Felice Bonetto facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Felice Bonetto
Nationality	Italian
Born	(1903-06-09)9 June 1903 Manerbio, Italy
Died	21 November 1953(1953-11-21) (aged 50) Silao, Mexico
Formula One World Championship career Active years 1950 – 1953 Teams Maserati, Scuderia Milano and Alfa Romeo Entries 16 (15 starts) Championships 0 Wins 0 Podiums 2 Career points 17.5 Pole positions 0 Fastest laps 0 First entry 1950 Swiss Grand Prix Last entry 1953 Italian Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career Years 1952–1953 Teams Scuderia Lancia Best finish 8th (1952)

Felice Bonetto (born June 9, 1903, in Manerbio, Italy – died November 21, 1953, in Silao, Mexico) was a brave and skilled racing driver. People called him Il Pirata, which means "The Pirate" in Italian.

He was a well-known racer who started his career in the 1930s. He also had a short time in Formula One racing. One of his big wins was the Grande Premio do Jubileu in 1953, which was not part of the main championship. In Formula One, he drove Italian cars like Maserati and Alfa Romeo. He even finished on the podium twice in World Championship races, sharing those spots with other drivers. Felice Bonetto was most successful in sport car events, winning the famous Targa Florio race in 1952. Sadly, his racing career and life ended during the 1953 Carrera Panamericana race.

Felice Bonetto's Racing Journey

Starting Out in Racing

Felice Bonetto was born in Manerbio, a town in the Brescia area of Italy. This region is famous for the Mille Miglia race. Felice began racing at a young age, but he started on motorcycles!

He switched to racing cars a bit later in life, at 28 years old. His first car race was the Bobbio-Penice, where he drove a Bugatti. Even if his cars weren't always the fastest, he still achieved great results. In 1933, Bonetto finished third in the Gran Premio di Monza, driving an Alfa Romeo 8C 2600. He also came in second place in the Coppa Principessa di Piemonte. A year later, he placed twelfth in the Mille Miglia. His biggest successes, however, came after World War II. After the war, Bonetto started racing again in 1946 with a small Cisitalia car, before moving on to Formula One.

Bonetto driving a Cisitalia D46 in 1948

Racing in Formula One

Felice Bonetto had raced Formula One cars before, but his first official World Championship F1 race was the 1950 Swiss Grand Prix. He was almost 47 years old at the time!

He raced his own Maserati 4CLT in some races under the Scuderia Milano team. In 1951, he drove for the official Alfa Romeo SpA team. He shared a third-place finish with Giuseppe Farina at the Gran Premio d'Italia. After this, he focused more on sports car racing. But he returned to Formula One at the end of 1952. In 1953, he had a good season with the Officine Alfieri Maserati team. He earned another shared third-place finish at the Grote Prijs van Nederland, this time with José Froilán González. Outside of the main World Championship races, Bonetto also had success. He finished second in the 1949 Gran Premio di Napoli while driving a Ferrari.

A Star in Sports Car Racing

Bonetto and Casnaghi in an Alfa Romeo 412 Touring Spider during the 1950 Mille Miglia

Felice Bonetto was even more successful in sports car races than in Formula One. In 1947, he won the Circuito de Firenze race with a Delage 3000. In 1949, he finished second in the Mille Miglia, driving a Ferrari 166 MM Touring for Scuderia Ferrari.

In 1950, he won the Pontedecimo-Giovi hillclimb with an Osca and the Gran Premio di Oporto in his own Alfa Romeo. The next year, he drove Alfa Romeo's new 1900TI model to win its class in the Giro di Sicilia. For 1952, he joined Scuderia Lancia. Driving a Lancia Aurelia B20, he finished second in the Giro di Sicilia. He also placed sixth in the Preis von Bremgarten and eighth in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. His biggest win that year was the Targa Florio race.

He continued with Scuderia Lancia in 1953. He finished third in the Mille Miglia and second in the Gran Premio di Monza. He also won the Grande Premio do Jubileu at the Circuito de Monsanto. Felice Bonetto was part of the Lancia team for the 1953 Carrera Panamericana race. His teammates included famous drivers like Juan Manuel Fangio and Piero Taruffi.

His Final Race

The Carrera Panamericana was a very challenging and dangerous road race in Mexico. It lasted six days and covered about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) across the country. It was the last race of the 1953 World Sportscar Championship.

The race began on November 19, 1953. Felice Bonetto won the first part of the race, ahead of his teammates. On the third day, Bonetto was still leading. However, during a foggy section of the race near the town of Silao, Bonetto's Lancia crashed. He was seriously injured and died instantly. Before the race, Bonetto and other Italian drivers had marked dangerous turns along the route with blue signs. His accident happened at one of these marked spots.

After Bonetto's death, the team owner wanted to pull the cars out of the race. But the other drivers decided to keep racing to honor their teammate. Juan Manuel Fangio, Piero Taruffi, and Eugenio Castellotti finished first, second, and third, giving Lancia a big win. However, it was a sad victory because, besides Bonetto, two other drivers and six spectators also lost their lives during that race. Felice Bonetto is buried in Mexico City.

The Bonetto Family's Legacy

The Bonetto family's connection to the car world continued after Felice's death. His nephew, Rodolfo Bonetto, became a famous Italian architect and industrial designer. Rodolfo's son, Marco, also continued in this field. Felice's own son, Roberto Bonetto, became a journalist and worked as a deputy editor for the magazine Quattroruote.

Racing Achievements

Career Highlights