Nicola Giuseppe Larini (born 19 March 1964) is an Italian former racing driver who competed in Formula One between 1987 and 1997. Although his 75 Grand Prix appearances produced only two points finishes, Larini built a far more successful career in touring cars, winning the 1992 Italian Superturismo Championship and the 1993 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft with Alfa Romeo.
His greatest Formula One result was a second-place finish for Ferrari at the tragic 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
Driver Bio
| Nationality | Italian |
| Birthplace | Lido di Camaiore, Italy |
| Born | 19 March 1964 |
| First Grand Prix | 1987 Italian Grand Prix |
| Last Grand Prix | 1997 Monaco Grand Prix |
| Years Active | 1987–1992, 1994, 1997 |
| Current/Last Team | Sauber |
Early career
Born in Lido di Camaiore, Tuscany, Larini began racing cars in Formula Italia in 1983. He progressed to Formula Abarth the following year, finishing third in the championship, while also making his first appearances in Italian Formula Three.
Larini’s breakthrough came in 1986. Driving a Dallara for Coloni, he won the Italian Formula Three title and established himself as one of the country’s leading young drivers.
He remained with Coloni for a brief move into Formula 3000 during 1987, but the team’s expansion into Formula One soon offered him a much bigger opportunity.
Formula One
Coloni and Osella
Coloni entered the final two European rounds of the 1987 Formula One season. Larini failed to qualify for his home Grand Prix at Monza but made the grid in Spain, where his debut ended in an early retirement.
Osella signed him for a full campaign in 1988. The car was among the least competitive in the field, yet Larini earned respect for regularly extracting more performance than its results suggested. His best finish was ninth at Monaco.
He stayed with Osella in 1989 and found himself trapped in Formula One’s unforgiving pre-qualifying system. The new car represented an improvement, but simply reaching the main qualifying session often depended on a few laps in difficult conditions.
When the machinery held together, Larini showed genuine speed. He ran sixth at Imola before a hub failed and climbed as high as third in Canada before an electrical problem intervened. At Suzuka, he qualified an impressive tenth.
Ligier and Modena
A move to Ligier in 1990 appeared to offer progress. The French team had considerably greater resources than Osella, but its car was an uninspired midfield design.
Larini recorded two seventh-place finishes, narrowly missing the points on both occasions under the scoring system of the time. The season remained subdued, although he comfortably outperformed teammate Philippe Alliot.
For 1991, Larini joined the new Modena operation. The Lamborghini-powered team required him to survive pre-qualifying once again.
He began strongly at the United States Grand Prix, making the race and finishing seventh. Severe financial problems soon restricted development, however, and Larini qualified for only four more Grands Prix during the remainder of the season.
Ferrari test driver and touring-car champion
Without a Formula One race seat for 1992, Larini joined Ferrari as a development driver and worked on its active-suspension system.
He kept racing through Alfa Romeo’s touring-car programme—and did rather more than simply stay sharp. Driving the Alfa Romeo 155 GTA, Larini won the Italian Superturismo Championship and also claimed victory in the Monza Rally Show.
Ferrari called him into its Formula One team for the final two rounds of the season, replacing Ivan Capelli. The appearances allowed Larini to race-test the active-suspension car, although technical circumstances forced him to start both Grands Prix from the back of the grid.
In 1993, he continued testing for Ferrari while leading Alfa Romeo’s assault on the German DTM. The box-shaped but spectacular four-wheel-drive Alfa Romeo 155 V6 TI proved formidable, and Larini captured the championship in Alfa’s first season in the series.
Imola 1994
Another Ferrari opportunity arrived early in 1994 when Jean Alesi was injured.
Larini qualified seventh for the Pacific Grand Prix, but his race lasted only a few seconds. Mika Häkkinen triggered a first-corner collision that eliminated both Larini and Ayrton Senna.
At the next round in San Marino, Larini delivered the finest Formula One result of his career. He finished second at Imola, giving Ferrari a home podium and scoring his first World Championship points.
The achievement was completely overshadowed by the weekend’s tragedies. Roland Ratzenberger was killed during qualifying, and Ayrton Senna died following his accident in the race.
