Francisco Sacco Landi (July 14, 1907 – June 7, 1989), better known as Chico, was a
racing driver from
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
, Brazil. He participated in six
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...
World Championship ''Grands Prix'', debuting on September 16, 1951. He scored a total of 1.5 championship points, awarded for his fourth-place finish in the
1956 Argentine Grand Prix, a drive he shared with
Gerino Gerini. He was the first Brazilian ever to take part in a Formula One Grand Prix, and also the first to score points.
History
Landi came from a modest middle-class family of Italian origins, and got into racing through his father, who owned a garage in Sào Paulo. Along with
Manuel de Teffé
Manuel may refer to:
People
* Manuel (name)
* Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers''
* Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies
* Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire
* Manu ...
and
Irineu Corrêa Irineu is the Portuguese version of the name Irenaeus.
This name is borne by:
People
*Irineu Calixto Couto
*Irineu Evangelista de Sousa
*Victor Irineu de Souza
Victor Irineu de Souza (born 3 April 1989 in Belo Horizonte), or simply Victor, is ...
, he popularized motor racing in Brazil in the late mid-thirties. Landi had left school at eleven to work as a mechanic, and later began illegal street racing at nights, where he had frequent run-ins with the police.
In 1934 he made his racing debut, at the second Rio Grand Prix in 1934. He led until eight laps from the finish, when his engine gave out.
[ Wolfe, p. 101] He was the most popular Brazilian driver of his time, as many considered Teffé, who was the son of a diplomat of Prussian heritage, a wealthy expat rather than an actual Brazilian, as he had started his racing career while living in Europe. When Corrêa, who ended up winning the 1934 Rio Grand Prix, died in a crash on the first lap of next year, Landi was left as the undisputed master of pre-war racing in Brazil. Landi went abroad in 1938, finishing eighth at
Bern in what is generally considered the first Brazilian Grand Prix entry.
[ Wolfe, p. 231 (footnote)] Landi's first Brazilian GP victory came at the
1941 Rio de Janeiro Grand Prix
The 1941 Rio de Janeiro Grand Prix was a Formula Libre motor race held at Gávea on 28 September 1941.
Classification
References
1940–1941 GRAND PRIX SEASON Additional reading
*
*
{{coord, 22, 59, 15, S, 43, 13, 44, W, region:BR_type:event ...
.
[
Landi was the first Brazilian driver to win a Grand Prix race, taking a Ferrari to victory at the Bari Grand Prix in 1948,]
Complete Formula One World Championship results
( key)
:''† Indicates Shared Drive with Jan Flinterman
Johannes Leonardus "Jan" Flinterman (2 October 1919 – 26 December 1992) was a Dutch air force pilot during World War II and a racing driver. Together with Dries van der Lof, he was the first driver from the Netherlands to compete in Formula ...
''
:''* Indicates Shared Drive with Gerino Gerini''
References
External links
* http://www.4mula1.ro/history/driver/Francisco_Landi
* http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/drv-lanfra.html
1907 births
1989 deaths
Brazilian racing drivers
Brazilian Formula One drivers
Scuderia Milano Formula One drivers
Maserati Formula One drivers
Brazilian people of Italian descent
World Sportscar Championship drivers
{{Brazil-autoracing-bio-stub