Giancarlo Baghetti

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Giancarlo Baghetti
Formula One Career
Nationality	Italian
Active years	1961 - 1967
Team(s)	Ferrari, Automobili Turismo e Sport, Scuderia Centro Sud, Brabham, Reg Parnell, Lotus
Grands Prix	21
Championships	0
Wins	1
Podium finishes	1
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	1
First Grand Prix	1961 French Grand Prix
First win	1961 French Grand Prix
Last win	1961 French Grand Prix
Last Grand Prix	1967 Italian Grand Prix

Giancarlo Baghetti (born December 25, 1934 in Milan, Italy; died November 27, 1995) was a Formula One driver who raced for the Ferrari, ATS (Ita), BRM, Brabham and Lotus teams.

Baghetti still remains the only driver to have won his first ever World Championship race (aside from Nino Farina, as the winner of the first ever World Championship Grand Prix in 1950, by default a first).

He began racing in 1955 in production cars, moving up to Formula Junior in 1958. In 1961 he was selected by the Federazione Italiana Scuderie Automobilistiche (FISA), a coalition of independent Italian team owners who had agreed a loan deal with Ferrari for a 246 Dino Formula Two car to run in non-Championship Grand Prix, giving experience to promising Italian drivers. Despite not showing spectacular form in lower categories, Baghetti was chosen over Albino Buttichi and Lucien de Sanctis for the seat. The car was first entered for the Syracuse Grand Prix, the first major event ran under the new 1.5 litre championship regulations, and against a strong field Baghetti qualified 2nd and won in the only Ferrari, with the British teams and Porsche 718 Flat-4 unable to compete with the Ferrari Dino's V6 engine. He then used the same car to win at the Napoli Grand Prix a few weeks later.

Team FISA then acquired a new Ferrari 156 for the French Grand Prix at Reims-Gueux, entering Baghetti for this World Championship event. Once Wolfgang von Trips, Richie Ginther and Phil Hill had all retired their works 156 cars, Baghetti was left to uphold Ferrari honour. He overcame Dan Gurney's Porsche 718 to take victory, giving him a hat-trick of wins from his first three Grand Prix. He would enter two more Championship races, retiring from the British and Italian Grand Prix, though he posted fastest lap in the latter. He would also win the poorly-attended Prima Coppa Italia race at Vallelunga in a Porsche 718.

He was promoted to the works Ferrari line-up for 1962, but took just two Championship placings - 4th at the Dutch Grand Prix, and 5th at the Italian Grand Prix, as Ferrari was outclassed by the British teams. Baghetti would take 2nd in the non-Championship Mediterranean Grand Prix. He would be involved in the disastrous ATS effort in 1963, joining up with Phil Hill for Carlo Chitti's breakaway team, but failed to register a finish from five starts. For 1964 he switched to Scuderia Centro Sud's outdated BRM P57 cars, peaking with 7th at the Austrian Grand Prix. His Grand Prix career would then be virtually over, though he would have three more one-off drives, all at the Italian Grand Prix - a works Brabham in 1965, a Reg Parnell-entered Ferrari in 1966, and a works Lotus in 1967, when he would have scored a point but for a blown engine.

He achieved some success in the European Touring Car Championship with Alfa Romeo and FIAT Abarth, winning the 1966 1000cc Class Championship in an Abarth 1000. After dabbling in Formula Two, he retired after a huge accident at the 1968 "Monza Lottery", becoming a journalist and photographer in motorsport and fashion. Baghetti died of cancer in 1995.

While his ultimate level of talent is still debated, Baghetti's Championship debut win has secured him a footnote in Formula One history. On the one hand, he won his first three F1 races, starting with two non-championship Grand Prix races in Italy, no mean feat for any driver even in superior machinery; on the other, his results both before and after this were unimpressive.

[edit] Complete Formula One World Championship Results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Team	WDC	Points
1961	FISA	MON	DUT	BEL	FRA 1	GBR Ret	GER	ITA Ret	USA				Scd. Sant Ambroeus	9th	9
1962	Ferrari	DUT 4	MON	BEL Ret	FRA	GBR	GER 10	ITA 5	USA	RSA			Ferrari	11th	5
1963	ATS	MON	BEL Ret	DUT Ret	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA 15	USA Ret	MEX Ret	RSA		ATS	-	0
1964	Scuderia Centro Sud	MON	DUT 10	BEL 8	FRA	GBR 12	GER Ret	AUT 7	ITA 8	USA	MEX		Scuderia Centro Sud	-	0
1965	Brabham	RSA	MON	BEL	FRA	GBR	DUT	GER	ITA Ret	USA	MEX		Brabham	-	0
1966	Reg Parnell	MON	BEL	FRA	GBR	DUT	GER	ITA NC	USA	MEX			Reg Parnell	-	0
1967	Lotus	RSA	MON	DUT	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	CAN	ITA Ret	USA	MEX	Lotus	-	0