Lorenzo Bandini

For the award named after Bandini, see Lorenzo Bandini Trophy.

Lorenzo Bandini
Bandini in 1966
Born	(1935-12-21)21 December 1935 Barce, Italian Libya
Died	10 May 1967(1967-05-10) (aged 31) Monte Carlo, Monaco
Cause of death	Injuries sustained at the 1967 Monaco Grand Prix
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Italian
Active years	1961–1967
Teams	Centro Sud, Ferrari
Entries	42
Championships	0
Wins	1
Podiums	8
Career points	58
Pole positions	1
Fastest laps	2
First entry	1961 Belgian Grand Prix
First win	1964 Austrian Grand Prix
Last win	1964 Austrian Grand Prix
Last entry	1967 Monaco Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	1962–1966
Teams	Ferrari
Best finish	1st (1963)
Class wins	1 (1963)

Lorenzo Bandini (21 December 1935 – 10 May 1967) was an Italian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1961 to 1967. Bandini won the 1964 Austrian Grand Prix with Ferrari. In endurance racing, Bandini won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1963, as well as the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1967, both with Ferrari.

Born in Libya and raised in Florence, Bandini was initially a mechanic before competing in motorcycle racing. His racing career started in 1957, driving a borrowed Fiat 1100, before he achieved a class win at the Mille Miglia one year later. He soon progressed to Formula Junior, where he attracted the attention of Enzo Ferrari. Bandini made his Formula One debut in 1961 with Scuderia Centro Sud, before signing for Ferrari the following year. On debut for Ferrari, at the Monaco Grand Prix, Bandini finished third behind Bruce McLaren and teammate Phil Hill, claiming his maiden podium finish. He competed at seven Grands Prix in 1963 for both teams, amongst winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans and finishing runner-up at the 12 Hours of Sebring, driving the Ferrari 250 P. Bandini retained his seat at Ferrari in 1964, scoring his sole victory at the Austrian Grand Prix—amongst several further podiums—on his way to a career-best fourth in the World Drivers' Championship. He scored several podiums in his 1965 and 1966 campaigns, finishing the seasons in sixth and ninth, respetively.

During the 1967 Monaco Grand Prix, Bandini was fatally wounded when his Ferrari 312 overturned and caught fire. The Lorenzo Bandini Trophy was established in memorial of Bandini, honouring individuals and teams for achievements in Formula One since 1992.

Early life

Bandini was born in Barce in Cyrenaica, Libya, then an Italian colony. The family returned to Italy in 1939 and moved near Florence. His father died when he was 15. Bandini left home and found a job as an apprentice mechanic in the Freddi workshop in Milan.

Racing career

Bandini at 1965 1000km Nürburgring with Dino 166 P

Bandini at 1966 German Grand Prix with Ferrari 312

Bandini made his way into auto racing from competing on motorcycles. He started racing cars in 1957 in a borrowed Fiat 1100. Goliardo Freddi, acknowledging Bandini's talent, decided to support him. Bandini would later marry Freddi's daughter, Margherita, in 1963, and remained involved with the family's garage in Milan.

He achieved a first class victory at the Mille Miglia, in a Lancia Appia Zagato, in 1958, and a class win the same year in the 500cc Berkeley in the 12-hour race at Monza. He then purchased a Volpini Formula Junior car and placed third in his first race in Sicily. In 1959 and 1960 he drove a Formula Junior Stanguellini. In 1960 he placed fourth in the Formula Junior World Championship.

In 1961 Bandini and fellow Italian driver Giancarlo Baghetti were both in contention for a Formula One seat at Scuderia Ferrari. Ferrari opted for Baghetti, and Bandini went to drive for Guglielmo "Mimmo" Dei's Scuderia Centro Sud. At a non-championship race, he finished third at Pau. Bandini drove his first world championship race at Spa later in 1961. He retired with engine failure. During the winter of 1961-1962 he drove in the Tasman races in Australia and New Zealand.

