Formula 1 disputes this weekend the Grand Prix of Mexico at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. A story, that of the Rodríguez Brothers, full of success … and death.
Motor racing is a sport that can be beautiful one moment and tragic a second later. And that same, the tragedy, ended with the race, and with the life, of two of the most promising drivers of the 60s and 70s, the Rodríguez Brothers, Pedro and Ricardo, authentic myths in Mexico, legends that give the Autodromo its name. where this weekend the Formula 1 Mexican GP will be held. This is the sad story of the two idols of Mexican motorsport, who are only overshadowed by Sergio ‘Checo’ Pérez.
PEDRO RODRIGUEZ (Mexico City, 1940; Nuremberg, Germany, 1971) and RICARDO RODRÍGUEZ (Mexico City, 1942-1962) were the two greatest legends of Mexican motorsport until the arrival in recent years of today’s Red Bull driver ‘Checo’ Pérez. Their names are worshiped in Mexico, not in vain do they give their name to the Mexico City Autodrome, one of the best in the American continent.
Natalio Rodríguez Quijada, the millionaire father and patron of his two pilot sons, Pedro and Ricardo.
NATALIO RODRÍGUEZ QUIJADAA millionaire Mexican businessman, he dedicated a large part of his life to supporting the sports careers of his two sons, Pedro and Ricardo. Thanks to their financial support, the young Mexican drivers always had on hand, for rent or ownership, units of the best brands of the moment (Ferrari, Porsche …) with which to face the many races, official and unofficial, in those early years of Formula 1 (born in 1950).
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RICARDO, SECOND IN HIS HANDS. In 1958, at just 16 years old, Ricardo signed up, along with his brother Pedro, to compete in the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans, but was rejected due to his young age. But two years later, together with the French driver André Pilette, Ricardo Rodríguez achieved nothing less than second place in the most influential endurance race.
RICARDO, THE MOST POPULAR. The young Ricardo, despite being still almost a teenager, focused all the media gazes in Mexico, and in the world of motorsport in general, for his immense quality as a driver, for his winning character, and for his attractiveness in all areas.
TO FORMULA 1 IN FERRARI. Such was the fame that Ricardo Rodríguez was gaining race by race, that Ferrari noticed him for the near future in Formula 1. And in this way, he was invited to race the Italian GP of 1961, although he could not finish the race due to a mechanical problem.
TWO BROTHERS AT LE MANS. That same year, 1961, the Rodríguez Brothers, who alternated speed and endurance events, were finally able to take part together in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in which Ricardo had been second the year before. And although they were favorites to victory for 22 hours, a breakdown in their Ferrari deprived them of a victory that would have been epic.
In 1962, Ricardo Rodríguez was a pilot Ferrari official, the first and until today the last Mexican who has dressed in red in F1.
RICARDO, OFFICIAL PILOT OF FERRARI. After the test in Italy in 1961, Ricardo became an official Ferrari driver in 1962. Although things did not go very well for him, he was only able to add four points in the five races he disputed.
Ricardo Rodríguez, aboard the Lotus in the that he would die minutes later in the first practice session of the 1962 Mexican GP.
Adolfo López Mateos, President of the Republic of Mexico at that time, precedes Pedro Rodríguez in the burning chapel of his brother Ricardo.
RICARDO’S DEATH IN 1962. And Ricardo Rodríguez could not achieve more successes in Formula 1 because on November 1, 1962 death crossed the path of his car. Although Ferrari did not participate in the Mexican GP, since it did not give points for the 1962 World Championship, Ricardo asked the Cavallino for permission to let them compete in the first Grand Prix of their country on the back of a private Lotus 24. But on the first day of practice, when he had achieved the best time … Ricardo entered, on the last lap of the day, too fast in the parabolic curve of the Autodromo that was then called Magdalena Mixhuca, he hit the guardrail and they were fired , the Lotus on the one hand and Ricardo on the other. The young pilot, who was only 20 years old, died on the spot, causing a drama on a national scale, as Mexico lost what seemed to be its greatest sports figure in the following years.
The Cooper-Maserati with which Pedro Rodríguez achieved the first Mexican victory in F1 in 1967.
FIRST MEXICAN VICTORY IN F1. After the death of Ricardo Rodríguez, life continued, especially for Pedro, who, far from being daunted after the death of his little brother, continued to compete at the highest level, to the point that, on January 2, 1967, he He became the first Mexican to win a Formula 1 race, specifically the South African Grand Prix, the first race of the year, thereby also reaching the lead. At the end of that season, Pedro Rodríguez ranked sixth in the World Cup.
The mythical Ford GT with which Pedro Rodríguez achieved the victory in Le Mans 1968, together with a stamp commemorating the success.
TRIUMPH IN THE 24 HOURS OF LE MANS. Pedro Rodríguez always alternated speed and endurance, and always at the highest level, and in this way in 1968 he achieved the best victory of his career, by winning, together with the Belgian Lucien Bianchi, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and aboard one of the legendary cars of the French event, the Ford GT.
‘CAT EYES’. That was the nickname with which Pedro Rodríguez was known for his extreme ability to ride in the wet and at night, making him a true specialist for endurance tests. Those who saw both said that Pedro was even better in the wet than another Formula 1 myth: Ayrton Senna.
SHORT RACE … BUT SUCCESSFUL. Pedro Rodríguez, despite also dying very young, achieved very important successes in his automobile career, with the aforementioned triumph in the 24 Hours of Le Mans (test that he played 14 years in a row), four victories in the 24 Hours of Daytona, 11 in World Endurance events, two wins in Formula 1, with seven podiums and one fastest lap.
SECOND AND LAST WIN IN F1. In 1970, Pedro once again climbed to the top of the podium in a Formula 1 race, and not on any other circuit: no less than at the Belgian GP, at Spa-Francorchamps.
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It was the last great triumph of the Mexican champion, who was about to relive, or rather ‘remorse’ the tragedy of the death of his brother Ricardo just nine years earlier.
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DEATH OF PEDRO RODRÍGUEZ IN 1971. Like his brother Ricardo, Pedro Rodríguez died in a race … that he should not have contested. In those days, drivers did not have an exclusive contract with the teams with which they competed in Formula 1, so they had to do ‘bowling’ in order, for example, to be able to pay for their seats in higher competitions. In this way, on July 11, 1971, Pedro Rodríguez, who was contesting his second year in F1 with BRM, took the start in a minor event, the 200 Miles of Norisring, in Nuremberg (Germany). And in the middle of the race, the German driver Kurt Hild, who was traveling at very low speed, suddenly took an unexpected turn just at the moment when Pedro was overtaking at high speed. Result: the Mexican pilot ate the wall engulfed in flames. And although the medical services revived him three times during his transfer to the hospital, the fourth time was the charm, and the Rodríguez family experienced its second fatal tragedy in just nine years.
MEXICAN LEGENDS. With Pedro’s death, the Rodríguez Brothers achieved the title of legends of both motorsports and Mexico, and just two years later, in 1973, the Magdalena Mixhuca Autodrome, where Ricardo had lost his life 11 years earlier, changed its name to Hermanos Rodríguez, where this weekend a new edition of the Grand Prix of Mexico will be held.
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