A member of
Swiss nobility, Volonterio was born in
Orselina and was trained as a lawyer, before he began participating in sports car racing. Volonterio debuted in
Formula One at the
1954 Spanish Grand Prix at
Pedralbes in a
Maserati 250F which he shared with
Emmanuel de Graffenried, but the compatriots retired with engine failure. He contested two other World Championship Grands Prix, the
1956 German Grand Prix on the
Nürburgring Nordschleife where he was unclassified having finished 6 laps behind race winner
Juan Manuel Fangio, and the
1957 Italian Grand Prix at
Monza with
André Simon where he finished 11th some 15 laps behind the winner
Stirling Moss. Volonterio continued to compete in non-championship Formula One races and sports cars, with his best result a second place in the
Coupe de Paris at
Montlhéry in 1955. He also fielded Grand Prix cars for other drivers. He continued racing until 1973, and died in Lugano in 2003. ==Complete Formula One World Championship results==