Francisco Sacco Landi (July 14, 1907 – June 7, 1989), better known as Chico, was a

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

from

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

, Brazil. He participated in six

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

World Championship ''Grands Prix'', debuting on September 16, 1951. He scored a total of 1.5 championship points, awarded for his fourth-place finish in the

1956 Argentine Grand Prix The 1956 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 22 January 1956 at Buenos Aires. It was race 1 of 8 in the 1956 World Championship of Drivers. With the withdrawal of Mercedes from Formula One, Fangio and Moss would begin the ...

, a drive he shared with Gerino Gerini. He was the first Brazilian ever to take part in a Formula One Grand Prix, and also the first to score points.

History

Landi came from a modest middle-class family of Italian origins, and got into racing through his father, who owned a garage in Sào Paulo. Along with Manuel de Teffé and

Irineu Corrêa Irineu is the Portuguese version of the name Irenaeus. This name is borne by: People *Irineu Calixto Couto *Irineu Evangelista de Sousa *Victor Irineu de Souza Victor Irineu de Souza (born 3 April 1989 in Belo Horizonte), or simply Victor, is ...

, he popularized motor racing in Brazil in the late mid-thirties. Landi had left school at eleven to work as a mechanic, and later began illegal street racing at nights, where he had frequent run-ins with the police. In 1934 he made his racing debut, at the second Rio Grand Prix in 1934. He led until eight laps from the finish, when his engine gave out. Wolfe, p. 101 He was the most popular Brazilian driver of his time, as many considered Teffé, who was the son of a diplomat of Prussian heritage, a wealthy expat rather than an actual Brazilian, as he had started his racing career while living in Europe. When Corrêa, who ended up winning the 1934 Rio Grand Prix, died in a crash on the first lap of next year, Landi was left as the undisputed master of pre-war racing in Brazil. Landi went abroad in 1938, finishing eighth at

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

in what is generally considered the first Brazilian Grand Prix entry. Wolfe, p. 231 (footnote) Landi's first Brazilian GP victory came at the 1941 Rio de Janeiro Grand Prix. Landi was the first Brazilian driver to win a Grand Prix race, taking a

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

to victory at the

Bari Grand Prix The Bari Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix road race, held in Bari, Italy, between 1947 and 1956. The course was and, except for 1956, was run in an anticlockwise direction. In 1953 the race was not contested. Winners Bari ...

in 1948, run that year to Formula Two regulations. He also finished second in the 1952 (non-championship)

Albi Grand Prix The Albi Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de l'Albigeois) is a motor race held in Albi, in the Tarn department of Southern France. The first race took place in 1933 and was won by Pierre Veyron in a Bugatti Type 51A. After the Second World War, ...

in a

Ferrari 375 :''See also the 340 and 375 road cars sharing the same engine'' After finding only modest success with the supercharged 125 F1 car in Formula One, Ferrari decided to switch for 1950 to the naturally aspirated 4.5-litre formula for the series. Ca ...

. Landi also won the 1960

Mil Milhas Brasil The Mil Milhas Brasil (also known as the Mil Milhas Brasileiras or 1000 Miles of Brazil in Portuguese language, Portuguese) is a sports car racing, sports car endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race held annually in Brazil since 1956. The M ...

in an Alfa Romeo JK 2000, together with Christian "Bino" Heins. This was the first time that a Brazilian-made car won this prestigious race, rather than an American-based "Carretera" special.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) :''† Indicates Shared Drive with

Jan Flinterman Johannes Leonardus "Jan" Flinterman (2 October 1919 – 26 December 1992) was a Dutch air force pilot during World War II and a racing driver. Together with Dries van der Lof, he was the first driver from the Netherlands to compete in Formula ...

'' :''* Indicates Shared Drive with Gerino Gerini''

References

External links

* http://www.4mula1.ro/history/driver/Francisco_Landi * http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/drv-lanfra.html 1907 births 1989 deaths Brazilian racing drivers Brazilian Formula One drivers Scuderia Milano Formula One drivers Maserati Formula One drivers Brazilian people of Italian descent World Sportscar Championship drivers {{Brazil-autoracing-bio-stub