77 replies to this topic

[Formula Once]

Normally I wouldn't care about the 'news' that Fernando Alonso is divorced, but it did make me realise that I do not know of many drivers, leave alone world champions, who lived happily ever after with their first wives. Probably comes with the job i.e. the life. So which driver did manage to make their one and only marriage work, apart from Jackie Stewart?

[Coral]

Well...off the top of my head, I think Graham Hill, Damon Hill, Nigel Mansell and Michael Schumacher are (or were) happily married.

[Ray Bell]

Frank Matich only ever had one wife, Joan died several years ago now and Frank's on his own...

Bruce McLaren only ever had Patti, but both Jack Brabham and Alan Jones saw changes in their lives some time after retirement.

[RA Historian]

I did not know that Sir Jack was divorced, if I read the post correctly. Also, Mika Hakkinen shed Erja a few years ago. Apparently Piquet took a few trips to the altar, as I remember reading one short sketch about him in which the question 'marital status' was answered with the word, "occasionally". I believe that Emmo is with spouse number three at this time.

Although I do not think that he was ever married, surely David Coulthard has had a rather active social life with a stream of "companions".

Then there is Mario Andretti, who has been married to Dee Ann since sometime in the 1960s and is approaching his Golden wedding anniversary.

Was Fangio ever married to his oft-photographed lady friend of the '50s?


Tom

Edited by RA Historian, 27 December 2011 - 20:32.

[simonlewisbooks]

Was Fangio ever married to his oft-photographed lady friend of the '50s?


Tom

Not according to his books.

[Robin Fairservice]

Not according to his books.

My mempry is that they parted ways after he retired at Rheims in 1958 and Fangio went back to Argentina.

[LittleChris]

That's what DCN's Racers 1948-68 book says too. Incidentally, Coulthard got married a couple of years ago

[Formula Once]

So in terms of world champions, Brabham, Surtees, Fittipaldi, Hunt, Lauda, Jones, Scheckter, Piquet, Rosberg, Senna, Villeneuve, Hakkinen and Alonso all divorded at least once. Is Prost still married to Anne-Marie? I seem to remember Hulme's marriage was troubled later in life, but I am not sure. How about Phil Hill?

[Arjan de Roos]

Can I add Tazio & Carolina Nuvolari.

Black Jack remarried with Margaret in 1995. Hulme was married to Greeta up to his accident. Phil Hill was also married till his death with Alma.

[Arjan de Roos]

So in terms of world champions, Brabham, Surtees, Fittipaldi, Hunt, Lauda, Jones, Scheckter, Piquet, Rosberg, Senna, Villeneuve, Hakkinen and Alonso all divorded at least once. Is Prost still married to Anne-Marie? I seem to remember Hulme's marriage was troubled later in life, but I am not sure. How about Phil Hill?

Prost divorced already in 1990 ...

[LittleChris]

Alberto Ascari was still married to Mietta when he died. I thought Denny and Greeta had split before Denny died.

[Sharman]

Would I be right in thinking that Giuseppe Farina and Alberto Ascari never divorced?

I don't think same sex marriages were current in those days so the situation didn't arise.

Overheard in the paddock
"If I was rich I'd buy a racing car and have all those smashing birds following me"
"If I was rich I wouldn't bother about the racing car"

[Vitesse2]

Can I add Tazio & Carolina Nuvolari.

Hermann and Lydia Lang?

More tragically (and all too briefly) - Dick and Erica Seaman and Bernd and Elly Rosemeyer. I don't think anyone would suggest that either of those utterly devoted couples would ever have split up.

Caracciola married twice, but both unions were happy AFAIK - and the first was again ended by tragedy.

[David McKinney]

I thought Denny and Greeta had split before Denny died.

I think you're right, LC, but I'm not sure that they ever divorced

[wildman]

I don't think same sex marriages were current in those days so the situation didn't arise.

[macoran]

Would I be right in thinking that Giuseppe Farina and Alberto Ascari never divorced?

Did they every marry ?

