Giacomelli’s garage

Bruno Giacomelli (open the photo above, green button, to see it in full) in his modest garage in Roncadelle with two childhood friends, and surprise… his Formula 1 Alfa Romeo!

The Italian driver, born in Borgo Poncarale, in the province of Brescia in Lombardy, had a meteoric career in F3 and then F2 where he became king, then moved up to F1, he knew how to remain simple and accessible and never denied his modest origins.

Bruno Giacomelli’s Formula 1 career spanned from 1977 to 1983 with the McLaren, Alfa Romeo, and Toleman teams. He scored 14 championship points and achieved a pole position at Watkins Glen in 1980, and could have won the race he was dominating (photo below), had he not been sidelined by an electrical problem.

Then the Italian would try to return to Formula 1 in 1990 with the disastrous Life and its inefficient and fragile W12 engine with which he would try in vain to qualify, often giving up to… 20 seconds a lap to the best.

Giacomelli competed in the American CART championship (11 starts and a fifth-place finish at Meadowlands), but failed to qualify for the 1984 Indianapolis 500, and also raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing 9th in 1988 in a Porsche 962 Kremer.

Nowadays, Giacomelli still lives in his home region of Brescia, where he sells kitchens with his brother-in-law, and keeps up with Formula 1 news. A lovely character.