Elio de Angelis

Name: Elio de Angelis

Nationality: Italy

Date of birth: March 26, 1958 - Rome

Date of death: May 15, 1986 - Marseilles, France

De Angelis drove his first F1 race in a Shadow DN9B at the age of 20 in the '79 Argentina Grand Prix. The following year he switched to Lotus and his second place in the '80 Brazilian GP at Interlagos left him only a tantalizingly short distance away from becoming the youngest ever Grand Prix winner. He stayed with Lotus until the end of 1985, winning the '82 Austrian Grand Prix by a wheel from Keke Rosberg's Williams, and inheriting his second win at Imola in '85 after Alain Prost's McLaren had been disqualified. Elio switched to the Ecclestone Brabham-BMW squad in 1986 after it was made clear that if he wanted to stay with Lotus, then it would have to be in a subordinate role to Ayrton Senna. Monaco that year would be the final outing for Grand Prix racing's last gentleman player.

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