Cesare Perdisa (21 October 1932 – 10 May 1998) was an Italian

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

from Bologna. He participated in eight Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 22 May 1955. He achieved two podiums and scored a total of five championship points. Significantly younger than the majority of the drivers around at the time, Perdisa often gave his car to his more experienced teammates when they encountered troubles. This happened, for example, on the 11th lap of the

1956 Belgian Grand Prix The 1956 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 3 June 1956 at Spa-Francorchamps. It was race 4 of 8 in the 1956 World Championship of Drivers. After the first day of practice on Thursday, Fangio was on pole with a time almost 5 ...

, when

Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British Formula One racing driver. An inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, he won 212 of the 529 races he entered across several categories of comp ...

lost the right rear wheel of his

Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914, in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...

. Moss brought his car to a stop and ran a quarter of a mile back to the pits where he took over Perdisa's Maserati, which he drove to the finish. In March 1957 Perdisa withdrew from the upcoming

12 Hours of Sebring The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in Sebring, Florida, US. The event is the second round ...

after the death of his teammate Eugenio Castellotti. Castellotti died at the Modena Autodrome when he crashed a

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

he was testing for the event. Although Perdisa initially claimed he was giving up racing only temporarily because of the shock he experienced when Castellotti died, he subsequently retired for good.''Italian Out Of Race'', New York Times, 17 March 1957, Page S4. Perdisa was Castellotti's closest friend. Shortly after his retirement, Perdisa hit the news again in September 1957 when he rushed

Juan Manuel Fangio Juan Manuel Fangio (American Spanish: , ; 24 June 1911 – 17 July 1995), nicknamed ''El Chueco'' ("the bowlegged" or "bandy legged one") or ''El Maestro'' ("The Master" or "The Teacher"), was an Argentine racing car driver. He dominated t ...

and his wife, Andrea, to a hospital in Bologna. The couple had been thrown from their 2.5 litre

Lancia Aurelia The Lancia Aurelia is a car produced by Italian manufacturer Lancia from 1950 to the summer of 1958. It is noted for using one of the first series-production V6 engines. Several body styles were offered: 4-door saloon, 2-door GT coupé (B20), ...

while trying to avoid a truck entering the highway. Travelling at close to 100 mph, Fangio's car had smashed into a utility pole, although he and his wife only sustained bruises. Following his retirement, Perdisa and his brother Sergio edited the official magazine of Calderini Agricole, the largest company in Italy specialised in agriculture.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key) :''* Indicates shared drive with

Jean Behra Jean Marie Behra (16 February 1921 – 1 August 1959) was a Formula One driver who raced for the Gordini, Maserati, BRM, Ferrari and Porsche teams. Appearance and personality Behra was small in stature, stocky, and weighed 178 pounds.''B ...

'' :''† Indicates shared drive with

'' :''‡ Indicates shared drive with Peter Collins and Wolfgang von Trips''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perdisa, Cesare 1932 births 1998 deaths Italian racing drivers Italian Formula One drivers Maserati Formula One drivers Ferrari Formula One drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers Sportspeople from Bologna