Larini returned to Alfa Romeo’s touring-car programme for the remainder of 1994 and finished third in the German championship.
Sauber and final Formula One appearances
Alfa Romeo became less competitive over the next two seasons. Larini placed sixth in the 1995 German series and 11th in the 1996 International Touring Car Championship.
His longstanding Ferrari connection brought one final Formula One opportunity in 1997. Larini joined Sauber, whose cars used Ferrari engines carrying Petronas branding.
He scored a point immediately by finishing sixth at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. It would be the only other points result of his Formula One career.
The relationship with the team deteriorated quickly. After repeated disagreements with Peter Sauber, Larini departed only five races into the season, bringing his Grand Prix career to a close.
Later career
Touring cars remained Larini’s professional home. He continued representing Alfa Romeo for several years in the European Touring Car Championship before joining Chevrolet’s World Touring Car Championship programme in 2005.
Larini raced for Chevrolet through 2009. On 21 November that year, he announced his retirement from professional competition, while making clear that he had no intention of abandoning racing entirely.
He kept that promise. In 2016, Larini won the opening European Lotus Cup race at Imola. The following year, he made his NASCAR Whelen Euro Series debut at Franciacorta, driving the No. 1 Ford Mustang for Alex Caffi Motorsport.
Major championships and victories
Larini won the 1986 Italian Formula Three Championship in a Dallara-Alfa Romeo, the 1992 Italian Superturismo Championship in an Alfa Romeo 155 GTA Turbo and the 1993 DTM title in an Alfa Romeo 155 V6 TI. He also won the 1992 Monza Rally Show.
Grand Prix Stats
| Race Entries | 75 |
| Race Starts | 49 |
| Did Not Start | 2 |
| Best Race Start | 6th |
| Best Race Finish | 2nd |
| Retirements | 24 |
| First-Lap Retirements | 3 |
| Not Classified | 0 |
| Disqualified | 1 |
| Did Not Qualify | 8 |
Podiums
| Podiums | 1 |
| First Podium | 1994 San Marino Grand Prix |
| Last Podium | 1994 San Marino Grand Prix |
| 1st Place | 0 |
| 2nd Place | 1 |
| 3rd Place | 0 |
| Most Consecutive Podiums | 0 |
| Most Podiums in a Single Season | 1 (1994) |
| Seasons with Podiums | 1 |
Qualifying
| Qualifying Sessions | 75 |
| Reached Q3 | – |
| Q2 Eliminations | – |
| Q1 Eliminations | – |
| Did Not Qualify | 8 |
Points
| Points Scored | 7 |
| Points Finishes | 2 |
| Most Points in a Single Season | 6 (1994) |
| Seasons with Points | 2 |
Stats by Season
| Year | Constructor | Entries | Starts | Wins | Podiums | Poles | Fastest Laps | Front Rows | DNF | Best Start | Best Result | Pts Finishes | Points | Championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Coloni | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 26 | – | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 1988 | Osella | 16 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 14 | 9 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 1989 | Osella | 16 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | – | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 1990 | Ligier | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 1991 | Lamborghini | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 1992 | Ferrari | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 1994 | Ferrari | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 14th |
| 1997 | Sauber | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 19th |
Stats by Constructor
| Constructor | Years | Entries | Starts | Wins | Podiums | Poles | Fastest Laps | Front Rows | DNF | Best Start | Best Result | Pts Finishes | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coloni | 1987 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 26 | – | 0 | 0 |
| Osella | 1988–1989 | 32 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Ligier | 1990 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Lamborghini | 1991 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferrari | 1992, 1994 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Sauber | 1997 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
Teammates & Qualifying Head-to-Head
| Teammate | Years | Races | Qualifying H2H |
|---|---|---|---|
| Piercarlo Ghinzani | 1989 | 15 | 12-3 |
| Philippe Alliot | 1990 | 16 | 7-9 |
| Eric van de Poele | 1991 | 16 | 13-3 |
| Jean Alesi | 1992 | 2 | 1-1 |
| Gerhard Berger | 1994 | 2 | 0-2 |
| Johnny Herbert | 1997 | 5 | 0-5 |
