Reclusive Nano oldest surviving F1 driver at 99

STILL living somewhere, probably Biarritz, or perhaps Rio de Janeiro, or elsewhere in France or Brazil — is one Hermano Joao da Silva Ramos.

At 99, he’s the oldest ex-Formula 1 driver still living, and leading Germany’s Hans Herrmann by three years.

Nano, as he’s known, had his first F1 race, driving a Gordini in the 1955 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, while Hans made his debut two seasons earlier, in a Veritas in the 1953 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring.

There are also just two former world champions over the age of 80: Mario Andretti at 83, and Jackie Stewart at 84.

A survivor of one of motorsport’s most dangerous eras, Nano had a mixed career as a gentleman and professional driver.

He was the third Brazilian driver after Chico Landi, whose first World Championship GP came in 1951, and Gino Bianco (in 1952).

Born in Paris on December 7, 1925, of a Brazilian father and a French mother, he enjoyed dual nationalities.

In race reports, he was considered French by French publications and Brazilian by those in South America, while others simply referred to him as a Franco-Brazilian driver.

He could easily cope with any description, was fluent in French, Portuguese and English, and spent most of his life in France.

His romance with motor racing started in 1947 when he entered his MG TC in the Interlagos GP in Brazil.

It was an odd entry, but it was apparently accepted because there were only 10 other entrants – all of them international stars in serious racing cars.

So young Nano’s modest little sports car was clearly no match for the Italian racing thoroughbreds and he was among the eight retirements.

That meant the three podium placers were the only drivers who finished.

Achille Varzi won in an Alfa Romeo 308 from the similar car of Chico Landi and Gino Bianco was third in a Maserati.

In 1953 and ‘54, Nano got more involved, driving an Aston Martin DB2/4 in sports car races in France.

He and other Parisian drivers tended to frequent L’Action Automobile, in Avenue d’Lena, a pub run by Harry Schell, who by then was also a driver of renown.

Other close friends were the American journalist, Ed Nelson, and the colourful and multi-talented Spanish ace, the Marquis Alfonso de Portago.

Nano took his DB2/4 to second place in the 1954 Paris Cup at Montlhéry and then entered the 24 heures du Mans with co-driver Jean-Paul Colas.

He was the first Brazilian to take part in the prestigious French race, but after 14 hours they had to retire with gearbox problems.

At the end of the year he debuted a Gordini Type 18 in the Salon Cup, but again had to retire.

In 1955 he bought a Gordini 43 sports car, but kept his Aston Martin for competition and had a go at Italy’s formidable Mille Miglia.

Also in the race were Ed Nelson and De Portago, who had teamed up to drive an OSCA, but retired with mechanical bothers.

“It was a terrible and very dangerous race,” Nano said.

“Every year spectators died because of cars crashing into the crowd.

“The organisers did not want to let reporters know this because the Mille Miglia was so important for Italian car manufacturers and Italy — it was one of the most prestigious races in the world.”

True words.

Just two years later it claimed the lives of De Portago, Nelson and nine spectators.

De Portago was by then a works Ferrari driver and the tragedy came when a tyre burst while they were travelling at some 240km/h in their 335 S.

There were no more competitive Mille Miglias after that, though it is these days run as a regularity event.

Nano also competed in North Africa with his Gordini and finished fifth at the Agadir GP in both 1955 and 1956, and sixth in the Dakar GP in Senegal.

The year 1956 was indeed a busy year for him.

He took part in 18 different events that year, won the Coupes de Vitesse at Montlhery, also the Coupe d’Automne at the same circuit, and had a string of sixth places and DNFs in various Gordinis – including one in the Grand Prix of Venezuela.

Six weeks later he and Jacques Pollet finished 4th in the Bol d’Or.

They had put in a terrific performance and led the race for six of the 24 hours but suspension problems slowed their pace.

However, they still finished first in the 2.0-litre class.

That led to him being hired by Amédée Gordini to tackle Le Mans in a Gordini 15S, again with Pollet.

Unfortunately they had to retire after 14 hours because a stone thrown up by another car holed the Gordini’s radiator.

Just a week later, he placed 8th in the Dutch GP.

Nano also entered the British GP at Aintree and the Italian GP at Monza, but mechanical problems forced him out of both races.

He also drove in the Syracuse F1 GP but had to retire the car, then got a fifth place in the International Trophy and a fifth place again in the Monaco GP with the new Gordini 32.

