Piercarlo Ghinzani

“Better to be at the back in Formula 1 than not to be in Formula 1 at all,” said Piercarlo Ghinzani, and he lived by that philosophy throughout his eight-season Grand Prix career, often found at the tail end of the grid.

Nationality	Italian
Born	Piercarlo Ghinzani 16 January 1952 Riviera d’Adda, Lombardy, Italy

His journey began with a modest debut in Italian Formula Ford in 1970, followed by a gradual climb through the ranks to Formula Italia and then to Formula 3 in 1973. Although his early days in Italian F3 were underfinanced, he managed to finish second to Riccardo Patrese in 1976. Ghinzani excelled in the European series in 1977, clinching the title with a calm and steady approach despite team upheavals.

A move to Formula 2 with March in the following years proved disappointing, seemingly derailing his ambitions. However, in 1981, he found an unexpected opportunity when he was called in as a last-minute replacement for Osella after Giorgio Francia failed to meet FISA’s requirements. This marked the beginning of a long association with the Osella team, with his best result being a fifth-place finish at the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix.

After a brief stint with Toleman in mid-1985, Ghinzani returned to Osella in 1986. While Grand Prix success was elusive, he found success in endurance racing, winning the Fuji 1000 Km in a Porsche with Barilla. In 1987, Ghinzani joined Ligier, but the team’s potential was hampered by a failed Alfa Romeo engine deal. He then moved to Zakspeed, which also proved fruitless, before spending one final season with Osella.

Ghinzani started 96 Grands Prix and failed to qualify for another 31. After retiring from Formula 1, he formed his own Formula 3 team, becoming a leading figure in the Italian championship. He also considered expanding into the newly inaugurated Italian F3000 championship in 2000.

Piercarlo Ghinzani Formula One World Championship career

Active years	1981, 1983 – 1989
Teams	Osella, Toleman, Ligier, Zakspeed
Entries	111 (74 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	2
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1981 Belgian Grand Prix
Last entry	1989 Australian Grand Prix

Piercarlo Ghinzani Teammates

12 Teammates	Involvement	First Year	Last Year
Beppe Gabbiani	2	1981
Jean-Pierre Jarier	1	1982
Corrado Fabi	15	1983
Jo Gartner	9	1984
Teo Fabi	7	1985
Christian Danner	6	1986
Allen Berg	9	1986
Alex Caffi	1	1986
Rene Arnoux	15	1987
Bernd Schneider	16	1988
Nicola Larini	16	1989
Enrico Bertaggia	1	1989

Complete Formula One Results

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	WDC	Pts
1981	Osella Squadra Corse	Osella FA1B	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	USW	BRA	ARG	SMR	BEL 13	MON DNQ	ESP	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	CAN	CPL		NC	0
1983	Osella Squadra Corse	Osella FA1D	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	BRA DNQ	USW DNQ	FRA DNQ														NC	0
		Osella FA1E	Alfa Romeo 1260 3.0 V12				SMR DNQ	MON DNQ	BEL DNQ	DET Ret	CAN DNQ	GBR Ret	GER Ret	AUT 11	NED DNQ	ITA Ret	EUR Ret	RSA Ret
1984	Osella Squadra Corse	Osella FA1F	Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5 V8 t	BRA Ret	RSA DNS	BEL Ret	SMR DNQ	FRA 12	MON 7	CAN Ret	DET Ret	DAL 5	GBR 9	GER Ret	AUT Ret	NED Ret	ITA 7 †	EUR Ret	POR Ret	19th	2
1985	Osella Squadra Corse	Osella FA1F	Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5 V8 t	BRA 12	POR 9	SMR NC														NC	0
		Osella FA1G	Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5 V8 t				MON DNQ	CAN Ret	DET Ret	FRA 15	GBR Ret	GER
	Toleman Group Motorsport	Toleman TG185	Hart 415T 1.5 L4 t										AUT DNS	NED Ret	ITA DNS	BEL Ret	EUR Ret	RSA Ret	AUS Ret
1986	Osella Squadra Corse	Osella FA1F	Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5 V8 t	BRA Ret	ESP Ret	SMR Ret	MON DNQ	BEL Ret	CAN Ret	DET Ret										NC	0
		Osella FA1H	Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5 V8 t								FRA Ret	GBR Ret
		Osella FA1G	Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5 V8 t										GER Ret	HUN Ret	AUT 11	ITA Ret	POR Ret	MEX Ret	AUS Ret
1987	Ligier Loto	Ligier JS29B	Megatron M12/13 1.5 L4 t	BRA	SMR Ret	BEL 7 †	MON 12	DET Ret												NC	0
		Ligier JS29C	Megatron M12/13 1.5 L4 t						FRA Ret	GBR EX	GER Ret	HUN 12	AUT 8	ITA 8	POR Ret	ESP Ret	MEX Ret	JPN 13	AUS Ret
1988	West Zakspeed Racing	Zakspeed 881	Zakspeed 1500/4 1.5 L4 t	BRA DNQ	SMR Ret	MON Ret	MEX 15	CAN 14 †	DET DNQ	FRA EX	GBR DNQ	GER 14	HUN DNQ	BEL Ret						NC	0
		Zakspeed 881B	Zakspeed 1500/4 1.5 L4 t												ITA Ret	POR DNQ	ESP DNQ	JPN DNQ	AUS Ret
1989	Osella Squadra Corse	Osella FA1M	Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8	BRA DNPQ	SMR DNPQ	MON DNPQ	MEX DNPQ	USA DNPQ	CAN DNPQ	FRA DNPQ	GBR DNPQ	GER DNPQ	HUN Ret	BEL DNPQ	ITA DNPQ	POR DNPQ	ESP Ret	JPN DNPQ	AUS Ret	NC	0

Sources: Wikipedia.com and historicracing.com