Pierluigi Martini

Pierluigi Martini’s Formula 1 career, which lasted over a decade, was largely with the underdog team Minardi. This limited his opportunities to showcase his skills, which were finally realised when he won the 1999 Le Mans 24 Hours in a BMW V12 LMR.

Nationality	Italian
Born	Pierluigi Martini 23 April 1961 Lugo, Italy

After clinching the 1983 European Formula Three championship by overtaking John Nielsen late in the season, Martini joined Minardi in Formula 2 the next year. He also made a one-off F1 appearance for Toleman at the Italian Grand Prix after Ayrton Senna was suspended for a race, but he did not qualify.

Martini joined Minardi in their first F1 season in 1985 with a single-car entry. The combination of an undeveloped car and a rookie driver resulted in a season without points.

He then moved to Formula 3000, nearly winning the championship, but ended the season controversially at Jarama, where he was initially disqualified and then reinstated. The title slipped away due to Ivan Capelli finishing fourth.

Martini returned to F1 in 1988, scoring his and Minardi’s first point at Detroit. Despite this success, consistent points remained elusive.

In 1989, with the improved Minardi M189, he led a race for the first time at the 1989 Portuguese Grand Prix—a first for the team. However, an accident not related to racing forced him to miss the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix.

1990 saw Martini start on the front row alongside Gerhard Berger in Phoenix, but the season was plagued by reliability issues. The subsequent year was even more disappointing as a much-anticipated deal for Ferrari engines did not improve results.

In 1992, Martini switched to Scuderia Italia, continuing to use Ferrari engines and scoring a few points. He returned to Minardi in 1993 after leaving Scuderia Italia, achieving two fifth-place finishes in 1994 before being replaced in 1995.

Outside of F1, Martini first competed in the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1984, returning in 1996 after his F1 career ended with Joest’s team. His best result came in 1999 with BMW, winning the race after several rivals encountered problems, including severe crashes and mechanical failures.

Martini later raced in American sports cars and participated in Italy’s Superstars touring car series in 2009, but he did not return to Le Mans.

Pierluigi Martini Formula One World Championship career

Active years	1984–1985, 1988–1995
Teams	Toleman, Minardi, Scuderia Italia
Entries	124 (118 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	18
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1984 Italian Grand Prix
Last entry	1995 German Grand Prix

Pierluigi Martini Teammates

11 Teammates	Involvement	First Year	Last Year
Stefan Johansson	1	1984
Luis Perez-Sala	26	1988	1989
Paolo Barilla	14	1990
Marco Apicella	1	1990
Gianni Morbidelli	17	1990	1991
Roberto Moreno	1	1991
JJ Lehto	16	1992
Christian Fittipaldi	6	1993
Jean-Marc Gounon	2	1993
Michele Alboreto	16	1994
Luca Badoer	9	1995

Complete Formula One Results

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	WDC	Points
1984	Toleman Group Motorsport	Toleman TG184	Hart Straight-4	BRA	RSA	BEL	SMR	FRA	MON	CAN	DET	DAL	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA DNQ	EUR	POR		NC	0
1985	Minardi Team	Minardi M185	Cosworth V8	BRA Ret	POR Ret																NC	0
		Minardi M185	MM V6			SMR Ret	MON DNQ	CAN Ret	DET Ret	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER 11	AUT Ret	NED Ret	ITA Ret	BEL 12	EUR Ret	RSA Ret	AUS 8
1988	Lois Minardi Team	Minardi M188	Cosworth V8	BRA	SMR	MON	MEX	CAN	DET 6	FRA 15	GBR 15	GER DNQ	HUN Ret	BEL DNQ	ITA Ret	POR Ret	ESP Ret	JPN 13	AUS 7		17th	1
1989	Minardi Team SpA	Minardi M188B	Cosworth V8	BRA Ret	SMR Ret	MON Ret															15th	5
		Minardi M189	Cosworth V8				MEX Ret	USA Ret	CAN Ret	FRA Ret	GBR 5	GER 9	HUN Ret	BEL 9	ITA 7	POR 5	ESP Ret	JPN	AUS 6
1990	SCM Minardi Team	Minardi M189	Cosworth V8	USA 7	BRA 9																NC	0
		Minardi M190	Cosworth V8			SMR DNS	MON Ret	CAN Ret	MEX 12	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER Ret	HUN Ret	BEL 15	ITA Ret	POR 11	ESP Ret	JPN 8	AUS 9
1991	Minardi Team	Minardi M191	Ferrari V12	USA 9	BRA Ret	SMR 4	MON 12	CAN 7	MEX Ret	FRA 9	GBR 9	GER Ret	HUN Ret	BEL 12	ITA Ret	POR 4	ESP 13	JPN Ret	AUS Ret		11th	6
1992	Scuderia Italia SpA	BMS Dallara 192	Ferrari V12	RSA Ret	MEX Ret	BRA Ret	ESP 6	SMR 6	MON Ret	CAN 8	FRA 10	GBR 15	GER 11	HUN Ret	BEL Ret	ITA 8	POR Ret	JPN 10	AUS Ret		16th	2
1993	Minardi Team	Minardi M193	Ford V8	RSA	BRA	EUR	SMR	ESP	MON	CAN	FRA	GBR Ret	GER 14	HUN Ret	BEL Ret	ITA 7	POR 8	JPN 10	AUS Ret		NC	0
1994	Minardi Scuderia Italia	Minardi M193B	Ford V8	BRA 8	PAC Ret	SMR Ret	MON Ret	ESP 5													21st	4
		Minardi M194	Ford V8						CAN 9	FRA 5	GBR 10	GER Ret	HUN Ret	BEL 8	ITA Ret	POR 12	EUR 15	JPN Ret	AUS 9
1995	Minardi Scuderia Italia	Minardi M195	Ford V8	BRA DNS	ARG Ret	SMR 12	ESP 14	MON 7	CAN Ret	FRA Ret	GBR 7	GER Ret	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	EUR	PAC	JPN	AUS	NC	0

Sources: Wikipedia.com and racefans.net