals faced each other in 35 grand prix races. Of these, Mercedes-Benz’s trend-setting, front-engined, all-independently suspended, universally and technically-lauded models W25 A, B, C and W125, won 17 times, the unconventional, mid-engined V16 Auto-Unions Type A, B and C won 12. For the other podium spots, Auto-Union scored 13 seconds and 11 thirds to Stuttgart’s 15 and 8. The rear-engined cars managed 15 fastest laps and 9 poles to Benz’s 9 and 10. Surprisingly close-matched! Auto Union’s wins at 71% of Mercedes-Benz’s far outshone the 26% of McLaren-Mercedes and 17.5% of Williams-BMW against Ferrari in those first five seasons of the 21^st century, and far better than the 52.4% wins achieved by the 2010-11 McLaren-Mercedes against the Red Bull-Renaults.

DRIVER QUALITY

For a car with ‘diabolical handling traits’ to score so well, accepted wisdom and judgement could claim that Auto-Union’s drivers must have been exceptional.

Rosemeyer in the 1937 German GP, rounding the Karussel on his way to another victory

In 1934 Auto-Union, led by Hans Stuck with the far slower Leinigen and Momberger, were heavily outgunned by Mercedes driven by Fagioli, Caracciola and Von Brauchitsch. Driverwise the teams were close-matched in 1935 as Zwickau’s Stuck was joined by Varzi and Rosemeyer to face Stuttgart’s Caracciola-Fagioli-Von Brauchitsch trio. The two teams were well-matched again in 1936 when Varzi-Rosemeyer-Stuck equal-rated Caracciola-Chiron-von Brauchitsch. However for 1937 Auto-Union was really a one-driver team, as it was in 1934 with Stuck, now dominated and led by the precocious Rosemeyer.By now Stuck and one-timer Nuvolari were far slower, while other part-timers Fagioli, Hasse, von Delius and Muller even more off-pace. Mercedes had Caracciola-von Brauchitsch-Lang, all race-winners and far faster than the Auto-Unions drivers behind Rosemeyer. Clearly then, Auto-Union never enjoyed a significant driver advantage. The Auto-Union cars had to have been very competitive to almost even-score with the mighty Daimler-Benz concern. And on a fraction of the resources.

SPINS AND CRASHES

If the Auto Union’s handling had been ‘unpredictable, prone to sudden-oversteer, lethal’, there would have been many more spins and crashes than for the well-balanced, predictable, state-of-the-art, mainstream, front-engined Mercedes-Benz machines. In four seasons and 101 starts the rear-engined cars registered 9 such mishaps or 8.9%, against the Stuttgart cars’ 9 from 122 starts for 7.4%. Included in these statistics are the ‘misdemeanors’ of the very second-string drivers of both teams: Leinigen, Momberger, Sebastian, Burgaller, von Delius, Pietsch, Hasse and Muller for Zwickau and Geier, Henne, Zehender and Kautz for Stuttgart. All of whom raced far further from the front than every driver on the grids of 2007 and 2011. There was one fatality when tragically, a nervous Von Delius was unable to cope with Seaman’s overtaking Mercedes on Nurburgring’s long, undulating, narrow, hedge-lined, main straight. Two of Auto-Union’s other off-track excursions came from Rosemeyer. Trying so hard to beat the Mercedes team in 1937, he spun off at the Bremgarten and then struck a kerb on the bumpy, tortuous Masarykring, both times damaging the suspension. Just as such other greats as Chiron, Fangio, Gilles Villeneuve and Alonso were to do on occasion.

Varzi in the Auto-Union B-Type at Monza for the1935 Italian GP; he retired while team-mate Stuck won.  All four Mercedes-Benz cars retired

The V16 Auto-Unions must have been outstanding to virtually equal Mercedes-Benz for wins, podiums and poles, and outdo them in fastest laps over those four seasons, 1934 to 1937. If they had drivers of the calibre of Caracciola or Fagioli in 1934 or Von Brauchitsch or Lang in 1937, to back Stuck and Rosemeyer, they could well have won the first place battle. Dr Porsche and his team’s mighty V16s in Type A, B and C-forms were actually very successful forerunners of the mid-engined revolution. Others just took a quarter of a century longer to follow their trend.

© Patrick O’Brien. Nothing from this page can be used without the permission of Patrick E. O’Brien.

