Ottorino Volonterio

Ottorino Volonterio (7 December 1917 - 10 March 2003): Swiss racing driver from Orselina, Ticino, a member of Swiss nobility who was trained as a lawyer before beginning his motorsport career, and who participated in three Formula One World Championship Grands Prix between 1954 and 1957, achieving a best result of eleventh place at the 1957 Italian Grand Prix, though he found greater success in sports car racing and hillclimbs while maintaining his legal practice. Born into Swiss nobility in Orselina, a village near Locarno in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino in southern Switzerland, Volonterio received a privileged upbringing and was educated in law, establishing a legal practice before discovering his passion for motorsport.

Unlike many racing drivers of his era who came from modest backgrounds, Volonterio was a true gentleman racer in the classical sense—titled, professionally educated, financially independent, and racing primarily for the love of the sport rather than financial necessity. He began competing in sports car races and hillclimbs in Switzerland during the late 1940s and early 1950s, driving various machinery including Alfa Romeo and Maserati sports racing cars. Volonterio made his Formula One debut at the 1954 Spanish Grand Prix at Pedralbes in Barcelona on 24 October 1954, the final round of the 1954 World Championship. He shared a Maserati 250F with compatriot Emmanuel de Graffenried, another Swiss gentleman racer and member of nobility.

The shared drive was common practice in the 1950s for endurance-length races, allowing drivers to split the physical demands. However, the Maserati suffered engine failure and the duo retired without completing significant distance, making for a disappointing Formula One debut. Volonterio did not compete in another World Championship race for two years. His return came at the 1956 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring Nordschleife on 5 August 1956, where he drove his own privately-entered Maserati 250F.

He qualified in 22nd position on the 28-car grid and completed the race, though finishing unclassified as he was six laps behind race winner Juan Manuel Fangio. While not scoring points, completing the daunting 22-lap race on the terrifying Nordschleife in a privateer Maserati represented a respectable achievement. Volonterio's third and final Formula One World Championship appearance came at the 1957 Italian Grand Prix at Monza on 8 September 1957, where he shared another Maserati 250F, this time with André Simon, a French driver. The duo managed to complete the race, finishing eleventh, some fifteen laps behind winner Stirling Moss in the Vanwall.

While eleventh place was well outside the points (only the top five scored in 1957), it represented Volonterio's best Formula One classification. These three World Championship appearances—one retirement and two distant finishes—represented the entirety of Volonterio's Formula One career, totaling zero championship points across three starts. However, Volonterio continued competing in non-championship Formula One races throughout the late 1950s, achieving moderate success in events that didn't count toward the World Championship but featured similar machinery and often comparable competition. His best non-championship result was second place at the Coupe de Paris at Montlhéry in 1955, demonstrating he was capable of competitive performances when circumstances aligned.

Beyond Formula One, Volonterio enjoyed considerable success in hillclimbing, a discipline particularly popular in Switzerland, Austria, and Italy that featured cars racing individually against the clock up mountain roads with tight corners, steep gradients, and minimal safety barriers. Volonterio competed in hillclimbs throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and remarkably into the 1970s, achieving numerous class victories and establishing himself as a respected competitor in Swiss and Italian hillclimb championships. He primarily drove Alfa Romeo sports and racing cars in these events, and his familiarity with Alpine roads from his Swiss upbringing gave him a natural advantage. Volonterio's hillclimbing career extended far beyond his brief Formula One appearances, and he continued driving Alfas competitively into the early 1970s, racing into his mid-50s with undiminished enthusiasm.

His final competitive appearance came in 1973, when Volonterio was 55 years old, marking nearly 25 years of active motorsport participation while simultaneously maintaining his legal practice. Following his retirement from competition in 1973, Volonterio lived quietly in Ticino, maintaining connections with Swiss motorsport and occasionally attending historic events. He remained a respected figure in Swiss racing circles as one of the country's Formula One participants during the 1950s, joining the small group of Swiss drivers including Jo Siffert, Clay Regazzoni, and Marc Surer who represented Switzerland at the sport's highest level. Ottorino Volonterio passed away on 10 March 2003 in Lugano, Switzerland, at age 85, having lived a full life combining his legal profession, his passion for motorsport, and his Swiss nobility heritage.

Known for being a true gentleman racer in the classical tradition, for his decades-long hillclimbing career extending well beyond his Formula One appearances, for maintaining his legal practice throughout his racing career, and for representing Swiss motorsport during the 1950s golden era, Volonterio embodied the amateur spirit of early motorsport when wealthy, educated men raced for sport rather than profession, accepting the dangers inherent in the activity while pursuing excellence on their own terms.