Giuseppe “Beppe” Gabbiani (born 2 January 1957) is an Italian racing driver whose long and varied career encompassed Formula One, Formula Two and sports car racing.
Driver Bio
| Nationality | Italian |
| Birthplace | Piacenza, Italy |
| Born | 2 January 1957 |
| First Grand Prix | 1978 United States Grand Prix |
| Last Grand Prix | 1981 Caesars Palace Grand Prix |
| Years Active | 1978, 1981 |
| Current/Last Team | Osella |
Gabbiani reached Formula One during the late 1970s, making his World Championship debut on 1 October 1978. He went on to participate in 17 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, although points ultimately proved elusive. He also appeared in one non-Championship Formula One race.
His results elsewhere offered a better indication of his abilities. Gabbiani became a race winner in Formula Two, taking victory in the prestigious Eifelrennen in 1983, and remained active in international competition long after his Formula One days were over.
Remarkably, a quarter of a century after making his Grand Prix debut, Gabbiani was still collecting major results in sports cars, finishing third in the 2003 1000km of Spa.
Racing career
Gabbiani’s route through international motorsport eventually carried him to the Formula One World Championship, where he made his debut at the 1978 United States Grand Prix.
It was the beginning of a Formula One record that would ultimately see 17 World Championship Grands Prix. Gabbiani competed during a fiercely competitive period of Grand Prix racing, but despite earning multiple opportunities at the highest level, he was unable to score a World Championship point.
In addition to his championship appearances, Gabbiani also competed in one non-Championship Formula One event, adding another outing in Grand Prix machinery to his record.
Formula One, however, represented only one part of a much broader racing career.
Gabbiani also competed extensively in Formula Two, where he enjoyed one of the standout successes of his single-seater career in 1983.
That year he won the Eifelrennen, adding his name to the history of one of Germany’s long-established motor races. Victory in the Formula Two event provided Gabbiani with a significant international result and demonstrated that the lack of Formula One points didn’t tell the complete story of his abilities behind the wheel.
While many drivers gradually disappeared from major international competition after their single-seater careers had ended, Gabbiani proved to have considerable staying power.
He moved into sports car racing, extending his career well beyond the period in which he had competed in Formula One and Formula Two. It was a discipline that would eventually provide another notable result – and one that came remarkably late in his career.
In 2003, Gabbiani competed in the 1000km of Spa, one of Europe’s established endurance races. He finished third, securing a podium result some 25 years after his Formula One World Championship debut.
That longevity became one of the defining features of Gabbiani’s racing story. From Formula One in the late 1970s to victory in Formula Two during the 1980s and an international sports car podium in the 2000s, his career stretched across very different generations of racing machinery and competition.
Grand Prix Stats
| Race Entries | 17 |
| Race Starts | 3 |
| Did Not Start | 0 |
| Best Race Start | 20th |
| Best Race Finish | – |
| Retirements | 3 |
| First-Lap Retirements | 0 |
| Not Classified | 0 |
| Disqualified | 0 |
| Did Not Qualify | 14 |
Qualifying
| Qualifying Sessions | 17 |
| Reached Q3 | 0 |
| Q2 Eliminations | 0 |
| Q1 Eliminations | 14 |
| Did Not Qualify | 14 |
Stats by Season
| Year | Constructor | Entries | Starts | Wins | Podiums | Poles | Fastest Laps | Front Rows | DNF | Best Start | Best Result | Pts Finishes | Points | Championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Surtees | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 1981 | Osella | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20 | – | 0 | 0 | NC |
Stats by Constructor
| Constructor | Years | Entries | Starts | Wins | Podiums | Poles | Fastest Laps | Front Rows | DNF | Best Start | Best Result | Pts Finishes | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surtees | 1978 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Osella | 1981 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20 | – | 0 | 0 |
Teammates & Qualifying Head-to-Head
| Teammate | Years | Races | Qualifying H2H |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rene Arnoux | 1978 | 2 | – |
| Miguel Angel Guerra | 1981 | 4 | – |
| Piercarlo Ghinzani | 1981 | 2 | – |
| Giorgio Francia | 1981 | 1 | – |
| Jean-Pierre Jarier | 1981 | 7 | – |
