Agitated or just cold?

Andrea de Cesaris, very much of a Marlboro man thanks to his fathers’ connections with the American brand, switched back to Alfa Romeo in 1982. He’s seen here-above quite agitated (or was he just cold) while well-known ex-Ferrari mechanic Ermanno Cuoghi attends his car.

Again, the Italian showed his one-lap speed when he became the youngest driver (23) ever to take pole position at the 1982 Long Beach Grand Prix. De Cesaris led the race but as he was passing a back-marker at a tight corner with Niki Lauda (McLaren) right behind him, he waved his fist at the back-marker, forgot to change gear and hit the rev limiter, which allowed Lauda to take the lead and win the race.

Later in the race, de Cesaris suffered rear brake failure and crashed hard at Pine Avenue. The way this race unfolded, the speed, the mistake, the missed opportunity and the crash was going to be very significant of the rest of de Cesaris’ long career in F1.