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RAMPONI’S REMINISCENCES

During the early eighties I had the privilege of visiting Giulio and Irene Ramponi at their Nelspruit home in South Africa, overlooking the Crocodile River Valley and the Kruger National Park. We spent many hours chatting on their shaded verandah. The Ramponi’s were very open and friendly, and answered my reams of questions about grand prix racing and personalities... on condition that “I did not publish any of the stories”, as then 80-year old Giulio warned: “My memory is too good and I know too much about the people involved, many of them very important.” Irene divulged her store of knowledge too, including some ‘colourful’ episodes involving Enzo Ferrari and Tony Vandervell of Vanwall fame. Sadly my last visit was just after Giulio’s passing in 1986 at age 84, to work with Irene on an obituary for South African magazines.

Giulio Ramponi (1902-1986) in 1981 on the verandah of their Nelspruit home. In his Alfa Romeo overalls, taking a tea break while servicing his Alfa Romeo 2000 Berlina. Photo by Rudi de Groot

“Just look at this! Some blasted foreigner won at Brooklands by dirty driving. His small Alfa Romeo car was much slower than our Bentleys, but he sat behind, got towed along in their slipstream and nipped by at the finish! Typical.” Irene did not take much notice of her father’s jingoistic outburst at their north Liverpool home that morning in 1929.

Nearly twenty years later in 1946, while working as a secretary for the Shrewsbury engineering firm of Wales and Edwards, Irene was introduced to ‘the most famous racing mechanic in Europe’, Giulio Ramponi. Italian-born but British resident since the thirties. Within a year Irene and Giulio were married. It had in fact been Ramponi to whom her father had been irately referring in 1928. Driving the lithe, agile Alfa Romeo 6C1500 with shrewd racecraft and efficiency, the ‘blasted foreigner’ had defeated the huge Bentleys to win the 1928 Brooklands Six Hour. As co-driver to Campari he also went on to win the Mille Miglia races that year and the next, as well as the Brooklands Six Hour and Dublin Grand Prix in 1929.

THE SOUTH AFRICAN DREAM

Irene and Giulio Ramponi hilariously told this story on the shady verandah of their home in Nelspruit, near South Africa’s world-renowned Kruger Park. Set on a hilltop covered with sub-tropical creepers and typically African, spreading acacia thorn trees, the house had a breath-taking view over the Crocodile River valley. They had retired here in 1968, in fulfilment of Giulio’s thirty-year-old dream. It was on his first visit in 1934 that he fell in love with the country, its warm climate, wildlife and scenery. Ramponi had come out as team-manager and chief mechanic to Whitney Straight’s team for the First South African Grand Prix at East London.

Listening avidly to Giulio’s reminiscences and anecdotes, with Irene filling in many details, was totally absorbing. In his eighties, his memory was crystal clear, his analytical mind sharp and his enthusiasm still boyish. The sessions were permeated with humorous bickering, for Irene liked teasing Giulio for his seriousness and fastidiousness. Giulio claimed: “My wife is the only one to criticise my driving, which was good enough for Alfa Romeo!” He still drove spiritedly, cutting corners and overtaking smartly and quickly but, Irene admitted, “He drove our 2000 Berlina very safely and always taught me to look far ahead on the road, from his racing experience.”

ALFA ROMEO CAREER

Born in 1902 in Milan, Ramponi began doing an engineering apprenticeship at age 16. A friend of his stepfather’s, racing driver Giuseppe Campari, driving past on the road, stopped Giulio on his bicycle and said: “Giulietto, I will get you work with Alfa Romeo. Within two days Campari had got me out of my first job, and I began doing motor engineering at Portello in 1918, attending evening draughting classes. Campari then asked me to be his riding mechanic in the 1919 Parma-Berchetto Hillclimb. He was driving a big, pre-war Alfa, but when the bonnet flew off, I had to retrieve it and lie along the cowl holding it down!” Exhausted but ecstatic when they crossed the line, for the burly Campari was not known for his smooth driving style, “I jumped to the ground before the car stopped and fell flat on my face, in front of the crowds!” But the great driver Felice Nazzaro was so good, he helped me up and congratulated me!



