Vittorio Brambilla
Vittorio Brambilla (born 11th November 1937 in Monza, Italy, died 26th May 2001 in Lesmo, Italy) was an Italian grand prix racing driver known for his appearances in Formula One.
His older brother, Tino also raced in Formula One during the 1960s.
Prior to his car racing debut, Brambilla raced motorcycles, winning the Italian national 175 cc title in 1958.
Formula One
1976: March
In 1976, Brambilla raced for the March Engineering outfit, bringing his Beta sponsorship to the team. His best result was a fifth place at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Notably, Brambilla was involved in the fatal accident leading to the death of defending champion Niki Lauda at the Soviet Grand Prix. Whilst moving to lap Brambilla on the fast approach to the Tilts corner, Lauda made contact with Brambilla's right rear, the Ferrari being flown up into the air just before the braking point. The Ferrari went straight on and made contact with the wall lining the track head-on.
1977: Boro
The following season, Brambilla joined up with Dutch team Boro to pilot their new Boro 002 car. The new car proved to be a step up from the previous year's Boro, allowing Brambilla to take a sixth place finish at the United States Grand Prix West. However, the rest of the season would only yield a solitary 7th place, with the Boro falling behind in the development race.
Later life
In the early 1990s Brambilla opened a Formula One memorabilia shop in Milan as well as occasionally driving the safety car during the Italian Grand Prix.
In 2001 he died at his home in Lesmo after suffering a heart attack whilst mowing his lawn.