Paolo Barilla is an Italian businessman and former racing driver, best known for winning the 1985 24 Hours of Le Mans and later becoming a senior executive in the Barilla Group.
Driver Bio
| Nationality | Italian |
| Birthplace | Milan, Italy |
| Born | 20 April 1961 |
| Died | N/A |
| First Grand Prix | 1989 Japanese Grand Prix |
| Last Grand Prix | 1990 Spanish Grand Prix |
| Current/Last Team | Minardi |
Barilla began racing in 1975 and quickly showed promise, winning the Italian 100cc karting title in 1976. He progressed through the junior ranks, competing in Formula Fiat Abarth and then Formula 3, where he finished third in the Italian Championship.
In 1982, he stepped up to Formula 2 with Minardi, but soon shifted his focus to sports car racing. This proved highly successful, as he won the 1985 Le Mans 24 Hours driving a Porsche 956 for Joest Racing. He shared drives during this period with notable drivers such as Klaus Ludwig and Louis Krages.
He returned to single-seaters in the late 1980s, competing in Japanese Formula 3000, before rejoining Minardi. This led to his Formula One debut in 1989, when he replaced Pierluigi Martini at Suzuka. He secured a full-time seat with the team in 1990, but struggled to qualify consistently and was replaced before the end of the season by Gianni Morbidelli.
Barilla later returned to historic racing, winning the Monaco Historic Grand Prix (Formula 3 class) in 2014.
Post-Racing
After retiring from racing in 1990, Barilla joined his family’s company, the Barilla Group, one of the world’s leading food manufacturers. He briefly served as CEO from 1999 to 2000 and later became Deputy Chairman.
He has also held several prominent roles within the food industry, including President of the Italian food industry association AIDEPI and later President of the International Pasta Organization, promoting awareness and consumption of pasta globally.
In addition, Barilla has been involved in sustainability initiatives through the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition and has served on the executive council of Confindustria.
Grand Prix Stats
| Race Entries | 15 |
| Race Starts | 9 |
| Did Not Start | 0 |
| Best Race Start | 14th |
| Best Race Finish | 11th |
| Retirements | 5 |
| First-Lap Retirements | 2 |
| Not Classified | 0 |
| Disqualified | 0 |
| Did Not Qualify | 6 |
Qualifying
| Qualifying Sessions | 15 |
| Reached Q3 | 0 |
| Q2 Eliminations | 0 |
| Q1 Eliminations | 0 |
| Did Not Qualify | 6 |
Teammates
| 3 drivers | Involvement | First Year | Last Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luis Perez-Sala | 1 | 1989 | |
| Pierluigi Martini | 14 | 1990 | |
| Marco Apicella | 1 | 1990 |