1924 Alfa Romeo P2: Giulio Ramponi was involved in this car’s development under designer Vittorio Jano and was also riding mechanic to Antonio Ascari. Ramponi spoke so highly of both men

From this baptism of fire Ramponi’s racing career proceeded in leaps and bounds. His perfectionism, fastidious industriousness and passion for automotive machinery were soon noticed. By 1924 he was personal mechanic to the Alfa Romeo team’s number one driver, Antonio Ascari; in 1925 chief test driver and a works sports car driver by the late-twenties! When I asked about the oft-repeated story of the Alfa Romeo team sitting down to an impromptu meal on the Spa pit apron in 1925, when they were far ahead of the Delage cars, Giulio exploded! “Rubbish, we just slowed our cars a bit; there is not so much time in grand prix racing. Anyway we had too much respect for the Delage people; Jano was too much of a gentleman to do such a thing. It is absolute nonsense.” When asked what actually happened to cause Antonio Ascari’s fatal crash in the 1925 French GP at Monthlery, Ramponi scoffed at the commonly-held reason that it was rain or a wet road. During practice Campari had, most unusually, set a faster time than Ascari. Grid positions being decided by ballot in those days, the team gave their fastest drivers the front positions. This always went to the younger and more talented Ascari, Alfa’s number one. “But one of the directors, Rimini, who normally didn’t attend and knew nothing about racing, insisted that Campari be given the front slot, based on his practice time. Ascari was furious, for there had always been some envy and friction between the two drivers. Antonio had a point to prove and charged ahead from the start, increasing his lead despite my signals to slow down.” He just misjudged that long corner. It was not even raining at the time, and he died in my arms.” The 24-year-old Giulio fainted, and took some time to recover, for he idolised Ascari, telling me “He was the first Nuvolari, very soft on his cars, smooth and so fast.”

More than a mechanic, Giulio became an expert, practical, mechanical development technician, his skills being highly valued by Alfa Romeo’s design engineers and the drivers. Always a very sincere and guileless person, Ramponi unfortunately had a great fall-out with the management at Alfa Romeo in 1929. “Most of the drivers of those days were wealthy, as well as getting starting and prize money, yet the very hard-working mechanics took home so little. I approached management and asked for pay increases and a share in prize money for the mechanics. There was no negotiation. I was told to leave.” Giulio was no politician, and commendably never exploited his outstanding abilities or impressive contacts for personal gain, as he could well have done.

FIRST MOVE TO ENGLAND

Ramponi had made many friends and his skills were respected among the English racing fraternity after his forays for Alfa Romeo to Brooklands and Ards in the late twenties. Such that Tim Birkin invited him to join the Dorothy Paget Team of 4.5 litre, supercharged Bentleys for the 1930 Le Mans race. Giulio was soon unpopular with the other drivers, for he sided with WO Bentley in stating that “the Bentley engine, particularly with the pistons chosen, was not designed for supercharging. Unless the drivers took things easily, they would not finish.” He was proved right as all the ‘Blower’ cars retired and his charging co-driver Benjafield holed a piston “when we had a good chance of winning.” This was the start of over thirty happy years living and working in England. Giulio’s highly-structured, punctual nature sometimes found the easier-going Italian business approach irksome. Settling in England was easy for him, but this first sojourn did not last long.



1932 Alfa Romeo 8C 2600B: Giulio Ramponi was called back to Alfa Romeo to help with development of this dominant car

RECALLED TO ALFA ROMEO

Preparing the new Alfa Romeo 8C2600B or ‘P3’ for the 1932 season, Jano and Bazzi recalled Ramponi to the team! They needed his development skills. For the next two years Giulio worked closely at Alfa Romeo with that unique galaxy of star drivers Nuvolari, Caracciola, Varzi, Chiron and Fagioli. He also oversaw the development and conversion of the 2.3 litre Monza model into the enlarged 2.6 litre version for 1933. One of the many stories he related involved the fatal crash of Alfa team driver Borzzachini. On that fateful day at Monza when Campari and Czaikowski also died, Giulio was approached by Borzzachini before the race and asked to remove the front brakes from his Maserati, for lightness. Ramponi refused, but the driver insisted; reluctantly Giulio completed the job, saying, “You should not take such a risk on this high speed track; only Nuvolari, Caracciola or Varzi can get away with it; no-one else.” Giulio reckoned Borzzacchini was a very nice person, but not a talented enough driver.

