Marco Apicella (born 7 October 1965) is an Italian former professional racing driver whose career took him from Formula Three and International Formula 3000 to Formula One, Japanese single-seaters and endurance racing. He made a single Formula One appearance for Jordan at the 1993 Italian Grand Prix before going on to win the 1994 Japanese Formula 3000 Championship with Dome.
Driver Bio
| Nationality | Italian |
| Birthplace | Bologna, Italy |
| Born | 7 October 1965 |
| First Grand Prix | 1993 Italian Grand Prix |
| Last Grand Prix | 1993 Italian Grand Prix |
| Years Active | 1993 |
| Current/Last Team | Jordan |
Born in Bologna, Apicella began racing in Formula Three in 1984. He quickly established himself as a front-runner and, driving for Scuderia Coloni, won the opening two rounds of the 1986 Italian Formula Three season.
He also contested the 1985 Macau Grand Prix, although his race ended in retirement.
International Formula 3000
Apicella stepped up to International Formula 3000 in 1987 with EuroVenturini, driving a Dallara. The season was difficult and produced just a single championship point, courtesy of fifth place at Spa-Francorchamps.
Even so, Formula One teams were already paying attention. During 1987, Apicella tested a Minardi at Estoril, giving him his first taste of Grand Prix machinery.
For 1988 he joined FIRST Racing and entered the year regarded as a possible championship contender. Driving a March, he finished second at Monza, although teammate Pierluigi Martini generally proved the stronger of the pair and the team as a whole failed to fulfil expectations.
Things improved considerably in 1989. FIRST switched to Reynard machinery and Apicella collected several podium finishes on his way to fourth in the championship.
He entered 1990 as a genuine title prospect and remained with FIRST, but the season gradually unravelled. A crash at the Pau Grand Prix cost him a possible maiden victory and his campaign ended with disqualification at Brands Hatch.
Despite the disappointing year, Formula One interest remained. Apicella tested for both Minardi and the Modena team, while late in 1990 he travelled to Japan to carry out Bridgestone testing in a Reynard-Mugen Formula One prototype.
For 1991, he left FIRST and joined Paul Stewart Racing alongside Paul Stewart himself. Apicella again demonstrated plenty of speed and scored several podiums in the team’s Lola, finishing fifth in the championship.
Victory, however, continued to elude him.
By the end of his International Formula 3000 career, Apicella had started more races in the championship than any other driver who never managed to win one.
Japanese Formula 3000
With no competitive International F3000 opportunity available for 1992, Apicella made what would prove to be a very important move: he headed to Japan.
He joined Dome in the Japanese Formula 3000 Championship and quickly formed a strong relationship with the constructor. His first season produced tenth place in the standings, the best result achieved by any Dome driver, and included victory in the fifth round aboard the Dome F103.
Apicella continued to progress in 1993, winning at Sportsland Sugo and finishing fourth in the championship.
Those performances were enough to bring Formula One calling again.
Formula One
For the 1993 Italian Grand Prix, Jordan team boss Eddie Jordan decided to use his second car to evaluate emerging Formula 3000 talent.
Apicella was handed the opportunity for his home Grand Prix, replacing Thierry Boutsen.
Before arriving at Monza he tested the Jordan 193 at Imola, but the Italian Grand Prix weekend still presented plenty of new challenges. During practice he spun at the second Lesmo corner on a damp circuit, and the Jordan was also the first racing car he had driven with a semi-automatic gearbox.
Apicella qualified 23rd, around half a second behind teammate Rubens Barrichello, although Barrichello had benefited from setting his times later as the track improved.
Then came the race.
Apicella’s Formula One career lasted scarcely longer than the lights going out.
A multi-car collision at the first corner eliminated him on the opening lap after approximately 800 metres. For the following round in Portugal, Jordan replaced him with Emanuele Naspetti.
The extraordinarily brief appearance has led to Apicella frequently being described as the driver with the shortest Formula One career in history, although that distinction more properly belongs to Ernst Loof, whose car broke down almost immediately after leaving the starting grid.
For Apicella, one Grand Prix would have to be enough.
Japanese Formula 3000 and Formula Nippon
Back in Japan, Apicella immediately showed that his Formula One cameo had done nothing to dent his form.
Remaining with Dome for 1994, he produced the finest single-seater season of his career. Victories at Mine, Suzuka and Fuji carried him to the Japanese Formula 3000 Championship, giving both driver and team a major title.
He stayed in the series for 1995 and then 1996, when it was renamed Formula Nippon, joining Team 5Zigen. His programme became less intensive as he began taking on other categories, including endurance racing.
Dome still valued his technical experience, and in 1996 Apicella was appointed chief test driver for its ambitious Formula One project.
Alongside Shinji Nakano and Katsumi Yamamoto, he tested the Dome F105 extensively at Suzuka between April and June. The car was intended as the foundation for a future Japanese Formula One entry.
The project never reached the grid.
After the F105 suffered substantial damage in an accident, the programme was eventually shelved.
Apicella returned for one final Formula Nippon campaign in 1997 with Stellar International. His best result was fourth place at Mine.
Later career
After several years based largely in Japan, Apicella returned to Italy for the 1999 Italian Formula 3000 Championship.
He remained extremely competitive, winning twice and finishing third in the standings. He also won the Bologna Motor Show F3000 Sprint.
That same year he attempted a return to International Formula 3000 with Monaco Motorsport at Spa, but adverse weather prevented him from qualifying.
Apicella subsequently returned to Japan and shifted increasingly towards touring cars and GT racing, including appearances in the All Japan GT Championship.
Endurance racing also became an important part of the later stages of his career.
He made several appearances at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and was due to contest the 2007 race with JLOC and Isao Noritake’s team in a Lamborghini Murciélago.
His event ended before the race even began. On the opening day of practice, Apicella crashed heavily on the Mulsanne Straight, badly damaging the Lamborghini.
He returned to Le Mans with JLOC in 2009 and also made an appearance for the team in that year’s Super GT Championship.
Those outings effectively brought his professional racing career to a close.
Apicella’s Formula One statistics may amount to just one Grand Prix and roughly 800 metres of racing, but they tell only a tiny part of the story. He spent years near the front of Formula 3000, became Japanese champion with Dome, helped develop a Japanese Formula One prototype and later built a substantial career in GT and endurance racing.
His Formula One stay was famously brief. His racing career certainly wasn’t.
Grand Prix Stats
| Race Entries | 1 |
| Race Starts | 1 |
| Did Not Start | 0 |
| Best Race Start | 23rd |
| Best Race Finish | – |
| Retirements | 1 |
| First-Lap Retirements | 1 |
| Not Classified | 0 |
| Disqualified | 0 |
| Did Not Qualify | 0 |
Qualifying
| Qualifying Sessions | 1 |
| Reached Q3 | 0 |
| Q2 Eliminations | 0 |
| Q1 Eliminations | 0 |
| Did Not Qualify | 0 |
Stats by Season
| Year | Constructor | Entries | Starts | Wins | Podiums | Poles | Fastest Laps | Front Rows | DNF | Best Start | Best Result | Pts Finishes | Points | Championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Jordan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 23 | n/a | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan | 1993 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 23 | n/a | 0 | 0 |
Teammates & Qualifying Head-to-Head
| Teammate | Years | Races | Qualifying H2H |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rubens Barrichello | 1993 | 1 | 0-1 |
