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Riccardo Paletti (15 June 1958 – 13 June 1982) was an Italian
motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...
driver. Paletti was killed when he crashed on the start grid in his second
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, ...
start, only two days before his 24th birthday.


Life before racing

Born in
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, Riccardo Paletti was the son of Gianna and Arietto Paletti, a Milanese entrepreneur who had built his fortune as a real estate developer, and amongst a number of business interests was the importer for
Pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and dev ...
audio equipment in Italy. Paletti's early sporting interests were broad; he was Italian junior karate champion at thirteen, and was in contention for a place on the Italian national alpine skiing youth team.


Racing before Formula One

In 1978 Paletti entered nine races in Formula Super Ford, and in his inaugural race he led for 18 laps. Although he did not win during the first season, he took two second places and finished third in the overall championship. During the end of his first season, he also made his
Formula 3 Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One driv ...
debut in the Italian Championship with a March-Toyota. In 1979, Paletti entered a full F3 championship season, but his best placings were two fifth-place finishes. Later the same year, he competed in a few
Formula 2 Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name return ...
races for the first time with the team run by Mike Earle. His best result was at Misano, where he finished eighth. For the 1981 European F2 championship season, Earle severed his collaboration with March to start with
Onyx Onyx primarily refers to the parallel banded variety of chalcedony, a silicate mineral. Agate and onyx are both varieties of layered chalcedony that differ only in the form of the bands: agate has curved bands and onyx has parallel bands. The c ...
. Paletti tested extensively during the winter, and the effort paid off during the opening rounds of the season, as he qualified 10th in the first race at
Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...
, before finishing second behind
Mike Thackwell Michael Thackwell (born 30 March 1961) is a former racing driver from New Zealand, who participated in a number of prominent racing categories, including Formula 1. The fifth youngest driver ever to qualify for a Grand Prix, he participated in f ...
. He retired in the second round at
Hockenheim Hockenheim () is a town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 20 km south of Mannheim and 10 km west of Walldorf. It is located in the Upper Rhine valley on the tourist theme routes "Baden Asparagus Route" () and Bertha Benz M ...
but set the fastest lap of the race, and his good form continued in round three at Thruxton, where he finished third — this time behind
Roberto Guerrero Roberto José Guerrero Isaza (born 16 November 1958) is a Colombian Americans, Colombian-American former race driver. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982, becoming the first Colombian to start a Formula ...
. At that point, he was joint second in the championship with
Stefan Johansson Stefan Nils Edwin Johansson (born 8 September 1956) is a Swedish racing driver who drove in Formula One for both Ferrari and McLaren, among other teams. Since leaving Formula One he has won the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans and raced in a number o ...
, trailing Thackwell by three points. But from then, his results declined, and he finished tenth in the championship.