Those World Championship points made him the Brazilian driver with the most F1 World Championship points for the next 14 years, before the arrival of Emerson Fittipaldi in 1970.

Those two points, with which Nano classified 19th in the 1956 Championship, were also the last scored by the Gordini team.

Other events for him that year ranged from the 1000km of Paris, the Supercortemaggiore in Monza where he finished 6th with Robert Manzon, the Reims 12 hours and the ACF GP, the Le Mans 24 hours where he drove a Gordini 17S with Guelfi, plus the Salon Cup and Venezuelan GP.

By the end of the 1956 season Nano had taken part in seven official Grands Prix.

The Gordini team was in dire straits by 1957 but he did manage to drive for them on two occasions: he ran sixth at Pau with a Gordini 32 and had to retire once more in Naples, when the Gordini 16’s brakes failed.

Then his racing came to a sudden stop.

“The death of Fon, (de Portago) one of my greatest friends, was a terrible shock for my wife and me,” he said.

“She was pregnant and she had a serious breakdown because she was really scared for me, she did not want to see me continue racing.

“So I put an end to my career . . . for a couple of months.

“My son was born in October and I could not resist coming back to car racing.”

So, in September, 1957, Nano took part in the Tour de France, at the wheel of a Jaguar.

The next year he focused on the Grand Touring class and bought a Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta with his friend, Jean Estager.

But he still squeezed in one single-seater race: the F2 International Speed Cup in Reims where he finished 7th in a Cooper T45 entered by Alan Brown.

In GTs, the season was much more successful with a win in the 3 heures de Pau at the wheel of an Alfa Romeo Giulietta GT2 and another in the Spa GP with a Ferrari 250GT.

He also ran fifth in the Auvergne Trophy and on the podium with a third in the Tour de France with Estager.

He also drove in the 12 heures de Reims with Phil Hill, finishing seventh.

Ford concept converted to Batmobile

In 1959, Nano da Silva Ramos was back in F1 and was hired by the Scuderia Centro-Sud to drive a Maserati 250F in three races in Britain, the best result being fourth at the 200 miles of Aintree.

A few months later he was hired by the Scuderia Ferrari to run at Le Mans, for the fourth time.

“I have a lot of respect for Enzo Ferrari who was an extraordinary man,” Nano said.

“But I don’t think he had respect for the drivers, nor did he care about their lives.”

It wasn’t a great race for Nano and his co-drivers, Cliff Allison and Dan Gurney, when they had to retire their Ferrari with gearbox hassles after just four hours.

Things looked up in the last event of the season when he and Estager won their class in the Tour de France in a Jaguar Mk1.

He surfaced again in November, 1960 in the Rio GP at Guanabara, finishing a strong second at the wheel of a Porsche.

Then his wife put the brakes on his career once more.

“She could not sleep as she was always scared for me,” he said.

“You know, in those days, racing was much more dangerous than nowadays.

“Three or four drivers died each year.

“It was terrible.

“I remember one race when I saw a wheel passing just above my head. I thought: ‘Who is the idiot who has just lost his wheel?” I suddenly realised it was mine!

“Doctors told me that the best way to put an end to my wife’s breakdown – she had lost seven or eight kilos – was to either divorce her or put a definite end to my career.

“I chose the second option – and then I could not sleep for two years!”

However, the irrepressible Nano returned to La Sarthe in 2012 and 2014, and in the first event, at the age of 86, he took part in the Le Mans Classic race in a 1936 MG.

He was elected to the Le Mans 24 Hours Hall of Fame in 2013 and at 2014’s event was reunited with the Aston Martin DB2/4, 60 years after his outing in a similar model.

Last heard of, he was living in Biarritz, France, with wife Nelly and had swapped his steering wheel for a career in electronics.

He was an active member of the F1 Grand Prix Drivers Club.

“I have always followed Formula One, and of course the Le Mans 24 Hours, which is my favourite race.” he said.

“I knew lots of drivers and was a close friend of François Cevert, his sister Jacqueline and her husband Jean-Pierre Beltoise, and Alain Prost too.

“They kept me involved in motor racing when I wanted to make a complete break from it, but that’s life.

“I’d been in auto racing since the 1940s. It was an adventure. You knew you were going out, but you didn’t know if you would arrive . . .”

On December 7 Nano turned 99. Just another 12 months to the magic Nano ton.