Eugenio Castellotti (10 October 1930 – 14 March 1957) was a

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, ...

driver from Italy.

Driving career

Castellotti was born in Lodi, Italy. He acquired a Ferrari at the age of twenty, from a local benefactor, and began racing

sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

s in 1952. That year he won the Portuguese Grand Prix, was third at Bari and second 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 ...

which was run that year for sports cars. In 1953 he won the

10 Hours of Messina The 10 Hours of Messina (Italian: ''10 ore di Messina'' or ''10 ore notturna messinese'') was a sports car race, organized by the Automobile Club d'Italia, held for the first time on 24 August 1952 in the street circuit of Messina, Italy. From ...

and finished third in the

Carrera Panamericana The Carrera Panamericana was a border-to-border sedan ( stock and touring and sports car) rally racing event on open roads in Mexico similar to the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio in Italy. Running for five consecutive years from 1950 to 1954, i ...

in Mexico. In 1954, he signed for Lancia and again drove sports cars whilst awaiting the team's Grand Prix car. He eventually made his Grand Prix debut at

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

on 16 January 1955, for Lancia, but struggled in the warmer temperatures and crashed. However, he finished second at

, but in mid-season the team amalgamated with Scuderia Ferrari, for whom Castellotti drove for the remainder of his career. He participated in 14 World Championship Grands Prix, achieving 3 podiums and scored a total of 19.5 championship points. He secured pole position, with Lancia, at the 1955 Belgian Grand Prix, becoming the youngest driver to do so (at age 24 years, 7 months and 26 days), a record that stood for 13 years until

Jacky Ickx Jacques Bernard "Jacky" Ickx (; born 1 January 1945) is a Belgian former racing driver who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans six times (second-highest of all time) and achieved eight wins and 25 podium finishes in Formula One. He greatly contributed ...

's pole position at the

1968 German Grand Prix The 1968 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Nürburgring on 4 August 1968. It was race 8 of 12 in both the 1968 World Championship of Drivers and the 1968 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The race was hel ...

. He also participated in several non-Championship Formula One races. Castellotti won the March 1956 12 Hours of Sebring at Sebring, Florida partnered with Fangio. He followed this triumph by winning the

Mille Miglia The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi, which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 (thirteen before World ...

race in

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...

and the Grand Prix for sports cars in

Rouen, France Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population o ...

.''Castellotti, Ace Italian Driver, Killed Testing New Racing Car'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', March 15, 1957, Page 29 Castellotti's Ferrari achieved a total race time of 2 hours 10 minutes 31.1 seconds, winning the race. He was also second in the

Nürburgring 1000 km The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around the village a ...

race again partnered with Fangio. Known for his sophisticated manners and tailored clothes, Castellotti had significantly prominent media profile in Italy for his relationship with ballerina and actress Delia Scala. Castellotti and Scala were officially engaged at the time of his death.

Death

Castellotti died at 26 years old during a private Ferrari test session at the

Modena Autodrome Autodromo di Modena (or Aerautodromo di Modena) was a race track on the edge of Modena in Italy. The track had a length of . It was opened in 1950 and the circuit was crossed by an airstrip of about in length which was used by the local flying cl ...

. Castellotti was testing a new Ferrari Grand Prix car for the 1957 season. He hit a high kerb at a chicane and was thrown out of the car; his body was hurled . He had just been told to accelerate so that he could average 85.127 miles per hour (136.999 km/h). The car turned over several times and finished up in the members stand. No one else was injured. Doctors said Castellotti died instantly from a fractured skull.

Legacy

Castellotti was considered the greatest Italian driver since

Alberto Ascari Alberto Ascari (; 13 July 1918 – 26 May 1955) was an Italian racing driver and a two time Formula One World Champion. He was a multitalented racer who competed in motorcycle racing before switching to cars. Ascari won consecutive world titles ...

. In 1958, Castellotti's friend Giuseppe Corsi founded Scuderia Castellotti in Lodi to honour his memory. The team used modified Ferrari Tipo 553 2.0-litre engines bored out to 2.5 litres and rebranded as "Castellotti", with "Eugenio" on the cam covers. The cars were easily distinguishable from other F1 T51s in that their exhausts were fitted on the left, while all other engines used in T51s had their exhausts on the right. The team competed in four events in 1960 with Italian drivers

Gino Munaron Gino Munaron (born 2 April 1928 – died 22 November 2009) was a racing driver from Italy. He participated in 4 Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-sea ...

Giorgio Scarlatti Giorgio Scarlatti (2 October 1921 – 26 July 1990) was a racing driver from Italy. He participated in 15 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 13 May 1956. Scarlatti's best season in Formula One was as a works Maserati driver ...

and

Giulio Cabianca Giulio Cabianca (19 February 1923 – 15 June 1961) was a Formula One driver from Italy. Cabianca was born in Verona, northern Italy. He participated in 4 World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 18 May 1958. He scored a total of 3 champions ...

. Cabianca scored the team's first championship points by finishing fourth at the 1960 Italian Grand Prix. The team folded in 1961 after Cabianca fatally crashed in the same autodrome where Castellotti had his accident. Castellotti's legacy has been honoured by Club Auto Moto Storiche Castellotti in Lodi. Major career wins (sportscars): *1952: Coppa d'Oro di Sicilia *1952:

Portuguese Grand Prix The Portuguese Grand Prix (''Grande Prémio de Portugal'') is a motorsports event that was first held in 1951 as a sportscar event, and then intermittently disappearing for many years before being revived again. In 1964 event was held as a spo ...

*1953: Circuito di Senigallia *1956:

*1956: 12 Hours of Sebring *1957:

1000 km Buenos Aires The 1000 km Buenos Aires was an endurance sports car event held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The race mostly run on the Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, although it would run the Costanera circuit in 1957. Besides a single race in Cara ...

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Non-championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) :''† Indicates shared drive with Luigi Musso

References

External links

The dashing Milanese that stayed young forever. Article on Castellotti at 8w
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castellotti, Eugenio 1930 births 1957 deaths People from Lodi, Lombardy Italian racing drivers Italian Formula One drivers Lancia Formula One drivers Ferrari Formula One drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Racing drivers who died while racing Sport deaths in Italy World Sportscar Championship drivers 12 Hours of Sebring drivers Sportspeople from the Province of Lodi Carrera Panamericana drivers