Alessandro Nannini

Alessandro Nannini
Born	7 July 1959 (age 65); Siena, Italy
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Italian
Active years	1986–1990
Teams	Minardi, Benetton
Entries	78 (76 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	1
Podiums	9
Career points	65
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	2
First entry	1986 Brazilian Grand Prix
First win	1989 Japanese Grand Prix
Last win	1989 Japanese Grand Prix
Last entry	1990 Spanish Grand Prix

Alessandro "Sandro" Nannini (born 7 July 1959)^[1] is a former racing driver from Italy.^[2] He is the younger brother of singer Gianna Nannini.^[3] His five-year F1 career resulted in his one and only win at the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix but ended less than a year later after a helicopter crash severed his right forearm.

Biography

Nannini was born in Siena. He began racing in a Lancia Stratos at national rally events before switching to Formula Italia in 1981. From 1982 to 1984, he raced for Minardi in Formula 2, attracting some attention for his speed in the uncompetitive car. Though his best season saw him only seventh overall in 1983, he was signed by Lancia to drive their fast but fragile LC2 prototype in the World Sportscar Championship, setting fastest lap at the 1984 24 Hours of Le Mans where he finished eighth with Bob Wollek, and later that year winning the 1984 1000 km of Kyalami with Riccardo Patrese. For 1985, Giancarlo Minardi wanted Nannini to drive his new Formula One car, but Nannini was controversially denied an FIA Super Licence with his former F2 teammate Pierluigi Martini taking the drive instead. Nannini continued with Lancia instead, his best result being third in the 1000km Monza.

For 1986, Nannini was finally granted a Super Licence and signed up with Minardi's Grand Prix team, where he stayed until 1987. The car was uncompetitive and unreliable (Nannini was classified only four times from 30 starts with the team), largely due to its disappointing Motori Moderni V6 engine. However, Nannini's speed was noticed by many, especially after he largely outperformed experienced teammate Andrea de Cesaris in 1986. The following year, in his spare time, Nannini paired with veteran road race driver Giorgio Marin to win the 1987 Mille Miglia. ^[4]

The Minardi M187 driven by Nannini for the 1987 season

Benetton signed Nannini for 1988 to drive alongside Thierry Boutsen. He generally performed very well, often out-pacing the highly regarded Belgian if not matching his consistency. He scored his first point in his second race for the team and took two third places on his way to tenth overall in the championship.

With Boutsen leaving for Williams Nannini was promoted to team leader at Benetton alongside young Englishman Johnny Herbert and delivered a number of strong performances, especially at Suzuka. There he lay third behind the two McLaren cars of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost when they collided, giving Nannini the lead. Prost retired whereas Senna rejoined after being push-started and pitted to replace his front wing, trailing Nannini in the race. Nannini was eventually passed by Senna who went on to cross the finish line first, however, the Brazilian was subsequently disqualified for missing the chicane following his collision with Prost. The disqualification handed Nannini what proved to be his only Formula One win. He rounded off the season with an impressive second place in torrential rain at Adelaide, moving him to sixth overall in the championship.^[3]

For 1990, he was joined in the team by Nelson Piquet and reverted to being the number two driver. However, he impressed by largely matching the pace of the three-times World Champion. At Hockenheim he led the race by deciding against stopping for tyres, resisting Senna for 16 laps before fading grip dropped him to second. He also challenged at the following Hungarian Grand Prix, hounding leader Boutsen until being controversially pushed off by the following Senna.

On 12 October 1990, the week after the 1990 Spanish Grand Prix, where he had finished third, Nannini was involved in a helicopter crash over his Siena vineyard, suffering a severed right forearm.^[5] The injury healed thanks to microsurgery but it ended his Formula One career. Nannini had been reconfirmed by Benetton for 1991 but Ferrari had a long-standing interest in the driver and were considering him as a replacement for the departing Nigel Mansell.^[3]

Once sufficiently recovered, Ferrari offered Nannini a test drive on its private Fiorano Circuit in 1992. Nannini completed a total of 38 laps driving Jean Alesi's Ferrari F92A, which featured a specially modified steering wheel. In 1996, Benetton's Flavio Briatore also honoured the promise of a test drive, which took place at Estoril^[6] aboard a B196.

Despite only regaining partial use of his right hand, Nannini was able to carve out a career in touring car racing with Alfa Romeo in the 1990s,^[3] placing fourth overall in the 1994 DTM championship and third in the 1996 International Touring Car Championship.

Nannini competed for Mercedes in the 1997 FIA GT Championship, finishing sixth overall and winning a race at Suzuka, before hanging up his helmet. He now runs a chain of upmarket cafes bearing his name, with branches as far flung as Indonesia.^[7]

2007 saw Nannini's return to the track after a decade in retirement. He agreed to take part in the short-lived Grand Prix Masters championship for Formula One veterans, alongside drivers including his former Benetton teammate Johnny Herbert.

He is a member of the Italy–USA Foundation.

Matteo Nannini, a son of a first cousin of Alessandro, is also a racing driver, and has raced at the Formula 3 level as recently as 2021,^[8] as well as having competed in Indy NXT in 2023.

