(born
21 December 1935 in
Cyrenaica ,
Libya ; died
10 May 1967 ) was an Italian
Formula One driver who raced for the
Scuderia Centro Sud and
Ferrari teams.
He started racing in 1957, in a borrowed
Fiat 1100 and finally got a class victory at the
Mille Miglia in a
Lancia Appia
Zagato . He then raced in Formula Junior, until in 1961 he was invited to join
Scuderia Centro Sud in Formula One, at a non-championship race, in which he finished third. After that he was hired by
Ferrari for the 1962 and 1963 seasons, where he did fairly well.
Between 1964 and 1966, Bandini won the
Le Mans 24 Hours race, along with
Ludovico Scarfiotti ; he also returned to
Scuderia Centro Sud , but
Ferrari claimed him back, where he ended up as the number one driver, replacing
John Surtees who left in mid-season of 1966.
In 1964 Bandini won the first
Austrian Grand Prix at the Zeltweg circuit, his only GP win though. He also achieved some victories for Ferrari in
Sportscar Racing , notably the
Targa Florio in 1965 and the
Daytona 24 Hours in 1967.
In May of that year, he was racing at the
Monaco Grand Prix , running second to Denny Hulme, when he lost control of his car at the
Harbour Chicane and crashed. The car rolled over and caught fire, with Bandini trapped beneath it. His burns were terrible and three days later he succumbed to his injuries.
(Note: grands prix in denote race '''victories'''.)
