Ricardo Valentín Rodríguez de la Vega

Rodríguez was born in Mexico City and was a child cycling champion who switched to motorcycles in domestic competition from the age of 11. He was the third son from the marriage of Pedro Natalio Rodríguez and Concepción "Conchita" (née de la Vega); he had three brothers and one sister: Pedro, Federico, Conchita, and Alejandro. He won several national motorcycle titles before taking up saloon car racing in his own Fiat Topolino. He married Sara (née Cardoso) in July 1961 but left no children.

In 1957 Rodríguez made his international debut at Riverside, beating all comers in the under 1.5 litre class in a Porsche RS. He then won his class in a Porsche Spyder in the Nassau Tourist Trophy. He often raced for the North American Racing Team (NART) with his brother Pedro Rodríguez, although he would also enter cars under his own team's name, Scuderia Rodríguez.

Rodríguez was refused an entry at Le Mans in 1958 because he was too young (16 years and 106 days); he was replaced by José Behra, brother of Jean, to accompany Pedro. He returned in 1959 to race an OSCA in the 750cc class. At the 1960 24 Hours of Le Mans he partnered André Pilette to second place. At 18 years and 133 days of age, he became the youngest driver ever to stand on the podium at Le Mans.

Ferrari gave Rodríguez a guest drive at the 1961 Italian Grand Prix. He qualified second — a surprise — becoming the youngest driver in history to start from the front row at 19 years and 208 days, a record that stood until the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix where it was broken by Max Verstappen. In the race he exchanged the lead with Phil Hill and Richie Ginther many times until a fuel pump failure ended his run. By starting that race he became the youngest Formula One driver to race for Ferrari, a title he held until the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix where Oliver Bearman took it at 18 years and 305 days. He also became the youngest driver to start a Formula One race until the 1980 Canadian Grand Prix.

The 1962 season brought a full works drive with Ferrari, who used him sparingly given his age. Whenever used, Rodríguez excelled: second at the Pau Grand Prix, fourth at the Belgian Grand Prix, and sixth at the German Grand Prix. At the Belgian Grand Prix he became the youngest driver to score points in Formula One, a record he held until the 2000 Brazilian Grand Prix. He also won the 1962 Targa Florio with Olivier Gendebien and Willy Mairesse in a Ferrari 246 SP.

Ferrari opted not to enter the non-Championship 1962 Mexican Grand Prix at the Magdalena Mixiuhca Circuit, Mexico City, leaving Rodríguez without a drive. He signed to drive Rob Walker's Lotus 24. During the first day of unofficial practice, the Lotus' rear right suspension failed at the Peraltada turn; the car hit the barriers and Rodríguez was killed almost instantaneously. He was 20 years old. His death provoked national mourning in Mexico and made him the youngest Formula One driver to die.

In the summer of 1962, his close friend Jo Ramírez had accompanied him to Europe. His elder brother Pedro, also a noted racing driver who had success in both sports car racing and Formula One including a season with Ferrari in 1969, was killed in a crash during a sportscar race at the Norisring in 1971.

The Scuderia Rodríguez A.C., a friends and family foundation, keeps the memory of Ricardo and his brother alive. It serves as a register for Rodríguez memorabilia and cars, certifying them. Its Secretary General Carlos Jalife published their biography in 2006, with a second edition in 2015. An English translation, published in 2009, won the Motor Press Guild Book of the Year.

This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.