Felice Bonetto
"I am going to fight—because I am going to fight"
Porthos, "The three musketeers"
In the history of Formula 1 there are a number of drivers who, having not achieved great success in the Grand Prix, nevertheless left a rather bright mark in it thanks to their passion for racing, courage, charisma and the love of the fans. One of these drivers, certainly, was the Italian Felice Bonetto, nicknamed "Pirate", who received this nickname for his characteristic appearance, fearlessness, fighting qualities and an invariable pipe, with which he did not part even during the races.
Felice was born on June 9, 1903 in the commune of Manerbio in the province of Brescia, which later became home to the famous Mille Miglia sports car race. His father was a simple railway worker and earned little, so when Felice decided to fulfill his childhood dream of becoming a race car driver, he had to find the means for this expensive occupation himself. Naturally, Felice did not have enough money to buy a racing car at once, so the Italian began his racing career with two wheels, racing motorcycles. This period of the Italian's life took 11 years, and only at the age of 28 Felice acquired his first racing car Bugatti Typo 37, on which he debuted in the Bobbio-Penice race in 1931. At the same time, this race became mostly notable for the fact that it was there that Enzo Ferrari won his last victory, after which Commendatore finally ended his racing career and came to grips with the management of his racing team.
Bonetto's first racing successes came two years later, in 1933, when he switched to an Alfa Romeo 8C and took 2nd in the Coppa Principessa di Piemonte and 3rd in the infamous Monza Grand Prix, which took lives of three drivers Giuseppe Campari, Mario Borzacchini and Stanislaw Czajkowski. At the same time, even then, his rivals noted his unbridled passion for fighting and absolute fearlessness, which almost bordered on recklessness.
In subsequent years, Bonetto continued to compete in various competitions in his native Italy, but without much success, and outside the Italian peninsula he was practically unknown. Meanwhile, during World War II, all racing activity in Europe froze, and Bonetto, like all other drivers, had to hang up his racing helmet, and he returned to motorsport only in 1946, when he was already 43 years old. For Felice, however, it seems to have been the heyday, and driving a Fiat 1100 he managed to finish 2nd in Asti and 3rd in Mantova and the Circuito della Superba. The next two seasons Felice spent with the Cisitalia team and won four Formula 2 victories, as well as winning the race in Florence at the wheel of the Delage 3000.
In 1949, Bonetto moved to Scuderia Ferrari, and although the Italian did not win on this occasion, he managed to finish 2nd in his native Mille Miglia race, as well as in the Naples and Monza Grands Prix.
In 1950, the first Formula 1 World Championship started and Bonetto took part in two Grand Prix with the Scuderia Milano team. This team used the Maserati 4CLT racing cars that were common at the time, but the team's engineers modified the engines of Italian cars by installing two-stage superchargers on them and giving them the new name Milano. And already in his debut Grand Prix in Switzerland, Felice showed himself to be a real fighter, having managed after his mistake at the very beginning of the race to break through to 5th place and earn his first points in Formula 1.
Unfortunately, the second Grand Prix in France was not so successful, and the Italian was forced to retire in the conditions of terrible heat, like many other drivers, due to an engine failure. However, in sports car racing, Bonetto achieved greater success, winning the Portuguese Grand Prix driving an Alfa Romeo 412 and the Pontedecimo-Giovi race driving an OSCA MT4 1100. In addition, on the same Alfa Romeo, Bonetto was in the lead in Mille Miglia race, but, unfortunately, he was forced to retire due to a technical malfunction.
Meanwhile, 1951 was marked by a magnificent struggle for the leadership in Formula 1 between two Italian teams Alfa Romeo and Ferrari, and the Milan team, in an effort to achieve superiority over their rivals, increased their drivers line-up to four, which let them to provide the top drivers with backup cars in the case of a breakdown. Therefore, when Luigi Fagioli left the team, who did not want to become a carrier of shells for Juan Manuel Fangio and Nino Farina, the Alfa Romeo leadership began to urgently look for a replacement for him and in the end opted for Felice.
At the same time, the very first Grand Prix, held for the Milan team, revealed both the strengths and weaknesses of the Italian. Besides fighting qualities, Felice was arguably one of the best starters of the 50s and in Great Britain he clearly showed that by breaking into the lead from seventh position! However, it immediately became obvious that he was inferior in speed to the aces of Formula 1, and already at the very beginning of the race, Felice began to give way one after another, eventually finishing the Grand Prix in 4th position, while the winner was José-Froilan Gonzalez, who brought Scuderia Ferrari their first victory in the World championship.
In the next Grand Prix in Italy, Felice also fought for fourth place with Villoresi's Ferrari, but halfway through the race he was forced to give his car to Farina, who had problems with his own bolid, and the world champion managed to fight his way to third place, thus letting his compatriot to achieve his first podium in Formula 1. Meanwhile, in the last race of the season in Spain, Felice also managed to finish in the points, which put him in 7th place in overall standings. However, despite the rather high performance of the Italian, this season clearly showed that, even driving one of the best cars, he was unable to drive as fast as world champions Fangio or Farina, and his limit was the fight for points. There are many examples in the history of motorsport when drivers, realizing that their teammates were completely superior to them, were psychologically broken and soon ended their racing career, but Felice was clearly not one of those! The main thing for him was the fight with rivals on the track, it was for it that he went to the start, and it didn’t matter whether it was a fight for victory, points or for places in the second ten, Felice attacked his rivals with the same fervor and rejoiced at each won place.
