Elio de Angelis

Elio de Angelis (born 26 March 1958 in Rome, Italy) is a former Grand Prix racing driver famous for his appearances in Formula One.

Formula One

1977: Ferrari and Williams

de Angelis would begin the season focusing on his Italian Formula Three campaign but would soon attract the attention of Enzo Ferrari, who began considering the young Italian as a potential Ferrari driver. Making Formula One debut at the non-championship 1977 BRDC International Trophy, in his first outing for Ferrari de Angelis out-performed team-mate Patrick Depailler but would have to settle for 3rd behind the McLarens as the Ferraris struggled for pace.

As the season progressed, Enzo Ferrari began to be disillusioned by Depailler, whom he saw as wasteful of a competitive car and error-prone. de Angelis' good drive at the BRDC International Trophy put him in good contention for a full-time Ferrari seat for 1978, but he would face competition from Gilles Villeneuve who had impressed Enzo Ferrari with his drive for Kojima in the 1977 Japanese Grand Prix.