“I was very good friends with Fangio”

Born in the French capital in 1925, Hermano spent his childhood and adolescence in Rio de Janeiro. The fact that he was born in Paris does not make him “less” Brazilian. Nelsinho Piquet, who raced in F1, and Max Wilson, who was a test driver in the category, were born in Germany and are Brazilian in body and soul. Other foreigners were also born in one country and competed under another flag, such as Dutchman Max Verstappen, who was born in Belgium. Another F1 champion, Jochen Rindt was born in Germany, but carried the Austrian flag in his heart.

— I have the impression of being much more Brazilian than French in motorsport — he underlined.

Nano, as he is affectionately known to his family and friends, competed in motorsports between the 1940s and 1960s, flying the Brazilian flag on his suit and cars in most of the races he entered.

Known to Europeans as Da Silva since the days when he entered the cockpits and accelerated the most diverse competition cars, Hermano was the third Brazilian driver in the history of Formula 1. He ventured into the glorious and no less dangerous 1950s of F1. Before him, only Chico Landi and Gino Bianco had represented Brazil in this category.

From his home in Biarritz, a town of 26,000 inhabitants on the Atlantic coast in southwest France, 40 kilometers from the border with Spain, the former F1 driver kindly gave an exclusive interview to GLOBO and recalled memorable episodes from his motorsport career and the Formula 1 races he participated in in the 1950s.

— I finished fifth at the 1956 Monaco Grand Prix. It was great! — remembers Nano, who was the highest-ranked driver for the former French team Gordini during that race.

For 14 years, Hermano was the Brazilian driver with the most points in Formula 1; the mark was only surpassed at the 1970 German GP, ​​when Emerson Fittipaldi, making his second F1 race, finished fourth at Hockenheim.

It is interesting to note that before Hermano’s two points for fifth place in Monaco, Chico Landi had finished the Argentine GP in fourth place, which would have earned him three points in the 1956 world championship. The detail is that, during this race in Buenos Aires, Landi’s last in F1, the Brazilian had to share the wheel of the Maserati with the Italian Gerino Gerini. According to the regulations at the time, in situations like this, each driver would receive half the points. Therefore, Landi only got 1.5 points.

The golden years of Formula 1

In addition to the Monaco GP, Nano participated in six other official races in the category between 1955 and 1956.all by the Gordini team. He accelerated on legendary circuits like Silverstone and the old Monza track with its banked turns. The Brazilian driver also took part in eight unofficial GPs between 1956 and 1959.

Nano made his F1 debut at the 1955 Dutch GP, which saw a Mercedes one-two with Juan Manuel Fangio first and Stirling Moss second.

— Fangio is considered the best, but for me Stirling Moss was superior. When they were teammates, the Argentinian was older and more experienced. Then Mercedes, which dominated the races, gave preference to Fangio and he won the world championship — explained Nano, referring to the 1955 season. That year, Fangio won the third of his five titles and Moss took second place.

In fact, Fangio’s fifth championship was a record that stood for 46 years. It was not until 2003 that the South American record was broken; that year, German Michael Schumacher, who would become a seven-time world champion, won his sixth F1 title.

— I was very friendly with Fangio, who was the greatest pilot of all. But the Stirling Moss was also very good. In my opinion, English was better. Outside of Formula 1, I remember beating Stirling Moss, who drove an Aston Martin, in a Gran Turismo race. In that race, I drove a Ferrari, he remembers.

Proud to have driven for Ferrari, Nano remembers a conversation he had with Enzo Ferrari, founder of the legendary Italian team.

— Enzo called me to talk. He gave me two pieces of advice: stay on track and be fast. He told me he wouldn’t talk about it anymore. He said if I wanted to win, I had to do it this way, otherwise he would kick me out (of the team). In the next race there were 15 Ferrari cars and I beat them all. I was able to run and do my best. I won at Spa, in Belgium, which was the most difficult circuit in the world, he remembers.

Nano also competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. During the 1959 edition, he competed on the French track at the wheel of the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa in partnership with British driver Cliff Allison.

— At the time, I broke the record at the Le Mans circuit, but unfortunately the car broke down — he said.

Four years earlier, Nano had also participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The 1955 edition was marked by the greatest tragedy in world motorsport. During this race, Frenchman Pierre Levegh, who was driving a Mercedes 300 SLR, died in a very serious accident which killed more than 80 people and injured 120 others who were on the circuit. Hermano emerged from this test unscathed.

At 100 years old, Nano follows modern Formula 1

Even though he left the track at the age of 35, Hermano, now 100, follows Formula 1.

— Formula 1 is much safer today. On the other hand, at the time I was competing, the category was nicer. Currently, F1 has become monotonous; It’s always the same people who win the races, he says.

In the 1980s, Nano was introduced to Ayrton Senna, when the São Paulo native was taking his first steps in Formula 1. He remembers being impressed by the potential of the young man, who would become a three-time world champion.

— Thank you very much and see you soon, friends of Formula 1.