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
1982	European Formula Two	Minardi	12	0	0	0	1	8	10th
1982	World Sportscar Championship	Martini Racing	1	0	0	0	1	16	18th
1983	European Formula Two	Minardi	12	0	0	0	1	11	7th
1983	World Sportscar Championship	Martini Racing	2	0	0	0	1	15	22nd
1984	European Formula Two	Minardi	11	0	0	0	1	9	10th
1984	World Sportscar Championship	Martini Racing	5	1	1	2	2	35	16th
1985	World Sportscar Championship	Martini Racing	7	0	5	0	2	50	8th
1986	Formula One	Minardi Team	14	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	World Sportscar Championship	Martini Racing	2	0	2	1	1	15	34th
	World Sportscar Championship	Porsche Kremer Racing	1	0	0	0	0	15	34th
1987	Formula One	Minardi Team	16	0	0	0	0	0	NC
1987	World Touring Car Championship	Alfa Corse	4	0	0	0	0	59	24th
1988	Formula One	Benetton Formula Ltd.	16	0	0	1	2	12	10th
1989	Formula One	Benetton Formula Ltd.	16	1	0	0	4	32	6th
1990	Formula One	Benetton Formula Ltd.	14	0	0	1	2	21	8th
1993	Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft	Alfa Corse	21	2	3	2	5	121	8th
1994	Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft	Alfa Corse	24	5	3	3	5	149	4th
1995	Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft	Alfa Corse	13	0	0	0	2	44	11th
1995	International Touring Car Championship	Alfa Corse	8	0	0	0	0	17	15th
1996	International Touring Car Championship	Martini Alfa Corse	24	7	6	7	7	180	3rd
1997	FIA GT Championship	AMG-Mercedes	5	1	1	0	5	34	5th

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Pos.	Pts
1982	Minardi Team Srl	Minardi Fly 281B	BMW	SIL 5	HOC 9	THR 12	NÜR 8	MUG 10	VAL Ret	PAU DNQ	SPA Ret	HOC Ret	DON DSQ	MAN Ret	PER Ret	MIS 2	10th	8
1983	Minardi Team Srl	Minardi M283	BMW	SIL	THR 9	HOC 5	NÜR 2	VAL 7	PAU Ret	JAR Ret	DON Ret	MIS Ret	PER 11	ZOL Ret	MUG 4		7th	11
1984	Minardi Team Srl	Minardi M283	BMW	SIL 9	HOC Ret	THR 7	VAL Ret	MUG Ret	PAU Ret	HOC 4	MIS Ret	PER 3	DON 10	BRH 5			10th	9

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1983	Martini Racing	Paolo Barilla Jean-Claude Andruet	Lancia LC2-Ferrari	C	135	DNF	DNF
1984	Martini Racing	Bob Wollek	Lancia LC2-Ferrari	C1	326	8th	8th
1985	Martini Racing	Bob Wollek Lucio Cesario	Lancia LC2-Ferrari	C1	360	6th	6th

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	WDC	Pts
1986	Minardi Team	Minardi M185B	Motori Moderni Tipo 615–90 1.5 V6 t	BRA Ret	ESP DNS	SMR Ret	MON DNQ	BEL Ret	CAN Ret	DET Ret	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER Ret	HUN Ret		ITA Ret	POR Ret	MEX 14	AUS Ret	NC	0
1986	Minardi Team	Minardi M186	Motori Moderni Tipo 615–90 1.5 V6 t												AUT Ret					NC	0
1987	Minardi Team	Minardi M187	Motori Moderni Tipo 615–90 1.5 V6 t	BRA Ret	SMR Ret	BEL Ret	MON Ret	DET Ret	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER Ret	HUN 11	AUT Ret	ITA 16	POR 11	ESP Ret	MEX Ret	JPN Ret	AUS Ret	NC	0
1988	Benetton Formula Ltd.	Benetton B188	Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8	BRA Ret	SMR 6	MON Ret	MEX 7	CAN Ret	DET Ret	FRA 6	GBR 3	GER 18	HUN Ret	BEL DSQ	ITA 9	POR Ret	ESP 3	JPN 5	AUS Ret	10th	12
1989	Benetton Formula Ltd.	Benetton B188	Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8	BRA 6	SMR 3	MON 8	MEX 4	USA Ret	CAN DSQ											6th	32
1989	Benetton Formula Ltd.	Benetton B189	Ford HBA1/4 3.5 V8							FRA Ret	GBR 3	GER Ret	HUN Ret	BEL 5	ITA Ret	POR 4	ESP Ret	JPN 1	AUS 2	6th	32
1990	Benetton Formula Ltd.	Benetton B189B	Ford HBA4 3.5 V8	USA 11	BRA 10															8th	21
1990	Benetton Formula Ltd.	Benetton B190	Ford HBA4 3.5 V8			SMR 3	MON Ret	CAN Ret	MEX 4	FRA 16	GBR Ret	GER 2	HUN Ret	BEL 4	ITA 8	POR 6	ESP 3	JPN	AUS	8th	21

