15 replies to this topic

[davidbuckden]

While researching for an article on Andrea de Cesaris, I came across an apparent dispute that arose some time around '80 - '82 over engines that Autodelta were to supply to whichever team Elio de Angelis next joined.  Subsequently, I lost my note of the reference source, and the idea doesn't make logical sense to me as I'd never before been aware of any discussions going on between de Angelis and Autodelta/Alfa Romeo.  It now seems to me that I maybe imagined it (!), but perhaps somewhere here knows better? 🤞

[Doug Nye]

MRD-Brabham perhaps? Alfa had been there before.

 

DCN

[davidbuckden]

Thanks Doug.  That's a possibility I've considered, but the time-frame seems wrong, it not being too long since BE had finally run out of patience with the flat 12, and also that EdA wouldn't be going in that direction until '86. My recollection of the (maybe imagined) reference was to that period when Massacesi wanted to stop the F1 involvement and Chiti was under pressure by the imposition of the Euroracing arrangement and by the arrival of Ducarouge at Settimo Milanese.

 

BTW, thanks for alerting us to Vic's plight - it's a privilege to do something towards the GoFundMe page.   

 

Regards.

[Michael Ferner]

I remember that Alfa Romeo (or, possibly, Autodelta) repeatedly tried to sign de Angelis, in late 1979 (for 1980) and once again one or two years later. I can still recall the comments in the (German) press at the time, in that the unions protested the signing of a "blue blooded" driver to replace the (supposedly?) "communist" number one driver at the time (the one with the Irish name).

[2F-001]

What is the background to Bruno being thought of as "communist"? Hadn't come across this before.

[Arjan de Roos]

Red overalls and red helmet!

 

Chiti once stated that the signing of Giacomelli was spurred on by a demand from the party (in Italy) to sign Bruno, or else some strikes at Autodelta would occur. Not sure if Jack O'M. was a party member.

He was early wise also through escaping from the machinations of another Italian team's owner.

De Angelis was at Lotus and must have believed Chapman would bring another race winner to him in 1980-2. 

[Tim Murray]

See the discussion in this very old thread:

Happy Birthday Bruno Giacomelli (50)

It would seem that the Italian trade unions and Communist party preferred Bruno over some of the other Italian drivers because he was considered to be more working class. He was apparently happy to go along with this, but never to the extent of joining the party.

[Doug Nye]

Consalvo Sanesi had many years earlier been considered the choice of the unions to join the blue-blooded Count Trossi, and decidedly upper middle-class Wimille as Alfa Romeo's works drivers.  But in a memorable interview when I put this suggestion to him in the early 1980s Sanesi looked horrified.  "I was the chief test driver!  The chief test driver also raced for the factory!".  He certainly wasn't about to accept being regarded as 'just' the late-1940s/early-'50s blue-collar representative within the team.  

 

I would rather doubt that the motor industry unions had become even more powerful in the 1970s/80s.  But I can certainly see Bruno Giacomelli happily adopting any perceived persona that might guarantee him an F1 drive.  What aspiring racer would not?

 

DCN

[Henk Vasmel]

My Spanish is not really up to scratch, but I read some things in this article I found when googling.

 

https://elpais.com/d...665_477090.html

 

I also remember something about Giacomelli's father having a small political role (mayor) for a left wing party. Difficult to find sources for that, though. Maybe Prüller?

[BRG]

 

I would rather doubt that the motor industry unions had become even more powerful in the 1970s/80s.  

That was the era of the Red Brigades in Italy.  Far-left activism was rife.  I suspect the unions were more powerful then, rather than less.

[davidbuckden]

Thanks chaps for these various replies - and, Michael, what you say most nearly chimes with my half-remembered reference to de Angelis.

 

Bruno's position, as being to some extent politically symbolic, was certainly a factor in regard to constraints on the team's options in considering other drivers.

