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Behind the Scenes: F1 Historic cars at Monza

The Caira brothers, Silvano and Sebastiano, through their company, Officina Caira, organized a parallel event to the different FIA sanctioned races (F1, F2, F3, and Porsche Cup) for the 2023 Italian Grand Prix weekend at Monza with several historic and iconic F1 cars.

The cars on display, and raced, were:

1959 Cooper T51

This is one of the chassis that propelled Sir Jack Brabham to his first of three World Driver titles.

1971-1973 Ferrari 312B2

Ex-Jacky Ickx. It is signed by Jacky Ickx and Arturo Merzario.

1973-1975 Lotus 72E

Ex-Jacky Ickx.

1977 Hesketh 308E

Ex-Rupert Keegan.

1980 Ferrari 312T5

Ex-Gilles Villeneuve.

1981 March 811

Ex-Derek Daly. Signed by Derek Daly.

1982 Lotus 91

1988 Arrows A10

Ex- Derek Warwick.

1989 Dallara F189

Ex-Alex Caffi. It was signed and driven by Alex Caffi himself at Monza.

1989 EuroBrun ER188B

Ex-George Foitek.

1989 Arrows A11

Ex-Eddie Cheever.

1990 Footwork Arrows A11

Ex-Bernd Schneider.

1991 Ferrari 642

Ex-Alain Prost.

1991 Ferrari 643

Ex-Alain Prost.

1992 Ferrari F92A

Ex-Jean Alesi.

1994 Ferrari 412 T1

Ex-Gerhard Berger.

1998 Benetton B198

Ex-Giancarlo Fisichella and Ex-Alexander Wurz.

1999 Arrows A20TS

Ex-Pedro de la Rosa.

2001 Jaguar R2

Es-Eddie Irvine and Ex-Pedro de la Rosa.

2010 Lotus T125 Two-seater racing car

The FIA reserved four slots of 15 minutes each on Thursday afternoon and on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings for Silvano Caira and several of his friends and customers to drive these iconic Formula 1 machines around the magical Monza Circuit.

Officina Caira brought mechanics, parts, tires, PR personnel, food, beverages, tents, chairs, and lots of love and enthusiasm to Monza.

Silvano is a true racer; he drove a beautiful bright orange EuroBrun from 1989, and a Footwork Arrows also from 1989.

One of the special guests was ex-Formula 1 driver Alex Caffi, who drove the Dallara F189 that he drove for Scuderia Italia during the 1989 Formula season, finishing fourth at Monaco and ninth at Canada.

Officina Caira is a workshop dedicated to Formula One. It was created specifically for research, rehabilitation, and certification of the cars by current racing teams. They also provide restoration, technical assistance, and authenticity certificates to owners of Formula One Classic.

Article by JOMA | Photography by © OEM