In 1962 Bandini was hired by Ferrari for the 1962 and 1963 seasons, and moved to Maranello, near the team's headquarters. His debut in a works Ferrari at the Monaco Grand Prix, finishing third.

For 1963 Bandini was retained by Ferrari for sports car races only. Along with Ludovico Scarfiotti, he won the Le Mans 24 Hours race and placed second in the Targa Florio that year, occasionally racing in Formula One for Scuderia Centro Sud. His string of good results, including a fifth place at the British Grand Prix, convinced Ferrari to retain him as a Formula One driver as well for the rest of the season.

In 1964 Bandini had his best Formula One season. He won the first Austrian Grand Prix at the Zeltweg circuit and scored two more podiums in Germany and Italy. At the Mexican Grand Prix, Bandini was running second when he decided to let his teammate John Surtees pass, enabling him to score enough points to win the World Championship.

In 1965 Bandini won the Targa Florio.

In 1966 Surtees left Ferrari in mid-season. Bandini was promoted to team leader. He was unlucky not to win the French and U.S. Grands Prix that year which he dominated before mechanical problems struck while holding a huge lead. Bandini's best finish was a second place at the Monaco Grand Prix in a 2.4 liter V-6 Ferrari behind Jackie Stewart's BRM. Later in the season Bandini helped director John Frankenheimer with his movie Grand Prix. Bandini recommended the location at the harbour chicane for a crash scene in the movie filmed at the Monte Carlo circuit. In "The Making of Grand Prix", actress Eva Marie Saint noted bitterly that this spot would be the site of Bandini's fatal accident in the race one year later.

In 1967 Bandini won the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 1000 km of Monza, both teamed with Chris Amon.

Accident and death

On 7 May 1967 Bandini was racing at the Monaco Grand Prix for Scuderia Ferrari, running second to Denny Hulme. On the entry to the harbour chicane on the 82nd lap he lost control of his open-wheel 312, its left rear wheel hit the guard rail, and sent it into an erratic skid. Impacting a light pole, the car overturned, collided with protective straw bales which lined the harbour, and trapped Bandini beneath it.

Either sparks ignited fuel from a ruptured tank, or fuel leaked from it onto a hot brake line or exhaust pipe and it burst into flames. Bandini was pulled out, unconscious; a second fire occurred afterwards, when the fuel tank itself burst into flames.

Bandini, who had only ever had a minor accident in his racing career, during a 1957 Formula Junior race, was gravely injured. Sustaining third degree burns covering more than 70% of his body, a chest wound, and ten chest fractures, he succumbed three days later at the Princess Grace Polyclinic Hospital in Monte Carlo.

Though concerns were raised about the promptness of his rescue, investigators from the Principality of Monaco ruled on 10 May that the security operation had "functioned properly." Straw bales were immediately banned from all Formula One races, and replaced by an extended guard-rail in Monaco the following year.

Bandini's funeral was held in Reggiolo on 13 May. 100,000 people attended. He was later buried in the Lambrate cemetery, in Milan.

In popular culture

Bandini is portrayed by Francesco Bauco in Ford v Ferrari, a 2019 film about the rivalry between Ford and Ferrari at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race.

