FIRST Racing was an ambitious Italian motorsport team created by former Formula One driver Lamberto Leoni in 1969. Under Leoni’s leadership as both founder and team principal, the outfit competed primarily in International Formula 3000 between 1987 and 1991, with a brief appearance in the Italian Formula 3 Championship in 1990. The team also made a bold—but ultimately unsuccessful—attempt to break into Formula One in 1989.
Formula 3000 Journey
Leoni returned to racing in 1987 by launching First Racing into Formula 3000, debuting at Silverstone with two cars—one for himself and another for Gabriele Tarquini. While Leoni scored the team’s first points with a sixth-place finish at Pau, it was Tarquini who stole the spotlight with two podiums: third at Pergusa and second at Imola.
Throughout that debut season, First Racing occasionally expanded to three cars, rotating drivers such as Aldo Bertuzzi, Beppe Gabbiani, Claudio Langes, and Alain Ferté.
For 1988, Leoni stepped back from driving to focus fully on management, bringing in Pierluigi Martini and Marco Apicella. Martini delivered the team’s first victory at Pergusa and went on to finish fourth in the championship—a major milestone for the young team.
Momentum continued into 1989. Fabrizio Giovanardi won at Vallelunga in the second round, while Apicella became one of the most consistent performers in the field, securing multiple podium finishes and ending the season fourth overall.
With Giovanardi and Apicella retained for 1990, expectations were high. Although both drivers regularly scored points, race wins proved elusive. By 1991, financial strain began to bite. Leoni turned to pay drivers, including Michael Bartels and Jean-Denis Délétraz, but the car lacked competitiveness. After a difficult season, the team was wound down, and Leoni shifted focus to managing Apicella’s career.
Formula One Attempt
Riding the optimism of early Formula 3000 success, Leoni set his sights on Formula One for 1989. He commissioned designer Richard Divila to create a car powered by a Judd V8 engine, with Tarquini signed as driver.
Initial test outings, including appearances at the Attilio Bettega Memorial and the Formula One Indoor Trophy, quickly exposed serious issues. A manufacturing error during chassis construction—caused by incorrect autoclave temperatures—compromised the car’s integrity, forcing the team to build a second chassis.
Attempts to salvage the original design included reinforcing it with injected material, but although it passed FIA crash testing, it became significantly overweight and uncompetitive. Divila himself famously dismissed it as suitable only for use as “an interesting flowerpot.”
With the 1989 Formula One grid overcrowded and requiring pre-qualifying, Leoni ultimately chose not to proceed. Rather than risk entering with an uncompetitive car, the team withdrew before the opening Brazilian Grand Prix and refocused on Formula 3000.
Interestingly, the second chassis did not go to waste—it was later acquired by Ernesto Vita and became the basis for the ill-fated Life Racing Engines entry in the 1990 Formula One season.