[lanciaman]

I don't think same sex marriages were current in those days so the situation didn't arise.

[Catalina Park]

How about Jean-Pierre Beltoise?

[eldougo]

Well according to this web site they were still together in 2005.
http://www.classicdr...00.asp?id=12463

[EDWARD FITZGERALD]

Well according to this web site they were still together in 2005.
http://www.classicdr...00.asp?id=12463

Jacqueline attended the naming of the Rue JPB with JPB

[EDWARD FITZGERALD]

Jacqueline attended the naming of the Rue JPB with JPB

Should have given the date December 17 , 2011

[sonar]

I think it probably doesn't help if your husband is away from home a lot and women throw themselves at him all the time.
It takes a pretty strong man to resist that kind of temptation, I would think...

On the other hand: are the divorce numbers amongst racing drivers any different from the 'normal' numbers?
Not many people who promise to stay together for the rest of their lives make it past the 5 of 10 years.
And if they do, then there's the whole midlife crisis to deal with a few years later and the younger woman cliché...

I remember way back in the 80's I always thought I was probably too young to marry a racing driver, because most of them were ten years older then me.
As a teenager I was really sad about that.
Funny enough today quite a few of those drivers are married to women ten or fifteen years younger than me and I seem to have completely missed my cue...

Aren't there also quite a few racing drivers who have illegitimate children?

[Formula Once]

Most drivers I know divorced at least once, that's why my original question was which (promiment) driver was still married to his first wife, as that list was likely to be shorter

[Coral]

The current generation of drivers do seem to be a very strait-laced lot...I mean, apart from Alonso, I don't know of any current driver who is divorced. I know many of them are young but the older ones...Schumacher, Barrichello, Fisichella, Raikkonen, Webber, Massa, Trulli...have all been with the same wife/girlfriend for years. There don't seem to be the Hunt/Piquet types in F1 any more.

[sonar]

I wonder if the divorce rates are different in different categories of motorsport...

[Phil Rainford]

The current generation of drivers do seem to be a very strait-laced lot...I mean, apart from Alonso, I don't know of any current driver who is divorced. I know many of them are young but the older ones...Schumacher, Barrichello, Fisichella, Raikkonen, Webber, Massa, Trulli...have all been with the same wife/girlfriend for years. There don't seem to be the Hunt/Piquet types in F1 any more.

Would say Kimi is " Old School " when it comes to enjoying himself


PAR

[ZOOOM]

Phil Hill married late to Alma. They remained married until his death.
ZOOOM

[Arjan de Roos]

Aren't there also quite a few racing drivers who have illegitimate children?

Shall we start with the World Champions? I mean WC in racing

[Derwent Motorsport]

Just noticed this on a press release about the Australian Toyota series:
"Josh Hill, son of Formula One legends Graham and Damon"
Not married but an act of God perhaps?

Edited by Derwent Motorsport, 29 December 2011 - 17:57.

[Jim Thurman]

If we add the Unsers in, we'll be here a while.

[Formula Once]

Prost divorced already in 1990 ...

Are you sure Arjan, check this site:

http://www.prostfan.com/wife.htm

[sonar]

Didn't Prost have a child with another woman?

[Coral]

I think Fangio had an illegitimate son, as did Mike Hawthorn. And last I heard, Nelson Piquet had seven children by four different women, three of them to Sylvia Tamsma, Nelson Jr's mother.

[sonar]

I think Nelson jr. is Nelson Piquets only child with Sylvia.
They had already split up when little Nelson was born.

[Formula Once]

I think Fangio had an illegitimate son, as did Mike Hawthorn.

And Niki Lauda

[Arjan de Roos]

Are you sure Arjan, check this site:

http://www.prostfan.com/wife.htm

In the news in 1990:
http://ricerca.repub...o-si-sposa.html

[Formula Once]

In the news in 1990:
http://ricerca.repub...o-si-sposa.html

Thanks Arjan. I found no other reports claiming Prost and his wife divorced, although it seems things got a bit complicated in the nineties. This site http://fr.wikipedia....iki/Alain_Prost does not mention a divorce either, but it does mention a third child born in 1996, the mother of which is Bernadette Laffite-Cottin, the wife of Jacques...