Racing record

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	WDC	Pts
1961	Scuderia Centro Sud	Cooper T53	Maserati 6-1500 1.5 L4	MON	NED	BEL Ret	FRA	GBR 12	GER Ret	ITA 8	USA				NC	0
1962	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari 156	Ferrari 178 1.5 V6	NED	MON 3	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER Ret	ITA 8	USA	RSA			12th	4
1963	Scuderia Centro Sud	BRM P57	BRM P56 1.5 V8	MON	BEL	NED	FRA 10	GBR 5	GER Ret						10th	6
	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari 156	Ferrari 178 1.5 V6							ITA Ret	USA 5	MEX Ret	RSA 5
1964	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari 156	Ferrari 178 1.5 V6	MON 10				GBR 5	GER 3	AUT 1					4th	23
		Ferrari 158	Ferrari 205B 1.5 V8		NED Ret	BEL Ret	FRA 9				ITA 3
	North American Racing Team	Ferrari 1512	Ferrari 207 1.5 F12									USA Ret	MEX 3
1965	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari 1512	Ferrari 207 1.5 F12	RSA 15	MON 2	BEL 9	FRA 8				ITA 4	USA 4	MEX 8		6th	13
		Ferrari 158	Ferrari 205B 1.5 V8					GBR Ret	NED 9	GER 6
1966	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari 246	Ferrari 228 2.4 V6	MON 2	BEL 3										9th	12
		Ferrari 312/66	Ferrari 218 3.0 V12			FRA NC	GBR	NED 6	GER 6	ITA Ret	USA Ret	MEX
1967	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari 312/67	Ferrari 242 3.0 V12	RSA	MON Ret	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	CAN	ITA	USA	MEX	NC	0
Source:

Complete Formula One Non-Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21
1961	Scuderia Centro Sud	Cooper T53	Maserati 6-1500 1.5 L4	LOM	GLV	PAU 3	BRX	VIE	AIN	SYR 7	NAP 3	LON	SIL	SOL	KAN	DAN	MOD Ret	FLG DNS
		Cooper T51																FLG NC	OUL	LEW	VAL	RAN	NAT	RSA
1962	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari 156	Ferrari 178 1.5 V6	CAP	BRX	LOM	LAV	GLV	PAU 5	AIN	INT	NAP 2	MAL	CLP	RMS	SOL	KAN	MED 1	DAN	OUL	MEX	RAN	NAT
1963	Scuderia Centro Sud	Cooper T53	Maserati 6-1500 1.5 L4	LOM	GLV	PAU	IMO Ret	SYR Ret	AIN
		BRM P57	BRM P56 1.5 V8							INT DSQ	ROM	SOL 4	KAN	MED 3	AUT	OUL
	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari 156	Ferrari 178 1.5 V6														RAN 2
1964	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari 156	Ferrari 178 1.5 V6	DMT	NWT	SYR 2	AIN	INT	SOL Ret	MED	RAN
1965	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari 1512	Ferrari 207 1.5 F12	ROC	SYR 3	SMT	INT 7	MED	RAN
1966	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari 246	Ferrari 228 2.4 V6	RSA	SYR 2	INT	OUL
1967	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari 312/67	Ferrari 242 3.0 V12	ROC 2	SPC	INT	SYR	OUL	ESP
Source:

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1962	SEFAC Ferrari	Mike Parkes	Ferrari 330 LMB	E+3.0	56	DNF (Radiator)
1963	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	Ludovico Scarfiotti	Ferrari 250 P	P3.0	339	1st	1st
1964	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	John Surtees	Ferrari 330 P	P4.0	337	3rd	3rd
1965	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	Giampiero Biscaldi	Ferrari 275 P2	P4.0	221	DNF (Valves)
1966	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	Jean Guichet	Ferrari 330 P3	P5.0	226	DNF (Engine)
Source:

Complete 12 Hours of Sebring results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1963	S.E.F.A.C. Ferrari	Willy Mairesse Nino Vaccarella	Ferrari 250 P	P3.0	208	2nd	2nd
	S.E.F.A.C. Ferrari	Mike Parkes	Ferrari 330 LMB	P+3.0	72	DNF (Split fuel tank)
1964	S.E.F.A.C. Ferrari	John Surtees	Ferrari 330 P	P+3.0	212	3rd	3rd
1966	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	Ludovico Scarfiotti	Ferrari Dino 206 S	P2.0	206	5th	2nd
Source:

Complete 24 Hours of Daytona results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1967	Ferrari SpA	Chris Amon	Ferrari 330 P3/4	P+2.0	666	1st	1st
Source:

See also

• Formula One drivers from Italy
• Lorenzo Bandini Trophy

External links

• Lorenzo Bandini's fatal accident on YouTube