The first win
There are individual moments that retain the gift of remaining indelible in the memory of Formula 1, even more so for fans of a specific nation. Among these, there is certainly that of Austrian Grand Prix 1982on a stifling mid-August afternoon almost forty-one years ago: on the day when many Italian families were enjoying their well-deserved holidays, on the circuit ofÖsterreichring an elegant Roman pilot with a helmet from Star Wars he won the first career win with a heart-pounding finish, literally a photo finish. We are talking about the late Elio De Angelisthe one who made tricolor sport immensely happy that day at the end of a race with strong emotions.
37 years without Elio
A sweaty success, uncertain up to the last meter of the famous Austrian track, but which is still surrounded by a feeling of sweetness mixed with melancholy, especially when the calendar marks the date of May 15th. Own 37 years ago, in 1986, a terrible accident during a test session at Le Castellet sadly put an end to the life of one of the most noble-minded drivers in the history of F1. Almost four decades after that tragic episode, it was right to remember the most beautiful and emotional moment of the entire career of Pianist.
An unexpected victory
After a vanished debut in F1 in 1979, De Angelis’ adventure in the top flight began in 1980, the year in which the Roman driver signed with Lotus after the interest of Colin Chapman. An adventure, the one with the British team, which lasted uninterruptedly until 1985, and which reached its climax at the 1982 Austrian Grand Prix, scheduled for mid-August of that extremely complex year. In an environment still in shock from the deaths of Gilles Villeneuve and Riccardo Paletti, as well as from the very serious accident of Didier Pironi in the tests of the previous round in Germany, Ferrari replaced the unfortunate French driver with his compatriot Patrick Tambay. While the latter thus made his debut with the prancing Horse at the Österreichring, qualifying saw the pole position of Nelson Piquetwith the Brazilian who gave the pole the first start for a motorized car BMW. In all of this, De Angelis only placed his Lotus 91 in 7th place on the grid, far from the times set by Brabham.
Repeated retreats
And yet, under the scorching sun of that unforgettable Sunday, he was another Italian like Richard Patrese to initially assume the leading role, leaping to the lead of the race after overtaking his teammate Piquet and Alain Prost, at the time in force at Renault. Thanks to Tambay’s withdrawal in the initial stages of the race, De Angelis found himself 5th ahead of the Finn Keke Rosberg, but behind a small train made up of two Brabhams and some Renaults. The story of that Austrian GP changed radically starting from the 16th lap: the first to raise the white flag was René Arnoux, in a Renault, followed by Patrese (protagonist of a track exit in which he seriously risked running over a photographer outside the curve Texaco), Piquet and Prost. A series of KOs which, just four laps from the checkered flag, allowed the Lotus driver to leap to the lead of the standings, closely followed by the same Rosberg who, at the end of the season, will then be crowned world champion for the first and only time in his career.
The arrival at the photo finish
Enjoying an overall comfortable advantage over Nico’s father’s Williams, nothing and nobody seemed to prevent De Angelis from finally being able to realize the dream he had pursued for a lifetime, despite his still very young age. And instead, right in the closing bars, he was a exchange problem to put a spoke in the works of the Roman driver, thanks to a lightness committed in the gear change. The error of Pianist he thus provided a sensational assist to the Finn, who drastically reduced his gap from the Lotus until he caught up with the latter right on the finish line. The final sprint kept the audience in suspense, almost like in an Olympic 100m final. De Angelis resists, trying to keep behind him a car that has become increasingly cumbersome in the rear-view mirrors, but on August 15, 1982 he smiles fortunately at the Gentlemen of Formula 1, who then gets his first career success solo 5 cents plus from second place. The success of the Roman driver also gives the 72nd victory for Lotus, the last with its founder Colin Chapman still alive.
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