Meanwhile, at the end of 1951, Alfa Romeo left Formula 1, and the following season Felice moved to another Italian team, Maserati. In 1952, the World Championship was already held according to the technical regulations of Formula 2, and the Italian team had to miss half a season due to the preparation of their new car, so Felice managed to take part in only two Grand Prix of the championship. In Germany, Bonetto had another lightning-fast start, breaking through from 10th position to 4th, but this time his vehemence played a cruel joke on him, and when trying to win back one more position, the Italian spinned and could not avoid the crash with Maurice Trintignant. At the same time, despite the fact that Felice's Maserati was not badly damaged in the collision, his engine stalled, and Bonetto was able to start only with the help of the marshals, as a result of which he was disqualified. As for the the last Grand Prix of the season, it took place on the fast track in Monza, and on home soil, thanks to a semi-fueled car, Felice was able to give a real fight to the Ferrari drivers, who were invincible throughout the season.
At the same time, when the race leader Ascari caught up with the Italian for a lap, Felice did not even think about letting him through and began to fight with Alberto just as fiercely as with the rest of his rivals! It was an unforgettable sight when Bonetto, having once again missed Ascari, thanks to the slip stream from Alberto's car, again caught up with him, hit his chest with his fist and at the end of the straight again took the lead! This duel went on for more than ten laps, and Asсari managed to get rid of Felice only when he went to his second refueling. In the end, Bonetto finished that race in fifth place, thus earning the only two points of the season. However, despite a modest result in the World Championship, 1952 brought the Italian his most resounding victory, which he won in the Targa Florio race at the wheel of a Lancia Aurelia.
In 1953, Felice was already 50 years old, but despite his rather advanced age, his passion for racing remained the same, and youngsters could envy his sparkle in his eyes. This season Bonetto again spent with Maserati, and this time he took part in all races, with the exception of the Belgian Grand Prix.
In the first Grand Prix of the season in Argentina, Felice had one of his best starts, managing to break from 15th to 4th, but then he began to give way to faster drivers again and eventually retired due to transmission failure. Meanwhile, in the second Grand Prix in the Netherlands, Bonetto claimed no points at all, but he still fought desperately with Harry Schell for 8th place until he was called to the pits, where he had to give up his car to Gonzalez. At the same time, the Argentine did not lose his face at all, and in Felice's car he began to pass rivals one after another and eventually managed to finish third, thus giving Felice his second podium in the World Championship, which turned out to be the last in his career. Meanwhile, at the next, French Grand Prix, Bonetto, who was deeply impressed by José-Froilan's speed, asked him to qualify instead of him, and the good-natured Argentinean complied with his request, so much so that he almost won pole position and beat his own time! This 2nd position at the start turned out to be Felice's best qualifying result of his entire career, but it did not bring him much benefit, because at the very beginning of the race the Italian spinned and lost many positions, and then retired due to engine problems.
Meanwhile, at the next round in Great Britain, Felice had to qualify already on his own, which brought him only 16th on the grid, but with another good start and a few overtaking, he managed to get to 7th, which he later lost due to engine problems and an unscheduled pit stop.
However, the next Grand Prix in Germany Felice spent quite confidently and finished 4th, thus earning his first three points in the championship with his own hands.
In Switzerland, the Italian also started the race well, but already on lap 10, Fangio's Maserati lost third gear, and the team called Felice into the pits, where they exchanged cars.
However, that day the Italian's car brought Fangio continuous failures: almost immediately he got a puncture, and then the Argentine set such a pace that the engine simply baked. As for Felice, despite the time lost in the pits and the absence of the third gear, he was able to win back several positions and finished 4th again, sharing the points with his teammate. Meanwhile, the last Grand Prix of the season was held in Felice's native Italy, and it became famous thanks to the first Maserati victory, which Fangio won for the Modena team in an incredible fight with Ferrari drivers Ascari and Farina. For Bonetto himself, the race was unsuccessful: for once he failed the start, while on the last lap his Maserati ran out of fuel, thus depriving Felice of the opportunity to see the checkered flag at the very last moment. Unfortunately, this Grand Prix was the last Formula-1 race in the Italian's career, and according to the results of the championship, he took 8th place in the overall standings.
Meanwhile, in sports car racing, Bonetto was as successful as ever, winning the Portuguese Grand Prix driving the Lancia as well as finishing 2nd in the Monza Grand Prix and 3rd in the Mille Miglia.
On November 19, the last round of the World Sports Car Championship began in Mexico, called Carrera Panamericana, and Felice entered the competition, driving for the Lancia team, along with his teammates Juan Manuel Fangio, Piero Taruffi, Giovanni Bracco and Eugenio Castellotti.
The round in Mexico was considered one of the most difficult and the route of the race passed through the whole country from north to south, amounting to more than 3,000 kilometers, and was divided into eight stages. The Lancia team was one of the main favorites of the competition, which was confirmed already at the first stage, which was won by Bonetto. The next two stages were also left for Lancia, only this time Taruffi was ahead. On the third day of the competition, Bonetto and Taruffi again fought for the lead, but the conditions of the race were complicated by the thickest fog that descended on the track. Chasing Felice, near the town of Silao, Taruffi flew off the track, but with the help of the spectators he managed to get back to the road. Unfortunately, Felice did not know about this and, being sure that his teammate was breathing down his neck, he continued to drive at full speed. In the center of the city there was a dangerous turn, which Bonetto and his teammates specially had marked with a blue sign, but in the fog Felice did not see it and entered the turn, exceeding the speed limit by nearly 100 km/h. It was impossible to pass the turn at such a speed, and the Italian's car sideways rammed a nearby house, while Felice himself smashed his head on the protruding edge of the facade. When Taruffi arrived at the scene, Felice's crippled car was parked on the edge of the street next to a demolished lamppost with his teammate already dead.
Upon learning of the tragedy, Gianni Lancia wanted to immediately withdraw his team from the race, but his drivers convinced him to continue the competition and in the end completely occupied all the places on the podium, thus honoring the memory of one of the most fearless drivers of the 50s.
