Simon TAYLOR

‘His team had to keep quiet about his habit of glugging a couple of glasses of red with his pasta before a race’

In the 1960s the Brambilla brothers, Ernesto ('Tino') and Vittorio, ran a humble garage within earshot of Italy's hallowed Monza track. They were a rough, tough pair, stocky and barrel-chested. After some success in Formula Three, Tino, the elder, got an F2 ride with Ferrari, and finally Enzo summoned him for his dream F1 drive in the 1969 Italian Grand Prix - at Monza, of course.

But two days before, he fell off a motorbike and broke his wrist. He told no-one and took part in the first practice session, but so great was his pain that he could not set a decent time. Pedro Rodríguez was there spectating, so Ferrari hastily put him in the car. He had to borrow Tino's overalls and distinctive orange helmet, confusing the partisan crowds who assumed that he was their local hero and urged him on with cheers and waves.

For most of his brother's racing career, Vittorio, younger by four years, acted as his mechanic. But eventually he raced a self-built F3 car, then progressed to an F2 March with sponsorship from Beta Utensili SpA, a local tool manufacturer. Fast, aggressive and brave, he had plenty of accidents, earning from rivals his enduring nickname: 'The Monza Gorilla.'