Andrea Lodovico de Adamich (born 3 October 1941) is a former

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

from Italy. He participated in 34 World Championship

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

Grands Prix, making his debut on 1 January 1968. He scored a total of six championship points. He also participated in numerous non-championship Formula One races.

Career

De Adamich was born in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

, from a family originally from

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. One of his ancestors,

Andrija Ljudevit Adamić Andrija Ljudevit Adamić (; 29 November 1766 – 31 October 1828) was a Croatian trader from the City of Fiume (), builder, supporter of economical and cultural development. Adamich was born into a wealthy Jewish family of Simon Adamić, tobac ...

, had been the wealthiest and most powerful merchant in

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

in the 18th century.Avakumovic, Ivan. "An Episode In The Continental System in the Illyrian Provinces", ''The Journal of Economic History'', Vol. 14. No 3 (Summer, 1954), pp. 254–261. Andrea de Adamich was an accomplished saloon and sport-car racer who performed solidly when asked to race in

where he was one of the few drivers to have worn glasses to race. He won the 1966

European Touring Car Championship The European Touring Car Championship was an international touring car racing series organised by the FIA. It had two incarnations, the first one between 1963 and 1988, and the second between 2000 and 2004. In 2005 it was superseded by the World ...

at the start of a long relationship with

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...

and made his GP debut in the 1968 South African race when his

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

spun off on oil. Later in the season he won the South American Temporada F2 Championship in Argentina with

but was not retained by the Italian team and he returned to the

fold as they entered F1 supplying engines to a third works

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...

. De Adamich only finished once in 1970 in the McLaren-Alfa and the following year was no more successful when the Alfa engine deal switched to

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...

. In 1972 De Adamich joined the

Surtees Surtees may refer to: People *Surti Muslims *Surtees (surname), an English surname Places *Surtees Bridge, a road bridge across the River Tees in Stockton-on-Tees Others *Surtees Racing Organisation, a British racing team and constructor *Surtee ...

team and scored his first

points when he finished fourth in the Spanish GP at Jarama. In 1973 he moved to

Brabham Motor Racing Developments Ltd., commonly known as Brabham ( ), was a British race car, racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. It was founded in 1960 by the Australian driver Jack Brabham and the British-Australian designer Ron Ta ...

. After a promising start of the season, when he finished again fourth in the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder, De Adamich career was ended abruptly due to injuries sustained in a multiple-car pile-up at the

British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor racing event organised in the United Kingdom by Motorsport UK. First held by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) in 1926 British Grand Prix, 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 ...

. The accident happened when

Jody Scheckter Jody David Scheckter (; born 29 January 1950) is a South African former racing driver and businessman, who competed in Formula One from to . Scheckter won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari, and remains the only Afric ...

, running fourth in his McLaren, spun across the track at Woodcote Corner at the end of the first lap, causing many other cars to collide and crash. The incident eliminated nine cars, including all three works Surtees cars. De Adamich retired the following year and became a respected motor sport journalist and TV pundit in his native Italy. From 1978 through 2012 he hosted the TV sport program ''Grand Prix'' on

Italia 1 Italia 1 (Italian pronunciation ) is an Italian free-to-air television channel on the Mediaset network, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It is aimed at both a young adult and adult audience. Italia 1 was launched on 3 January 1982 and, was or ...

. He is currently the vice-president of N.Technology which prepares race cars for

Racing record

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

( key)

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key)

Non-championship Formula One results

( key)

Complete European F5000 Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.)

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

References

External links

Profile on Historic Racing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adamich, Andrea De 1941 births Living people 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Brabham Formula One drivers European Formula Two Championship drivers European Touring Car Championship drivers Ferrari Formula One drivers Formula One journalists and reporters Italian Formula One drivers Italian Formula Three Championship drivers Italian racing drivers March Formula One drivers McLaren Formula One drivers Sportspeople from Trieste Surtees Formula One drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers Italian motorsport people Italian people of Croatian descent

Career

Racing record

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

Complete Formula One World Championship results

Non-championship Formula One results

Complete European F5000 Championship results

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

See also

References

External links