Formula One career

Although still on a learning curve in the lower class racing, Paletti decided to join the uncompetitive team
Osella Osella is an Italian racing car manufacturer and former Formula One team. They participated in 132 Grands Prix between 1980 and 1990. They achieved two points finishes and scored five championship points. Early days Named after its founder V ...
in 1982. He admitted that Formula One struck him with a little bit of fear, but his sponsor,
Pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and dev ...
, wanted him to move up and Paletti did not want to miss his opportunity. His teammate was the experienced Frenchman driver
Jean-Pierre Jarier Jean-Pierre Jacques Jarier (born 10 July 1946) is a French former Grand Prix racing driver. He drove for Formula One teams including Shadow, Team Lotus, Ligier, Osella and Tyrrell Racing. His best finish was third (three times) and he also too ...
. He travelled with a personal medical adviser who was monitoring his blood pressure and heartbeat with small sensors attached to his body during testing and practice sessions. His diet was constantly adapted to the results. Few Formula One drivers took this professional approach seriously at the time. Making his first attempt during the
South African Grand Prix The South African Grand Prix was first run as a Grand Prix motor racing handicap race in 1934 at the Prince George Circuit at East London, Cape Province. It drew top drivers from Europe including Bernd Rosemeyer, Richard "Dick" Seaman, Richa ...
in January 1982, Jarier managed to haul his Osella to qualify in the last position on the grid but Paletti was almost two seconds slower, failing to qualify. For the second round of the season, at the
Jacarepaguá Jacarepaguá (), with a land area of , is a neighborhood situated in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 2010, it had a population of 157,326. The name comes from the indigenous name of the location, "shallow pond of caymans", yakaré (c ...
circuit near
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
, the venue for the
Brazilian Grand Prix The Brazilian Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prêmio do Brasil), currently held under the name São Paulo Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prêmio de São Paulo), is a Formula One championship race which is currently held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace ...
, Paletti had to prequalify on Friday morning, but a wheel fell off the Osella after a suspension failure and again he did not make the grid. The next round of the championship was the US GP West at the street circuit of
Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...
. Jarier found the right set-up for the Osella and managed to put the car in the top ten during qualifying. Paletti was a massive three and a half seconds slower and failed to qualify again. For the fourth Grand Prix of the season, at
Imola Imola (; rgn, Jômla or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical re ...
on 25 April, amidst a war between the
FISA The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 ("FISA" , ) is a United States federal law that establishes procedures for the physical and electronic surveillance and the collection of "foreign intelligence information" between "foreign pow ...
and FOCA, only 14 cars loyal to the organisation started the race. Paletti had managed to beat the ATS of
Eliseo Salazar Eliseo Salazar Valenzuela (born 14 November 1954) is a Chilean former racing driver. , he is the only Chilean to have participated in a Formula One World Championship. He made his Formula One debut on 15 March 1981, and ultimately contested 37 r ...
and was supposed to start from the back of the grid. However, on Sunday afternoon Paletti's Osella failed to fire up for the warm-up lap and by the time he had left the pits the other cars were already lining up for the start. As a result, the moment he crossed the starting line he was already 49 seconds behind. He never got close to the rest of the field and after seven laps he had to park his car due to another suspension failure. At
Zolder The Circuit Zolder, also known as Circuit Terlamen, is an undulating motorsport race track in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. History Built in 1963, Zolder hosted the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix on 10 separate occasions in the 1970s and 1980s, a ...
Paletti failed to prequalify on Friday, getting more and more disappointed with the Osella. The new chassis, which was to be introduced at
Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
, gave some promise, but still Paletti knew that qualifying for Monaco was virtually impossible with only twenty entries allowed to start in the narrow streets of the principality. There was only one new monocoque for Jarier and the new rear suspension was delayed. Once again, Paletti failed to prequalify. On his seventh Grand Prix, in
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
, Paletti was much closer to Jarier's pace and, although the gap was still over a second, he qualified right behind his teammate. However, during the warm-up session Paletti lost a wheel at the beginning. The mechanics tried to repair the car in time for the race and, while there still was the possibility of starting the race in the spare car, that option went up in smoke as well, after Jarier's fire extinguisher had gone off accidentally. Jarier took the spare car. This meant it would be a race against time for Paletti's mechanics to set up the car and they were still busy when the rest of the field progressed to the grid. But just as the work was finished, with Paletti ready to get in the car, news broke that Jarier had hit the wall, damaged his car and was on his way back to the pits. So Paletti's car was ready for Jarier to jump in and start the race from the pit lane, leaving Paletti behind as a spectator once more.