[Eric Dunsdon]

Normally I wouldn't care about the 'news' that Fernando Alonso is divorced, but it did make me realise that I do not know of many drivers, leave alone world champions, who lived happily ever after with their first wives. Probably comes with the job i.e. the life. So which driver did manage to make their one and only marriage work, apart from Jackie Stewart?

Its actually quite worth venturing onto the 'Racing Comments' forum in order to check out the snap of Fernando's new lady friend !.

[Sharman]

Its actually quite worth venturing onto the 'Racing Comments' forum in order to check out the snap of Fernando's new lady friend !.

Don't you need immunisation to get in there Eric? You know those steel needles they used for TABT which were sterilised in a flame and which sizzled when they went into the arm of the bloke in front of you in the queue.

Edited by Sharman, 30 December 2011 - 12:22.

[Eric Dunsdon]

Don't you need immunisation to get in there Eric? You know those steel needles they used for TABT which were sterilised in a flame and which sizzled when they went into the arm of the bloke in front of you in the queue.

Yes. I remember those alright. Thats when the passing out began!.

[grimeheel]

Normally I wouldn't care about the 'news' that Fernando Alonso is divorced, but it did make me realise that I do not know of many drivers, leave alone world champions, who lived happily ever after with their first wives. Probably comes with the job i.e. the life. So which driver did manage to make their one and only marriage work, apart from Jackie Stewart?

Also, there is/was Jochen Rindt and Nina Lincoln.

[grimeheel]

Normally I wouldn't care about the 'news' that Fernando Alonso is divorced, but it did make me realise that I do not know of many drivers, leave alone world champions, who lived happily ever after with their first wives. Probably comes with the job i.e. the life. So which driver did manage to make their one and only marriage work, apart from Jackie Stewart?

Also, there is/was Jochen Rindt and Nina Lincoln.

[sonar]

Wasn't Michele Alboreto still married to Nadia when he died?

I always like to think Ronnie and Barbro would have made it.

Stefan Bellof and his long-time girlfriend Angelika would probably have stayed together forever had things gone differently...

I think we've pretty much established grand prix drivers do not make very good husbands although I can't say much for their choice of wives either.

How about the rally drivers? Are they doing any better?

[cheapracer]

Also, there is/was Jochen Rindt and Nina Lincoln.

Similar Ronnie Peterson and Barbro.

Later John Watson apeared to have a good(?) relationship with Barbro until she passed away.

[Doug Nye]

Damon Hill and Georgie seem to have survived pretty well. Parental examples seem to help - he said, having just served 40 years of a thus-far very happy life sentence (self-imposed)...

DCN

[kayemod]

I think we've pretty much established grand prix drivers do not make very good husbands although I can't say much for their choice of wives either.

I'm not sure that we have established that. The proportion of marriage failures doesn't seem to me to be all that different from that of the non-racing population, certainly here in the UK.

[D-Type]

Who was the driver who refused to get married until he retired from racing? I remember reading this somewhere but not the name.

[Michael Ferner]

I think many drivers retired after the birth of their first child.

Fatal accidents cut married lives short, but some still get some mileage: Rex Mays married his childhood sweetheart, Dorothy Grunwald on New Years Eve in 1933, and they were still married in 1949.

Ted Horn, on the other hand, was divorced, and remarried a few days before his fatal accident.

Edited by Michael Ferner, 30 December 2011 - 20:26.

[Michael Ferner]

Ralph de Palma was also divorced at least once, but I think Johnny Rutherford is still with his first wife, Betty. And isn't A. J. still with Lucy? Rodger Ward, again, was divorced at least once, and so was Johnnie Parsons.

Edited by Michael Ferner, 30 December 2011 - 20:32.

[Coral]

Who was the driver who refused to get married until he retired from racing? I remember reading this somewhere but not the name.

Jim Clark maybe?