PRIVATE TEAMS

Whitney Straight then offered Giulio employment as manager, chief mechanic and tester for his newly-formed team in 1934. With brother Michael Straight and Dick Seaman as drivers, they soon built up a reputation for good car preparation and success. When he arrived in East London, South Africa by ship with the three Straight cars for the 1934 Border 100 (later ‘named’ The First South African Grand Prix) Giulio said: “I took the Maserati round for a test lap to check gear ratios. I was impressed by that wonderful road circuit, so fast that I was going to have to fit our highest ratios!” Under Giulio’s tutelage Whitney developed as a driver to such an extent that he was offered test drives by both Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union. However he decided to retire from racing and went into the aviation field.

SEAMAN’S MENTOR AND MANAGER

Ramponi’s was then employed by his other young protege Dick Seaman, who did go on to drive for the Mercedes-Benz grand prix team. What brought this about was perhaps Ramponi’s greatest achievement: modifying the 1927 Delage for Seaman to contest the 1.5 litre Voiturette class championship in 1936. Seaman had asked whether he should buy a Maserati or an ERA; bravely Giulio told him to buy a nine-year-old Delage! Up against the works ERA and Maserati teams, Giulio described how he modified the car: “Before starting I got full cooperation including the original blue-prints and advice from the designer Albert Lory. I have great respect for him as an engineer and a person. I improved the roadholding by mounting the springs on outriggers to lower the centre of gravity, altered roll centres and brakes and worked on the magnificent engine.” The blown, roller-bearinged, double overhead camshaft, 1.5 litre straight eight yielded 170 bhp at over 8000rpm. Seaman won the championship in this remarkable, shiny black Ramponi-Delage. They beat the official Maserati and ERA teams.

Having got to know the Mercedes-Benz team’s engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut when they collaborated with Bosch on racing spark plugs, Ramponi asked him to give Seaman a try-out. Once he was an established Mercedes-Benz driver Dick showed his appreciation by getting Uhlenhaut’s permission for Giulio to drive the W154 grand prix machine in 1938: “It was a fantastic car!” Ramponi then went on to describe the circumstances of Seaman’s fatal crash at Spa in 1939. “Dick begged me to come over during practice and be his private signalman, away from the pits. Such unofficial practice had been employed by Nuvolari and Varzi to circumvent team orders and discipline during races! Dick told me he was faster than his team-mates and intended to win. He had great respect for Caracciola but reckoned he was better than Lang and von Brauchitsch. “I was furious and refused: telling him to obey Neubauer, he knows what he us doing. You are too ambitious and try to go too fast. Get more experience first like Lang did.” It was the last time they spoke, for Seaman crashed in the wet, dying of his burns that night. Ramponi was heartbroken, for Seaman had been like a son to him and he had great hopes for his career. Ramponi spent the last years before the War running the Arbuthnot Racing Stable in London’s Lancaster Mews.

WORLD WAR TWO

Out of loyalty to Italy, Giulio elected to be interned on the Isle of Mann during the War. This despite the protestations of his many and influential English friends and acquaintances. Those tedious and stressful years from 1941 to 1945 were relieved as Giulio continued with engineering work. He laughingly related how the camp’s gas heater rationing was nullified “by threading and welding a darning needle to form a valve. It was fitted to the system, so that the prisoners had heating 24 hours-a-day while the guards shivered.” An elaborate whisky still was also made using the oddest components to ferment potatoes.

After Italy surrendered and at the request of the British Government, the well-known Ramponi was seconded to the engineering firm of Wales and Edwards in Shrewsbury. He was put in charge of automotive engineering jobs for a large American corporation, to earn much-needed dollars. This was where he met the girl from north Liverpool, Irene. They were married in April 1947.

RAMPONI AND ROCKELL

In 1948 ex-Bentley tool-maker and race engineer Bill Rockell invited Giulio to join him in opening their own garage and Alfa Romeo agency. Located in London’s Lancaster Mews, ‘Ramponi and Rockell’ gained immediate fame amongst the racing fraternity. When the Alfa Romeo team came over for the 1950 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, they used Giulio as their ‘communication centre’. Officially the firm’s secretary, Irene Ramponi was in fact also their PRO. She actually drove down to Dover to meet and guide the Alfa Team vans to Silverstone! Irene also entertained the Italian drivers’ wives in London. Today, sixty years later, the garage continues in business, still an Alfa Romeo agency.

