The story of Lorenzo Bandini

He never managed to obtain those results he had sought for so long, suffered for so long and which would have been rightly deserved, even though he still managed to make himself loved by the entire public, not an easy thing in the world of Formula One: the character in question is Lorenzo Bandini, Italian driver who competed in the world championship in the 1961 - '67 seasons aboard various single-seaters, especially Ferraris.

Bandini was born in 1935 in Barce, Libya, then an Italian colony, where he remained for about three years before the family decided to return to their homeland and move to Emilia-Romagna where they opened a hotel. The period of peace is relatively short as the town is overwhelmed by war and the young Lorenzo sees his father killed by partisans; remaining the only one capable of guaranteeing a contribution to the family, he began working in a nearby workshop and then moved to Milan in 1950, working for Goliardo Freddi, who would later become his father-in-law and the reason for his debut in the world of racing. In 1956 he drove a Fiat 1100 TV and ran as many races as possible, accumulating a lot of experience and managing to win one. The following year he made himself known to the general public thanks to his victory at the Mille Miglia in the 2000 GT category on board a Lancia Appia: from there various podiums and even victories followed, until in 1961 came the great and desired leap into the top category, but not on board the much hoped for Red.

The arrival in Formula came thanks to Mimmo Dei, the then owner of Scuderia Centro Sud: at the Belgian GP his race ended after 20 laps due to a breakdown in his Cooper 53T; despite never scoring points and finishing the race on only two occasions (in England and Italy) his skills certainly do not go unnoticed by a trained eye like that of Drake, who offered him a contract for the 1962 season: Bandini without think twice accept. But this season also proved disappointing both for him and for the team, outclassed by the excessive power of English manufacturers such as BRM, Cooper and Lotus; on the other hand, even the team itself puts some of his talent into it, using him as little as possible; at the end of the season there was only one third place obtained in Pau (France), behind Bruce McLaren and Graham Hill, but not valid for the world championship, while in the championship he was twelfth with only 4 points. Even the following season was not the best in the top series, with only three fifth places and tenth in the drivers' standings at the end; however he received the title of "Absolute Italian Champion" of the year following the victory at Le Mans paired with Ludovico Scarfiotti and other results obtained outside of Formula 1. In 1964 he continued his journey with Ferrari, always as second driver, but this time the car made available was different, in fact the newborn 158 had a completely new tubular structure and so did the engine: for Bandini this would be the best season . After a fifth place in Silverstone he obtained a third place in Germany, while on August 23rd came what would be his only victory on the Zeltweg circuit (Austria), preceding Richie Ginther on BRM by 6 seconds; he did not disappoint the expectations of the home crowd, finishing third in Monza and beaten only by an elusive Surtees and Bruce McLaren. To crown an excellent season he also came third in Mexico, closing the championship with 23 points and 4th in the world championship, even if a few weeks later a dispute arose between him and the leading exponents of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association following a a contact had with Hill during the race and considered irregular, but the rider from Romagna downgraded this as a simple sporting contact, thus putting an end to the investigation and returning to celebrate his season. The following season, that of '65, begins with an excellent victory at the Targa Florio paired with Nino Vaccarella, however in the top series luck does not seem to be on his side: only a second place at the Monaco GP relegates him to 6th position at the end of the season with 13 points.

But he doesn't give up, he still believes in it and in the 1967 season he wants to show his talent again. In fact, he won the 24 Hours of Daytona paired with Chris Amon and in April he won the 1000 km of Monza, his morale was high so much so that there was talk of his hypothetical arrival in the Indianapolis 500, which didn't happen as Enzo Ferrari decides to assign him his first drive in Formula 1; missing the first appointment in South Africa, the team presents itself in Monaco more resolute than ever. Bandini placed second in qualifying and the following day took the lead, followed by Jack Brabham, who broke his engine during the 2nd lap and was forced to retire, also leaving oil on the track and on which poor Bandini ended up losing two positions to Denny Hulme and Jackie Stewart, the comeback begins here: on lap 61 he is only 6.7 seconds behind the leading group, when on his path he finds two lapped drivers, Pedro Rodrìguez and Graham Hill. The latter, mindful of the events of '64, prevented him from passing, causing him to lose several seconds and also a lot of physical and mental energy, factors which led to a serious accident.

During the 82nd lap Bandini aboard his 312 F1 comes alongside Chicane, At an unusually high speed, it hits a mooring bollard, overturns and the single-seater catches fire. The bales of hay placed on the sides do nothing but increase the flames, it is thought that the pilot ended up in the sea like Ascari 12 years earlier, but this is not the case: with the fire extinguished, the body of the poor pilot is discovered still inside the cockpit, has burns on 60% of his body. The rush to the hospital is immediate, but useless. After 70 hours of agony, the heart of the man from Romagna stopped beating, it was 10 May 1967. Beloved by the Ferrari people first and foremost, but not only, over one hundred thousand people attended his funeral in Reggiolo, a unique gesture towards a modest, sincere and sporty. Following his accident, drastic measures were taken to improve the quality of the tracks, that of Monaco above all, but also of the personnel responsible for rescuing the pilots, providing them with appropriate equipment.

Lorenzo Bandini's body still rests in the Lambrate cemetery, near Milan; we want to remember him for his modesty and perseverance: "In case of accidents, don't cause drama", he once said.

Andrea Villa