Hermano da Silva Ramos dies aged 100

Hermano da Silva Ramos, the oldest living former Formula 1 driver, died in France on 4 May at the age of 100, closing another direct link to the championship’s earliest years.

Born in Paris on 7 December 1925, Ramos raced in seven Formula 1 Grands Prix for Gordini across the 1955 and 1956 seasons. His best result came in the 1956 Monaco Grand Prix, where he finished fifth in the Gordini Type 16 and scored two championship points.

That Monaco finish stood as the peak of a brief world championship career that ended later the same year. Ramos made his final F1 appearance at the 1956 Italian Grand Prix, where engine trouble forced him out after just three laps. Beyond Formula 1, he also competed in two of the most demanding events in motorsport, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Mille Miglia.

His death matters beyond the record books because Ramos had come to represent one of the last surviving connections to Formula 1’s foundation period. He became the oldest living driver to have raced in the world championship on 8 April 2023, after Kenneth McAlpine died at the age of 102. The reports note that only one other world championship driver, Paul Pietsch, also reached 100 years old.

The news was shared on X on 6 May by UnracedF1 – Thanks Peter Sauber, which wrote: “The sad news reached me that Hermano da Silva Ramos passed away the 4th of may…He was the oldest living F1 driver. He drove for Gordini in 1955 and 1956, finishing 5th at Monaco 1956. Hermano reach the amazing age of 100 R.I.P. #F1 #RetroF1”.

Ramos’ death also changes the list of the sport’s oldest surviving figures. The status of oldest living former Formula 1 driver now passes to John Rhodes, who raced in the 1965 British Grand Prix and was reported to be 98 years, 8 months and 18 days old. Sir Jackie Stewart remains the oldest living Grand Prix winner and Formula 1 world champion, and the last surviving champion from the 1960s.

For Formula 1, that shift is another reminder of how few drivers now remain from the championship’s first decade, with Ramos’ passing narrowing the living connection to the grid of the 1950s even further.