Prince Bira,Valentino Park GP '55 and more art by Italfoto Archive/all rights reserved

Prince Birabongse Bhanundej Bhanubandh

better known as Prince Bira of Siam, he was a member of the Thai Royal family. In addition to being a F1 racing driver, he was a skilled sailor and pilot. Before Alex Yoong joined F1 in 2001, he was the only Southeast Asian driver and the only Thai driver before Alexander Albon debut in 2019. His career in car racing started with 5 victories in 1935. In 1936 he won the "Coupe de Prince Ranieri" in Monte Carlo. F1 drivers are sometimes called "pilots", and that was particularly apt for Prince Bira. With the onset of WWII, when all motorsport suspended, Prince Bira put his piloting skills at the Royal Air Force service, teaching fighter pilots and becoming chief instructor specialized in training glider pilots. After the war, he bought a Maserati 4clt and joined the newly formed F1 Championship, winning 2 non-championship races in 1954.
He then retired from motorsport racing to participate in 4 summer Olympic Games' sailing events competing in the Star, Dragon, and Tempest classes. In the Rome 1960 Olympic, he competed against Roberto Mieres, who had raced against in the F1 years before. He died of a heart attack in the Barons Court London subway station in 1985 at age 71.