Emilio de Villota
Emilio de Villota Ruíz is a former racing driver from Madrid in Spain. He entered 15 Formula One Grand Prix between 1976 and 1982, succeeding to qualify twice only. He failed to score a point.
Using a regulation that allowed the participation of private teams or drivers who could afford to purchase a car and race alongside the official teams, de Villota bought a Brabham BT44b in 1976 (but couldn’t qualify for the Spanish Grand Prix) and a McLaren M23 in 1977, sponsored by Iberia, with a budget for 7 races.
De Villota would qualify for just two of these Grand Prix , the first was his home event (picture above) at the Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama, where he would finish 13th and the other race he started was at the Austrian Grand Prix at Zeltweg where an accident on the last lap deprived him of seeing the checkered flag.
He entered most Spanish Grand Prix between 1976 and 1982 and became a major force in the Aurora AFX championship for Formula One cars, winning the title in 1980.
His daughter Maria de Villota (picture here-under next to him) was a test driver for Marussia F1, but sadly a major crash in a test in July 2012 left her with serious injuries, she died in October 2013.