Ramponi’s renown as a development expert with a talent for solving practical engineering problems, led to his being commissioned on a consultancy basis by many firms in the UK and Europe. For the next twenty years he worked in the automotive and aircraft fields with Alfa Romeo, Spica, Girling, Ferodo, Vandervell, Burman Steering, Ricardo, Borg-Warner, Lodge, with whom he developed their very slim, small-diameter spark plug, Hepworth and Grandage, Pressed Steel and Castrol. This last led directly, at Rampoini’s suggestion, to the establishment of Castrol Italiano. While Giulio was away on one of these trips Peter Berthon telephoned Irene to invite Giulio to join BRM as development engineer and tester on the V16 project. Before he returned home however, Raymond Mays called a week later and withdrew the offer, saying they “wanted BRM to be an all-British effort We don’t want people saying that an Italian had to help.” Representing The Motor in 1964, Editor Michael Bowler met Ramponi during a Ferodo test session lunch: “I drove the last 60 miles in a Morris 1100, against the Monte Carlo Rally route, tight bends downhill and twisting bends along the gradual slope to Brive. With the excellent 1100 handling the brakes were used quite hard... on one long, hair-pinned descent we reached 500 deg C, but despite that these pads, which had reached 700 deg C on the Stelvio with Ramponi driving, still gave fade-free service.”

SOUTH AFRICAN RETIREMENT

After the Ramponi’s bought their retirement house in Nelspruit in 1968, Giulio enjoyed gardening, tinkering with and servicing his own Alfa Giulia 1600 and later Berlina 2000. He was sometimes bored. Alfa Romeo South Africa consulted him when setting up their new factory at Brits, west of Pretoria. In 1982 and at age 80, Ramponi was flown to Milan to help develop the variable valve timing on the Bosch fuel-injected Alfetta 159i saloon model.




Giulio Ramponi behind the bonnet/hood of Antonio Ascari’s  P2 at the Belgian GP. Pic Alfa Romeo

To counter the impression that Giulio was all-work and seriousness, about which Enzo Ferrari used to tease him, his infectious and boyish enthusiasm was often revealed. When a topic struck a chord, full of vitality, he would sit forward and even stand to enact a particular scene, and really enjoyed a laugh. He got up to show how he and Antonio Ascari “always foxed the Pirelli engineers while racing the P2 Alfas during 1924-25. Pirelli wanted their pressures high to make sure they finished the races; Ascari wanted them soft for more grip, knowing he could preserve them. On the grid, while Antonio chatted to the Pirelli men, I would be on the opposite side of the car, wiping the bodywork with a rag, at the same time leaning down to undo the valve cap and quietly release tyre pressure!” The octoganerian slapped his thigh, laughing.




The Alfa Romeo team behind the P2 at the 1925 Italian GP, wearing the red silk jerseys their wives knitted for the 1924 French GP:  Giulio Ramponi is third from left (in jerseys) and going right are: Campari, Antonio Ascari, mechanic Louis Wagner, two others in suits then Nicola Romeo  wearing a cap. Pic Alfa Romeo.

Giulio avidly watched current Formula One racing on television. When I saw him in early 1982 and asked what he thought of the contentious Villeneuve- Pironi battle at Imola, he was adamant: “I would fire Pironi; he showed no respect. But I blame Ferrari for not setting team orders to prevent this warfare.” A week later Gilles Villeneuve was dead. Ramponi really did react very emotionally when he saw injustice. He told me that “so much nonsense has been written by journalists through the years.” He allowed me to make copious notes but would not let me publish anything: “I know too much and remember accurately what happened between many famous people.” While I was listening to Giulio, his wife Irene chimed in with some startling tales of well-known personalities!

Sadly at 84 years of age, Giulio was diagnosed with cancer. He tried to be active for as long as possible. Irene related how he went downstairs to their Alfa Romeo Berlina 2000 in the garage, on the development of which he had been a consultant. He checked the fuel, oil and water levels, disconnected the battery and removed the sparkplugs with their carefully greased threads...  It was the last job this great man did. A week later on 17 December 1986 he passed away. In the many hours of reminiscing Giulio never gave any impression of his own fame or eminence in the motoring world. Sometimes referred to as ‘Ingegnere’or ‘Cavaliere’, he insisted, “I have no titles, I am just Giulio Ramponi”.

© Patrick O’Brien. Nothing from this page can be used without the permission of Patrick E. O’Brien.

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