Piercarlo Ghinzani

Italian Formula 1 Driver Raced for Osella

Nov 24, 2008 Kevin Guthrie

During the 1980s Piercarlo Ghinzani became synonymous with Osella. He also competed in F1 Grand Prix racing for Toleman, Ligier and Zakspeed.

Piercarlo Ghinzani competed in over 70 Grands Prix, starting and ending his Formula 1 career with the same team, Osella. He was rewarded for his efforts with a paltry two world championship points. His career was characterised by bad luck and joining competitive teams at the wrong time.

Ghinzani, Formula 3 Veteran and Champion

Ghinzani was born in Bergamo, east of Milan in Italy. During the seventies he spent many seasons competing in Formula 3. A move to the Euroracing team finally brought success as he drove their March to the 1977 European Formula 3 title. The Italian Formula 3 title followed in 1979 and Ghinzani also gained experience of Formula 2 cars.

Formula 1 with Osella, Toleman, Ligier and Zakspeed

In 1981 Ghinzani made his Formula 1 debut, driving for the small Osella team. It was the beginning of a long but frustrating Formula 1 career. He did sample success in sports car racing, scoring wins for Lancia and Porsche during the eighties.

Ghinzani scored his only Formula 1 points finish in 1984, with a fifth place in Dallas. That year also saw him escape from a terrifying crash at Kyalami, where his car broke in two and caught fire. A brief spell driving a more competitive Toleman in 1985 was hampered by poor reliability, and it was back to Osella for 1986.

Ligier, a team with a history of winning Grands Prix, hired Ghinzani for 1987 but the season was a disaster. The French cars were initially designed to be fitted with Alfa-Romeo engines but Ghinzani’s team-mate René Arnoux made it very clear that he did not think much of the powerplant. As a result, Alfa withdrew and Ligier had to make do with a hastily modified chassis, to accommodate a Megatron engine.

1988 was no better for Ghinzani, driving the uncompetitive German Zakspeed. His final Formula 1 season was 1989, driving once again for Osella. Ghinzani struggled to qualify for most of the year and was eliminated from his final race when Nelson Piquet rammed him from behind in poor visibility.

With better luck Ghinzani may have proved himself to be a regular points scorer in Formula 1. He tested for Tyrrell before the 1983 season and outpaced several big names. Among his less impressive decisions was signing to drive the terrible Dywa Formula 1 car. After Formula 1 Ghinzani started running Formula 3 teams and also became involved in A1 Grand Prix.

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Piercarlo Ghinzani, 1984 Dallas GP (Osella)