Bruno
Giacomelli

Bruno Giacomelli was born on 10 September 1952 in Poncarale, Italy. He started out in Formula Italia, which he won in 1975. In 1976 he moved up to Formula 3 with March, finishing runner-up to Rupert Keegan in the B.A.R.C. championship and winning the B.R.D.C. title. In 1977 he took three Formula Two wins and finished fifth in the standings. In 1978 he won eight of the twelve races and became the first Italian to win the European Formula Two Championship.

He made his Formula One debut at the 1977 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, driving a third works McLaren M23, and retired with an engine problem. In 1978 he contested five races for McLaren alongside his Formula Two programme and finished seventh in the British Grand Prix. For 1979 he joined Alfa Romeo, who were returning to Formula One as a constructor. The team entered its cars in only a few races that year, and Giacomelli made four starts.

In 1980 he took pole position for the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. He saw the chequered flag in only three of the season's 14 races, two of them fifth places in Argentina and Germany. In 1981 he finished 15th in the World Championship, his best placing. Towards the end of the year he was fourth in Canada and third in the Caesars Palace Grand Prix, which was his only podium. In 1982 he scored with a fifth place in Germany, and in Belgium he went out after a collision at the start. In 1983 he drove for Toleman and scored a point at the European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch. In total he made 69 starts without a win.

In 1988 and 1989 he worked as a test driver for Leyton House March. He turned down an offer of a test driver role at McLaren for 1990. In 1990 he returned to Formula One with Life, taking over the seat vacated by Gary Brabham. He failed to pre-qualify in all twelve attempts, and the team folded before the last two races. In CART he made 11 starts in 1984 and 1985, with a fifth place at Meadowlands in 1985 as his best result. He failed to qualify for the 1984 Indianapolis 500.

Source: Wikipedia, “Bruno Giacomelli”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.