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	Pos.	Pts
1993	Alfa Corse	Alfa Romeo 155 V6 Ti	ZOL 1 Ret	ZOL 2 3	HOC 1 13	HOC 2 8	NÜR 1 10	NÜR 2 4	WUN 1 2	WUN 2 Ret	NÜR 1 4	NÜR 2 4	NOR 1 Ret	NOR 2 Ret	DON 1 Ret	DON 2 DNS	DIE 1 Ret	DIE 2 18	ALE 1 3	ALE 2 Ret	AVU 1 5	AVU 2 Ret	HOC 1 1	HOC 2 1			8th	121
1994	Alfa Corse	Alfa Romeo 155 V6 Ti	ZOL 1 1	ZOL 2 1	HOC 1 4	HOC 2 1	NÜR 1 7	NÜR 2 7	MUG 1 17	MUG 2 Ret	NÜR 1 1	NÜR 2 7	NOR 1 Ret	NOR 2 7	DON 1 1	DON 2 DSQ	DIE 1 5	DIE 2 4	NÜR 1 8	NÜR 2 5	AVU 1 19	AVU 2 5	ALE 1 Ret	ALE 2 12	HOC 1 6	HOC 2 Ret	4th	149
1995	Alfa Corse	Alfa Romeo 155 V6 Ti	HOC 1 18	HOC 2 DNS	AVU 1 3	AVU 2 Ret	NOR 1 3	NOR 2 9†	DIE 1 4	DIE 2 Ret	NÜR 1 Ret	NÜR 2 Ret	ALE 1 11	ALE 2 Ret	HOC 1 5	HOC 2 12											11th	44

† — Retired, but was classified as he completed 90% of the winner's race distance.

Complete International Touring Car Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	Pos.	Pts
1995	Alfa Corse	Alfa Romeo 155 V6 Ti	MUG 1 5	MUG 2 Ret	HEL 1 Ret	HEL 2 Ret	DON 1 DNS	DON 2 DNS	EST 1 8	EST 2 7	MAG 1 Ret	MAG 2 9																	15th	17
1996	Martini Alfa Corse	Alfa Romeo 155 V6 Ti	HOC 1 10	HOC 2 13	NÜR 1 EX	NÜR 2 EX	EST 1 1	EST 2 1	HEL 1 14	HEL 2 4	NOR 1 Ret	NOR 2 Ret	DIE 1 6	DIE 2 Ret	SIL 1 17	SIL 2 11	NÜR 1 1	NÜR 2 1	MAG 1 1	MAG 2 1	MUG 1 11	MUG 2 Ret	HOC 1 6	HOC 2 Ret	INT 1 1	INT 2 5	SUZ 1 10	SUZ 2 5	3rd	180

Complete FIA GT Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Class	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Pos.	Points
1997	AMG Mercedes	GT1	Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR	Mercedes-Benz LS600 6.0L V12	HOC 13	SIL 13	HEL 11	NÜR 2	SPA 11	A1R 2	SUZ 1	DON 2	MUG 2	SEB Ret	LAG 8	5th	34

References

^ Jenkins, Richard. "The World Championship drivers - Where are they now?". OldRacingCars.com. Retrieved 29 July 2007.
^ Peacock, Anthony (9 March 2016). "Former F1 driver Alessandro Nannini did not let tragic helicopter crash ruin his life". Autoweek. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Peacock, Anthony (December 2015). "La Dolce Vida". F1 Racing: 72.
^ "Il pilota Marin «Era il 1987 quando vinsi che emozione»". Tribuna di Treviso (in Italian). 2014-05-18. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
^ "SPORTS PEOPLE: AUTO RACING; Chance for Comeback". The New York Times. Associated Press. 22 December 1990. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
^ "Sandro's Benetton test". Grandprix.com. 25 November 1996. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
^ Caffe Nannini website
^ Allen, Peter (January 8, 2019). "Matteo Nannini among single-seater debutants in UAE F4". FormulaScout. Retrieved February 27, 2019.

External links

[WATN-1] Jenkins, Richard. "The World Championship drivers - Where are they now?". OldRacingCars.com. Retrieved 29 July 2007.

[2] Peacock, Anthony (9 March 2016). "Former F1 driver Alessandro Nannini did not let tragic helicopter crash ruin his life". Autoweek. Retrieved 29 December 2016.

[F1Racing-3] Peacock, Anthony (December 2015). "La Dolce Vida". F1 Racing: 72.

[4] "Il pilota Marin «Era il 1987 quando vinsi che emozione»". Tribuna di Treviso (in Italian). 2014-05-18. Retrieved 2022-07-15.

[5] "SPORTS PEOPLE: AUTO RACING; Chance for Comeback". The New York Times. Associated Press. 22 December 1990. Retrieved 8 January 2008.

[6] "Sandro's Benetton test". Grandprix.com. 25 November 1996. Retrieved 16 November 2014.

[7] Caffe Nannini website

[8] Allen, Peter (January 8, 2019). "Matteo Nannini among single-seater debutants in UAE F4". FormulaScout. Retrieved February 27, 2019.

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