Andrea
De Adamich

Andrea de Adamich was born in Trieste on 3 October 1941. He began with hillclimbs and Formula Junior before moving into touring cars and sports cars. In 1965 he won the Italian Formula Three Championship, and in 1966 and 1967 he took the European Touring Car Championship in an Alfa Romeo 1600 GTA. In 1968 he won the Temporada Formula Two series in Argentina.

After entering the non-championship Spanish Grand Prix in 1967, he made his World Championship debut at the 1968 South African Grand Prix for Ferrari, alongside Chris Amon and Jacky Ickx. His season was cut short by a heavy crash in practice for the Race of Champions. In 1970 he drove for McLaren with an Alfa Romeo engine, making four starts from ten entries. The Cosworth engine was the dominant unit at the time, and a move to March, who also used Alfa Romeo power, brought similar results in 1971. With Surtees in 1972 he scored his first points by finishing fourth in the Spanish Grand Prix, and he ended the year 16th in the championship.

In 1973 de Adamich drove for Brabham and Surtees. He finished fourth in the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder and ended the season 15th in the standings, his best championship position. A multiple-car accident on the first lap of the British Grand Prix brought his Formula One career to an abrupt end. He made 30 starts without a podium finish, and he retired from racing in 1974.

In the World Sportscar Championship he won two races in 1971 with the Alfa Romeo T33/3, and in 1972 he finished fourth at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. After his racing career ended, he worked in Italy as a television pundit and commentator. From 1978 to 2012 he presented the programme Grand Prix on Italia 1, and from 1991 to 1996 he was the voice of Formula One on Italian television. He helped found the Centro Internazionale Guida Sicura, which promotes safe driving. His son Gordon competed in the 1996 Italian Superturismo Championship. De Adamich died on 5 November 2025.

Source: Wikipedia, “Andrea de Adamich”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.