Eugenio
Castellotti

Eugenio Castellotti was born in Lodi on 10 October 1930. At the age of twenty he acquired a Ferrari 166 MM and began racing sports cars. He won the Portuguese Grand Prix in 1952 and the 10 Hours of Messina in 1953, and finished third in the Carrera Panamericana that year.

He made his Formula One debut in 1955 with Lancia in Buenos Aires. He took a podium at Monaco, and in Belgium he took pole position, becoming the youngest polesitter in Formula One history up to that point at the age of 24. Midway through the season the Lancia team was absorbed by Scuderia Ferrari, and he drove for Ferrari for the rest of his career. A podium at the Italian Grand Prix secured him third place in the 1955 World Championship. In 1956 he reached the podium at the French Grand Prix and finished the season sixth overall. In total he made 14 starts, with three podiums and one pole position, but no wins.

Alongside Formula One he kept racing sports cars. In 1956 he won the 12 Hours of Sebring with Juan Manuel Fangio, as well as the Mille Miglia, and in 1957 he won the 1000 km Buenos Aires. Castellotti died on 14 March 1957, aged 26, during a test session in a Ferrari at Modena.

Source: Wikipedia, “Eugenio Castellotti”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.