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Who the hell is the Luca Del Fante mentioned by Lewis Hamilton?
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The paddocks of kart tracks boil over with stories about "sui generis" characters. Among these, one stands out, that of the "Count of Castel'Arcione", a Roman mechanic who had the honour of being mentioned by the seven-time F1 champion in his autobiography. Why are we talking about a semi-unknown character? First, because being quoted by Lewis doesn’t include most people. Second, because he is a unique character, capable of walking on tiptoe on the thin line that passes between goliardic madness and genius. To find out more about him, we would have liked to have a chat on the phone with the seven-time F1 world champion, but he was busy. So we fell back on Mario Pazos, who has collaborated with "the Count" for years, who, above all, answered the phone and told us about him
We all know Lewis Hamilton. He is a unique character who goes far beyond the sport he practices. If he opens his mouth in front of a camera, it's not to talk about this or that, he always touches on serious topics: God, human rights, sustainability... If he talks to or about someone, it's with and about Tommy Hilfiger, Kim Kardashian, Kylian Mbappé… In short, Lewis moves on profiles that at least must have a few million followers on Instagram. Yet one day, in his autobiography, the seven-time F1 world champion mentioned a gentleman who probably doesn't even have an Instagram profile. Someone who has a Roman accent carved into his vocal cords. In short, one that has little to do with the glossy world that usually surrounds Hamilton. This gentleman is called Luca Del Fante, "the Count" to everyone, given that from the family, as well as the passion for engines, he also inherited the title of "Count of Castel'Arcione". The place (and castle!) where Luca lived. But let's go in order: at the end of the 1990s there was a large colony of Roman mechanics who worked in top-level kart teams. All people who technically cut their teeth on the legendary Pista D'Oro, a circuit about 20 km from Rome. Among these, there was Luca with whom I had the pleasure of working with in Comer-Top Kart and who grew up in the true sense of the word between the bends of the Pista d'Oro. In fact, it was his father and grandfather who founded it in 1963.
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