17 Aug Vittorio Brambilla

Vittorio Brambilla was an Italian F1 driver who raced in the Formula 1 World Championship between 1974 and 1980. Nicknamed “The Monza Gorilla”, he claimed pole position for the 1975 Swedish Grand Prix in a March and famously won the rain-hit 1975 Austrian Grand Prix at the Österreichring where, shortly after crossing the finish line, he spun off the track! Brambilla suffered serious head injuries in the 1978 Italian Grand Prix startline crash which resulted in the death of Ronnie Peterson but he recovered to drive a handful of races for the Alfa Romeo team in 1979 and 1980. He died of a heart attack on 26 May 2001.