 

In this period I was working for ARGB and it was a frequent experience in meetings in Arese for factory workers to come through the offices, shouting, chanting and brandishing placards, disrupting negotiating activities.  Unfortunately (and, maybe, understandably), most AR managers put concern for themselves within the political culture well above their responsibilities for AR's commercial success and the safeguarding of its reputation and terrific heritage. It's a miracle that we had any cars running in Grands Prix at that time, let alone that in '83 de Cesaris and the 183T were competitive.

[nexfast]

My Spanish is not really up to scratch, but I read some things in this article I found when googling.

https://elpais.com/d...665_477090.html

I also remember something about Giacomelli's father having a small political role (mayor) for a left wing party. Difficult to find sources for that, though. Maybe Prüller?

The relevant part of the article reads like this in English:

Let's speak about Bruno Giacomelli. On 26th October 1979 Brazilian sports magazine Placar announced he had signed with Alfa Romeo: "Competitions Director Carlo Chitti said Giacomelli was in his radar but what forced the hand of the state-run factory was a Communiqué from the Italian Communist Party demanding the hiring of Giacomelli and threatening that the workers in the competions department of Alfa Romeo would go on strike if he was not signed for 1980”. Giacomelli was a young and promising driver, who had been competing for the last two years. A heart and soul Communist, whose supporters suspected that any decison against him by the Formula One world of millionaires, and there were plenty, was a consequence of his militancy.

Then it speaks about his participation in the Kyalami driver's strike where he was, together with Lauda and de Angelis, one of the driving forces. He would read to his colleagues texts about terrorism (not clear if condemning or supporting, somehow I suspect the latter).

The rest of the article is about a dispute for his services between Ferrari and Mosley with some mention of the latter's father’s political views and the well-known sex scandal.

El País is a reputable Spanish daily but I think its sport section might not be of the highest level. Moreover, the source concerning the political affiliation of Giacomelli is a Brazilian magazine I never heard about. As others said before, he might have just surfed the wave because he thought it might help his career.

[davidbuckden]

Thanks Nexfast, that's helpful.  At the time I never had the impression of Bruno being a 'troublemaker' himself.  As I said before, maybe he was 'used' as a cypher by others with political motivation, (and there were plenty of those in Northern Italy just then). Recently there's been a burst of coverage, especially with the March 2021 Motor Sport feature on Bruno's recommissioning of his 182 and Girardo's offer for sale of a 179C.  In photographs now he appears to be everyone's favourite, jovial Italian uncle - certainly not a rabid political activist! 

[Vitesse2]

The newspaper l'Unità, founded by Antonio Gramsci - but which ceased publication about four years ago - was the official organ of the Italian Communist Party. The post-WW2 archive is available online. There are certainly references to Bruno, but I haven't gone any deeper than that!

 

http://unita.news/

[Charlieman]

It would be worth asking academic and journalist Martin Jacques. At the time, he was editor of Marxism Today, the theoretical journal of the Communist Party of Great Britain, and is a life long motor racing enthusiast. 

 

An aside, Martin Jacques' splendid tribute to his childhood hero:

https://www.theguard...-martin-jacques

[amerikalei]

Speaking of Bruno, saw this interesting brief interview.  The Robin Herd reference elsewhere in the article, about he and Bruno communicating in Latin because Bruno's English was not so great at the beginning of his career is humorous.  But apropos of this thread:

 

How was the collaboration with the great ingegnere Carlo Chiti?
He was an excellent person to get along with in times of success. But when things didn't go well, he could be cruel. His main motivation has always been to beat Enzo Ferrari's cars. A few years ago, his son said on TV that I was Chiti's favourite driver and something like another son. It surprised me quite a bit, because many world aces like Phil Hill, Jacky Ickx or Mario Andretti also drove for him during the decades. I think he liked me because we made fun of Ferrari a few times together in 1980. Chiti's biggest problem, however, was the fact that he couldn't solely take care of the team's sporting performance. Much of his time was taken up by politics. Not everyone at Alfa Romeo (mainly the unions) was enthusiastic about the financially expensive F1 programme. They considered it a waste of money and Chiti had to defend the sport.

 

https://retro-speed....e.asp?art=29562