Lorenzo Bandini.
A Monaco that forgets.
Lorenzo Bandini, historic Italian driver for Ferrari, one of many, for many. May 10 marks the anniversary of his death, which was partly avoidable, perhaps. May is a funereal month, in spite of the Ambrosian calendar, which for us enthusiasts reminds us how quickly the flame of life can be extinguished by different causes but always sisters to each other. Senna, De Angelis, Villeneuve, Bandini. Four musketeers of a different F1, more heroic and less safe, an odyssey of passion for some, a nightmare for others.
©Cahier Archive
Bandini was, and always will be, an undisputed knight. Kind, polite, never out of place and always correct. People always talk about him because of that incident in Monaco which occurred in an anomalous way, but not too much. Certainly has not taught much and time has brought him into oblivion. In the Principality of Monaco there will also be a race in this pandemic 2021 where it will be important to remember the challenge Hamilton – Verstappen, the shark Leclerc, useless disagreements and, consequently, also this time Bandini will not be remembered.
Enzo Ferrari, in his book “Piloti che gente” (“Drivers who people”), remembered the death of the young Italian in an incisive way, recalling that he did not wait for the commentator’s confirmation to know that the car on fire was his Ferrari. Lorenzo Bandini, born in 1935, was born in Libya but his family soon emigrated to Emilia-Romagna to escape the war. In 1950 he began his life as a pilot thanks to Giovanni Freddi, owner of the workshop that launched him into the world of racing. And it will be thanks to Giovanni if he will meet the woman of his life: Margherita, an extraordinary woman, still beautiful today.
©Cahier Archive
The sweet with Margherita brings luck to the Italian driver who, driving the Maranello red car, succeeds in bringing home important results, not only in F1, but also in the Endurance category: In 1963, with Scarfiotti, they bring the Ferrari 250P to victory after 339 laps. The following year is a much better year; the first and only victory in F1 in Austria, helped Surtees to the conquest of the title and, always with the Englishman, managed to finish third at the 24h of Le Mans. In 1965 things do not go as they should. Bandini will win the Targa Florio, will arrive second in Monaco – keeping Hill behind – and will conquer two fourth places.
Bandini’s last
The two-year period 65-66 was not a rosy one. Highs and lows, always close to a podium and an F1 that just can’t take off, unlike the Endurance categories. Paired with Amon, Bandini won the 1000 km of Monza and the 24 hours of Daytona, showing his muscles overseas and making a name for himself. But destiny had something else in store for him. Declared official driver by the Drake alongside Amon, Lorenzo Bandini prepares himself for the Monaco weekend, second stage of the F1 world championship.
©Cahier Archive
Saturday 9 May 1967 the qualifying tables record a second place for the Ferrarista. An excellent result. Sunday, race day, Bandini takes a good start and takes the lead. Jack Brabham, Saturday’s poleman, chases until his engine goes up in smoke. Whoever is ahead avoids the oil left on the track, the Ferrarista, unaware, does not. A skid takes him away from the head of the race and forces him to a long run-up. But something begins to go wrong. After half the race, the mechanics at the pits notice that Bandini doesn’t respond anymore to the signals of his men.
The last passage of the Italian recorded a gap of over twenty seconds from the first. Lorenzo faces the long straight of the tunnel, he is about to face the port chicane where, waiting for him, there is the lady in black disguised as a bollard who broke the rear hub of the Ferrari. The car is by now ungovernable, when it comes into contact with the asphalt the Ferrari catches fire, leaving no way out for the Italian driver. The slow and confusing rescuers look for the driver, mindful of Ascari’s death, they look for the body in the water without caring about the car. Lorenzo Bandini will be found after several interminable minutes inside the Ferrari in a comatose state.
©Cahier Archive
He will die 70 hours later in hospital without ever waking up from his coma. If in those years there had been a Merzario, today I would tell a different story.
Lorenzo Bandini is still fondly remembered by motorsport purists who, every year, fill the pages of social media with a photo or a memory of this extraordinary boy that F1 has known but seems to have forgotten.
Motorspor is beautiful
Haunting Jacques Jangoux pic showing Bandini (Ferrari) leading Hulme (Brabham), Stewart (BRM) & Surtees (Honda) at Monaco #OnThisDay ’67. Hulme won, Stewart & Surtees DNF’d, & Bandini crashed, his car burst into flames, & he sustained burns from which he died 3 days later. #RIP pic.twitter.com/1NEkJKRIeQ
— Matt Bishop (@TheBishF1) May 7, 2021
