Achille Varzi

Achille Varzi (8 August 1904 – 1 July 1948) was an Italian racing driver. He is remembered as the winner of the 1933 Monaco Grand Prix, as well as the winner of the first Formula One Grand Prix at the 1946 Turin Grand Prix, and as the chief rival of Tazio Nuvolari.

Career

Born in Galliate, province of Novara (Piedmont), Achille Varzi was the son of a textile manufacturer. As a young man, he was a successful motorcycle racer of Garelli, DOT, Moto Guzzi and Sunbeam, and rode seven times in the Isle of Man TT from 1924 before switching to auto racing in 1928 where, for the next ten years, he would rival Tazio Nuvolari, Rudolf Caracciola and Bernd Rosemeyer.

Varzi's first race car was a Type 35 Bugatti but he shortly changed to driving an Alfa Romeo, a brand with which he would score many victories during the 1929 Italian racing season. In 1930 Varzi acquired a vehicle from the relatively new Maserati company. He drove it as well as an Alfa Romeo earning his country's racing championship, a feat he would repeat in 1934. One of his big victories came at the prestigious Targa Florio, where he upset the favored Louis Chiron. Following his win at the 1933 Tripoli Grand Prix, a race at the time associated with a lottery, Varzi was at the forefront of allegations that the race had been fixed.

Varzi won six Grand Prix in 1934 driving the Alfa Romeo P3, at Alessandria, Tripoli, Targa Florio, Penya Rhin at Barcelona, Coppa Ciano and Nice. He also became the first driver in history to hold both the Targa Florio and Mille Miglia title in one season

Although the Alfa Romeo team had proved to be competitive under the management of Enzo Ferrari, Varzi decided to join the Auto Union team, racing for them between 1935 and 1937. This move coincided with Varzi having serious personal problems, including an addiction to morphine and a difficult affair with Ilse Pietsch (Engel/Hubitsch /Feininger), the wife of fellow driver Paul Pietsch. Quickly overshadowed by teammate Bernd Rosemeyer, his trips to the winners circle dropped to only four, but he did win his third Tripoli Grand Prix in his third different vehicle. By 1938, he had dropped out of sight and the advent of World War II ended racing in Europe. During the war, Varzi overcame his drug addiction and settled down with his new wife, Norma Colombo. At the end of the War, Varzi made a remarkable comeback at the age of 42. In 1946, he attempted to race a Maserati for the Indianapolis 500 but failed to qualify. In 1947, he won three minor Grand Prix races and traveled to Argentina to race in the Buenos Aires Grand Prix.

Death

During practice runs for the 1948 Swiss Grand Prix, a light rain fell on the Bremgarten track in Berne, Switzerland. Varzi's Alfa Romeo 158 skidded on the wet surface, flipping over and crushing him to death. He was buried in his hometown.

Legacy

Varzi's death resulted in the FIA mandating the wearing of crash helmets for racing, which had been optional previously. In 1950, Varzi's chief mechanic, Amedeo Bignami, co-established the Scuderia Achille Varzi in Argentina. The team entered some Formula One races in equipped with Maseratis 4CL and 4CLT and featured drivers José Froilán González, Antonio Branca, Alfredo Pián and Nello Pagani.

On 5 June 2004, Poste Italiane issued a stamp commemorating Varzi.

In popular culture

Varzi was mentioned more than once in the 2023 movie, Ferrari (2023 film). In the film, at least twice, Enzo Ferrari said that the newest addition to his racing team, Alfonso de Portago, "drives like Varzi."

Motorsports career results

Notable victories

In 1991, motorsport journalist Giorgio Terruzzi recounted Varzi's story in a book titled Una curva cieca – Vita di Achille Varzi. During his career, Achille Varzi competed in 139 races, winning 33. Some of his major victories include:

Avusrennen: 1933 Coppa Acerbo: 1930, 1935 Coppa Ciano: 1929, 1934 French Grand Prix: 1931 Monza Grand Prix: 1929, 1930 Nice Grand Prix: 1934 Gran Premio del Valentino: 1946 Mille Miglia: 1934 Monaco Grand Prix: 1933 Penya Rhin Grand Prix: 1934 Targa Florio: 1930, 1934 San Remo Grand Prix: 1937 Spanish Grand Prix: 1930 Tripoli Grand Prix: 1933, 1934, 1936 Tunis Grand Prix: 1931, 1932 Turin Grand Prix: 1946

European Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) Year Entrant Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 EDC Points 1931 Usines Bugatti Bugatti ITARet FRA1 BELRet 4= 12 1932 Ettore Bugatti Bugatti ITARet FRARet GER 16= 21 1935 Auto Union Auto Union MON FRA5 BEL GER8 SUI4 ITARet ESPRet 7= 39 1936 Auto Union Auto Union MON2 GER SUI2 ITARet 4 19 1937 Auto Union Auto Union BEL GER MON SUI ITA6 20= 36

Other Grandes Épreuves

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) 1933 Ettore Bugatti Bugatti MON1 FRA BEL2 ITARet ESP4 1934 Scuderia Ferrari Alfa Romeo MON6 FRA2 BELRet BELRet ITARet ESP5

Post-WWII Grandes Épreuves results

(key) Year Entrant Chassis 1 2 3 4 5 1947 Alfa Corse Alfa Romeo 158 SUI2 BEL2 ITA2 FRA 1948 Alfa Corse Alfa Romeo 158 MON SUIDNS † FRA ITA GBR