Mario de Araujo Cabral was a Portuguese racing driver who made history as the first from his country to compete in Formula One. He took part in five World Championship Grands Prix between 1959 and the early 1960s, making four starts but never scoring points. Decades later, in 2009, Cabral made headlines again when he came out as bisexual at the age of 75 — becoming one of the first gay F1 drivers to identify as part of the LGBT+ community publicly.
| Nationality | Portuguese |
|---|---|
| Born | Mário Manuel Veloso de Araújo Cabral 15 January 1934 Cedofeita, Porto, Portugal |
| Died | 17 August 2020 (aged 86) |
The son of the 1st Count of Vizela’s second marriage, Mário “Nicha” Cabral was considered Portugal’s standout driver of the late 1950s. He made his Formula One debut at the 1959 Portuguese Grand Prix, finishing 10th at the Circuito de Monsanto — a race remembered as much for controversy as for Cabral’s milestone. Jack Brabham accused him of causing a high-speed crash while being lapped, an incident that sent Brabham’s car flying into a telegraph post. Cabral, however, firmly denied responsibility in his autobiography, insisting he held his line and that Brabham had attempted a reckless overtake. Either way, Cabral made F1 history that day as the first Portuguese driver to start a Formula One Grand Prix.
Though he never raced full-time in F1, Cabral had further outings with Scuderia Centro Sud, including a stint in the 1961 Pau Grand Prix and a brief return in 1963. His career was interrupted by National Service as a paratrooper in Angola, and his final F1 appearance came in 1964 with the Derrington-Francis ATS, ending in retirement.
A serious crash at the 1965 Formula Two race in Rouen sidelined him for several years, but he returned to competition in 1968, racing in sportscars and occasionally in F2 before retiring for good in 1975.
In 2009, at the age of 75, Cabral publicly came out as bisexual, making him one of the few Formula One drivers to discuss their sexuality openly. His revelation was important not just for him personally but for the sport and motorsports in general, considering the highly conservative nature of F1 during his racing career.
Formula One History Recommends
Mario de Araujo Cabral Formula One World Championship career
| F1 Career | 1959–1960, 1963–1964 |
|---|---|
| Teams | non-works Cooper, Derrington-Francis |
| Entries | 5 (4 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1959 Portuguese Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1964 Italian Grand Prix |
Mario de Araujo Cabral Teammates
| 5 Drivers | Involvement | First Year | Last Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ian Burgess | 1 | 1959 | |
| Fitz d’Orey | 1 | 1959 | |
| Masten Gregory | 1 | 1960 | |
| Lorenzo Bandini | 1 | 1963 | |
| Tino Brambilla | 1 | 1963 | |
| Maurice Trintignant | 1 | 1963 |
Complete Formula One World Championship results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Scuderia Centro Sud | Cooper T51 | Maserati Straight-4 | MON | 500 | NED | FRA | GBR | GER | POR 10 | ITA | USA | NC | 0 | |
| 1960 | Scuderia Centro Sud | Cooper T51 | Maserati Straight-4 | ARG | MON | 500 | NED | BEL | FRA | GBR | POR Ret | ITA | USA | NC | 0 |
| 1963 | Scuderia Centro Sud | Cooper T60 | Climax V8 | MON | BEL | NED | FRA | GBR | GER Ret | ITA DNQ | USA | MEX | RSA | NC | 0 |
| 1964 | Derrington-Francis Racing Team | Derrington-Francis | ATS V8 | MON | NED | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT | ITA Ret | USA | MEX | NC | 0 |
