GP: European Grand Prix - Brands Hatch
Date: 25 September 1983
Winner: Nelson Piquet, Brabham - BMW
Recalling Elio de Angelis is to stroll through a gallery of cherished memories.
He was born in Rome on 26 March 1958 and made his Formula 1 debut for Shadow, in Argentina in 1979, having impressed in the junior formulae.
A gentle handsome young man, he was an excellent pianist and quick behind the wheel. So much so that he came to the attention of Lotus boss, the charismatic Colin Chapman, who signed him up in 1980 for what would be a six year partnership.
Unfortunately, it only produced two wins, in Austria in 1982 and San Marino in 1985. At Brands Hatch in '83, Elio secured his maiden pole, which was also the first time a Pirelli-shod car had headed the field in qualifying since its return to F1 in 1981.
Alongside him on the front row, another Italian, Riccardo Patrese in a Brabham-BMW. The race did not go well for either of them: De Angelis retired with smoke pouring from his engine and Patrese encountered various difficulties on his way to finish seventh.
Nelson Piquet won ahead of Alain Prost in a Renault, while Elio's team-mate, Nigel Mansell finished third to put Pirelli back on the podium after an absence of 26 years.
In 1986, De Angelis and Patrese found themselves team-mates at Brabham. They would drive the rather uncompetitive BT55, nicknamed “the flounder.”
Patrese was scheduled to test it at Le Castellet, but Elio asked if he could drive instead and, on 14 May 1986, he suffered a terrible accident when the rear wing broke and he died the following day.
A few years later, Jean Alesi adopted the design of Elio's helmet.
In 2025 Pirelli will hit the 500 F1® Grands Prix mark during the season.
Legacy of Speed series looks back at the fifty most significant Grands Prix from Pirelli's time on the F1 World Championship trail.
