Celebrating the unforgettable Italian F1 Racing Driver Elio de Angelis from Rome who competed in 108 F1™ races between 1979-1986.
This website now celebrates 24 years of remembering Elio de Angelis since it was first published back in 1998. Through interviews, tributes, rare photographs and multimedia we remember the Italian whose legacy in the sport is one we should cherish.
Elio drove for Shadow, Lotus and Brabham and was a 2 times Grand Prix Winner for Lotus winning at Austria in 1982 and San Marino in 1985.
In 1984 Elio finished 3rd in the World Drivers Championship, behind the unstoppable Michelin-shod McLaren duo of Niki Lauda and Alain Prost. Despite having Ayrton Senna as his Lotus Team-mate, he led the 1985 Championship until mid-season.
On May 14th 1986, whilst testing his Brabham BMW BT55 at Paul Ricard France after the 1986 Monaco Grand Prix, Elio suffered a catastrophic rear wing failure and died in a Marseille hospital the next day.
Extremely ambitious, a perfect gentleman, but never blasé about the world around him, Elio de Angelis rarely revealed the burning passion which was his driving force: “My father often asks me why I take the most complicated paths to get to my goals. I’ve never told him to his face, but it‘s because I find that the pleasure is even greater that way.”
