RICARDO RODRIGUEZ
1961 ITALIAN GP Started 2nd | Result Retired
A precocious talent who had already starred at Le Mans alongside older brother Pedro, 19-year-old Rodriguez was a sensation on his debut, on the extended banked layout at Monza. With guidance from five-time world champion Juan Manuel Fangio, the younger Rodriguez qualified second, just 0.1s behind points leader Wolfgang von Trips and ahead of Richie Ginther and Phil Hill in a Ferrari 1-2-3-4. That was despite the Mexican running the old 65-degree V6 engine, which gave away around 10bhp to the 120-degree versions in his team-mates’ cars.
At the time, Rodriguez was the youngest driver to start a world championship GP. The other Ferraris were slow away and Jim Clark thrust his less-powerful Lotus into the lead fight. Rodriguez completed the first lap in third, behind Hill and Ginther, which meant he was ahead of the lap-two crash between Clark and von Trips that claimed the life of the German and 15 spectators.
As was the norm back then, the race continued. Rodriguez battled with Hill, Ginther, Jack Brabham (Cooper) and Giancarlo Baghetti (Ferrari) for the lead until being forced to retire after just 13 of the 43 laps. The official reason was fuel pump failure, though there was strong suggestion of an engine issue.
It had been a short debut, but the “incredible” Rodriguez had matched Hill, who clinched the drivers’ title that day, and his future looked bright. Sadly, Rodriguez would be killed during qualifying for the non-championship 1962 Mexican GP at the circuit that now bears his (and Pedro’s) name. He was just 20.