de VILLOTA Emilio

reprofoto - 10x15 cm

Emilio de Villota Ruíz (born in Madrid, July 26, 1946) is a former racing driver from Spain. He participated in 15 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on May 2, 1976. He scored no championship points.

De Villota utilised sponsorship from the banking industry, in which he had previously worked, to race a privately-prepared McLaren M23 in Grands Prix during 1977 and 1978, before turning to the lesser F1 championship, the Aurora AFX series, which was inaugurated in 1978. Here he finished third in 1979 before winning the championship in 1980 with a RAM Racing Williams FW07. He then returned to the F1 World Championship, where he struggled badly with the March team. He also won sports car races in the early 1980s with Guy Edwards.