Riccardo Paletti

Riccardo Paletti (15 June 1958 – 13 June 1982) was an Italian motor racing driver. Paletti was killed when he crashed on the start grid in his second Formula One start.

Life before racing Born in Milan, Riccardo Paletti was the son of Gianna and Arietto Paletti, a Milanese entrepreneur who had built his fortune as a real estate developer, and amongst a number of business interests was the importer for Pioneer audio equipment in Italy.

Paletti's early sporting interests were broad; he was Italian junior karate champion at thirteen, and was in contention for a place on the Italian national alpine skiing youth team. Raul Boesel just clipped the back left of the Ferrari, spinning his March into the path of Eliseo Salazar and Jochen Mass. Salazar, Boesel and Mass suffered minor impacts but it looked as if everyone had passed the Ferrari without serious consequences. However, Paletti could not react in time and slammed into the rear of the stranded Ferrari at 180 km/h , catapulting it into the path of Geoff Lees. The Osella's nose was crushed heavily.

Due to the force of the severe impact, Paletti sustained heavy chest injuries and was lying unconscious in his car, wedged against the steering wheel. Sid Watkins, the FIA's head doctor, was on the scene to stabilise and assist Paletti. As Watkins climbed over the wreckage of the Osella, the petrol from the fuel tank ignited, enveloping the car in a wall of fire. When the fire was finally put out, the injured Paletti was without a pulse. It took the rescue workers 25 minutes to cut him out safely from his wrecked car, as the sparks caused by the cutting equipment threatened to re-ignite the petrol on the track. He was flown by a medical helicopter to the Royal Victoria Hospital, where he died soon after arriving. His mother was watching from the stands, where they were to celebrate his 24th birthday later that week. Paletti suffered a torn aorta as well as fractures to both legs. According to track doctor Jacques Bouchard his pupils were already dilated when medical personnel arrived and that the extended extraction time made no difference to his chances of survival.

Paletti was the second Formula One driver to die during the 1982 season. Five weeks earlier, Gilles Villeneuve had a fatal crash during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder. Paletti was the last Formula One driver to die in a race until the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, which saw the death of Roland Ratzenberger during qualifying and of three-time world champion Ayrton Senna during the race itself. In 1986, Elio de Angelis was killed during testing at Circuit Paul Ricard three days after the 1986 Monaco Grand Prix, but the test was not part of a Grand Prix.

In tribute to Paletti, the racetrack at Varano de' Melegari, in the province of Parma (northern Italy) is now called the Autodromo Riccardo Paletti. There is also a side altar in the Church of Santa Maria al Carrobiolo, Monza dedicated to his memory, in the Chapel of the Crucifix.

Paletti is buried at the Cimitero Maggiore di Milano.

In July 1982, the Italy national football team dedicated their World Cup victory to Villeneuve and Paletti, and collectively held a banner with their dedication on the field after defeating West Germany in the final, which read "Villeneuve, Paletti... Corriamo insieme, il terzo titolo è nostro!" (lit. 'Villeneuve, Paletti... We speed together, the third title is ours!').

Racing record

Complete European Formula Two Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pts March 792 BMW SIL HOC THR NÜR VAL MUG PAU HOC ZAN PER MIS DON NC 0 Mike Earle Racing with MarchMarch 802 BMW THR HOC NÜR VAL PAU SIL ZOL MUG ZAN PER MIS HOC NC 0 Onyx RacingMarch 812 BMW SIL HOC THR NÜR VAL MUG PAU PER SPA DON MIS MAN 10th 11

Complete Formula One results (key) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 WDC Pts. Osella Squadra Corse Osella FA1C Cosworth V8 RSA BRA USW SMR BEL MON DET CAN NED GBR FRA GER AUT SUI ITA CPL NC 0