Death

Paletti qualified for the
Canadian Grand Prix The Canadian Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix du Canada) is an annual motor racing event held since 1961. It has been part of the Formula One World Championship since 1967. It was first staged at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, as a sports ...
on Sunday 13 June 1982, the first time he would start successfully in a full line-up. At the start, the lights took an unusually long time to turn to green. During this time,
Didier Pironi Didier Joseph Louis Pironi (26 March 1952 – 23 August 1987) was a French racing driver. During his career, he competed in 72 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, driving for Tyrrell (1978–1979), Ligier (1980) and Ferrari (1981 ...
, who had the pole position, stalled the engine of his
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 ...
. Pironi lifted his hand to signal the problem just as the lights switched to green, which was too late to abort the start. The other cars swerved across the track, trying to squeeze past Pironi's stationary car.
Raul Boesel Raul de Mesquita Boesel (, born 4 December 1957) is a Brazilian former racing driver who raced for the March and Ligier Formula One teams and later raced in Champ Car and the Indy Racing League. He won the 1987 World Sportscar Championship and t ...
just clipped the back left of the Ferrari, spinning his
March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Marc ...
into the path of
Eliseo Salazar Eliseo Salazar Valenzuela (born 14 November 1954) is a Chilean former racing driver. , he is the only Chilean to have participated in a Formula One World Championship. He made his Formula One debut on 15 March 1981, and ultimately contested 37 r ...
and
Jochen Mass Jochen Richard Mass (born 30 September 1946) is a German former racing driver. Life and career Born in Dorfen, Bavaria 50 km (31 mi) from Munich, Mass participated in 114 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 14 Jul ...
. Salazar, Boesel and Mass suffered minor impacts but it looked as if everyone had passed the Ferrari without serious consequences. However, Paletti could not react in time and slammed into the rear of the stranded Ferrari at 180 km/h (around 110 mph), catapulting it into the path of Geoff Lees. The Osella's nose was crushed heavily. Due to the force of the severe impact, Paletti sustained heavy chest injuries and was lying unconscious in his car, wedged against the steering wheel.
Sid Watkins Eric Sidney Watkins (6 September 1928 – 12 September 2012), commonly known within the Formula One fraternity as Professor Sid or simply Prof, was an English neurosurgeon. Born in Liverpool, Watkins enrolled at the University of Liverpoo ...
, the
FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backst ...
's head doctor, was on the scene to stabilise and assist Paletti. As Watkins climbed over the wreckage of the Osella, the petrol from the fuel tank ignited, enveloping the car in a wall of fire. When the fire was finally put out, the injured Paletti was without a pulse. It took the rescue workers 25 minutes to cut him out safely from his wrecked car, as the sparks caused by the cutting equipment threatened to re-ignite the petrol on the track. He was flown by a medical helicopter to the Royal Victoria Hospital, where he died soon after arriving. His mother was watching from the stands, where they were to celebrate his 24th birthday later that week. Paletti suffered a torn aorta as well as fractures to both legs. According to track doctor Jacques Bouchard his pupils were already dilated when medical personnel arrived and that the extended extraction time made no difference to his chances of survival. Paletti was the second Formula One driver to die during the 1982 season. Five weeks earlier,
Gilles Villeneuve Joseph Gilles Henri Villeneuve () (January 18, 1950 – May 8, 1982) was a Canadian racing driver, who spent six years in Grand Prix motor racing with Ferrari, winning six races and widespread acclaim for his performances. An enthusiast of ...
had a fatal crash during qualifying for the
Belgian Grand Prix The Belgian Grand Prix (French language, French: ''Grand Prix de Belgique''; Dutch language, Dutch: ''Grote Prijs van België''; German language, German: ''Großer Preis von Belgien'') is a motor racing event which forms part of the Formula O ...
at Zolder. Paletti was the last Formula One driver to die in a race until the
1994 San Marino Grand Prix The 1994 San Marino Grand Prix (formally the 14º Gran Premio di San Marino) was a Formula One motor race held on 1 May 1994 at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, located in Imola, Italy. It was the third race of the 1994 Formula One World Ch ...
, which saw the death of
Roland Ratzenberger Roland Ratzenberger (; 4 July 1960 – 30 April 1994) was an Austrian racing driver who raced in various categories of motorsport, including British Formula 3000, Japanese Formula 3000 and Formula One. Having had sporadic success throughout the ...
during qualifying and of three-time world champion
Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna da Silva (; 21 March 1960 – 1 May 1994) was a Brazilian racing driver who won the Formula One List of Formula One World Drivers' Champions, World Drivers' Championship in , , and . Senna is one of three Formula One drivers fro ...
during the race itself. In 1986
Elio de Angelis Elio de Angelis (26 March 1958 – 15 May 1986) was an Italian racing driver who participated in Formula One between and , racing for the Shadow, Lotus and Brabham teams. He was killed in an accident while testing the Brabham BT55 at the Paul ...
was killed during testing at
Circuit Paul Ricard The Circuit Paul Ricard () is a French motorsport race track built in 1969 at Le Castellet, Var, near Marseille, with finance from pastis magnate Paul Ricard. Ricard wanted to experience the challenge of building a racetrack. The circuit has ho ...
three days after the
1986 Monaco Grand Prix The 1986 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monaco on 11 May 1986. It was the fourth race of the 1986 Formula One World Championship. The Monaco circuit had been modified from the year before: the chicane after the tunnel now ...
, but the test was not part of a Grand Prix. In tribute to Paletti, the racetrack at
Varano de' Melegari Varano de' Melegari ( Parmigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Parma in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about west of Bologna and about southwest of Parma. The town is home to a medieval castle (''Castello Pal ...
, in the
province of Parma The Province of Parma ( it, Provincia di Parma) is a province in the Emilia–Romagna region of Italy. Its largest town and capital is the city of Parma. It is made up of 47 ''comuni''. It has an area of and a total population of around 450,000 ...
(northern Italy) is now called the
Autodromo Riccardo Paletti Autodromo Riccardo Paletti is a race track for motorsports near Varano in the Province of Parma, Italy. The track began as a small oval in 1969, and this was then expanded to a full , 11 turn race track. This new layout was inaugurated offici ...
. There is also a side altar in the Church of Santa Maria al Carrobiolo, Monza dedicated to his memory, in the Chapel of the Crucifix. Paletti is buried at the
Cimitero Maggiore di Milano The Cimitero Maggiore di Milano ("Greater Cemetery of Milan"), also known as Cimitero di Musocco ("Musocco Cemetery"), is the largest cemetery of Milan, Italy. It is located in Zone 8, in the Musocco district (formerly a ''comune'' of its own), ...
.


Racing record


Complete European Formula Two 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 ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)


Complete Formula One 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 ...
)


References


External links


Autodromo Riccardo Paletti website (Italian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paletti, Riccardo 1958 births 1982 deaths Racing drivers from Milan Italian Formula One drivers European Formula Two Championship drivers Osella Formula One drivers Racing drivers who died while racing Filmed deaths in motorsport Sport deaths in Canada Accidental deaths in Quebec