Born in Paris of a Brazilian father and French mother, Nano de Silva Ramos was considered a French driver by French journalists and a Brazilian by Brazilian journalists. Other journalists just treated him as Franco-Brazilian. He began racing in 1947 but started attracting attention in 1954 when he entered the Le Mans 24-Hour and then in 1955 he took part a three grands prix for the Gordini team. In 1956 he came fifth at Monaco, his best championship result, but then suffered poor returns at the Italian and British GPs. The 1957 campaign was overshadowed by the travails of the Gordini team, and after it failed he concentrated mainly on sports cars having bought a Ferrari. In 1959 he returned to F1 in a Maserarti without success, and was also hired by Ferrari to take part in the Le Mans 24-Hour, but there was little enthusiasm for the team on Ramos' part. "I have a lot of respect for Enzo Ferrari who was an extraordinay man but I think he did not respect his drivers and he did not care about their lives," he said. At the end of the season family pressures led to him retiring. "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 divorce her or to put a definite end to my career," he recalled. " I chose the second option and I could not sleep for two years because of that decision."
Martin Williamson