Fabrizio Barbazza (born 2 April 1963) is an Italian former

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

driver who raced for the AGS and

Minardi Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team and constructor founded in Faenza in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal followin ...

teams and was the

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year The Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year is an annual award "presented to the driver who has performed with the most distinction among first-year drivers in the Indianapolis 500." Criteria includes "on-track performance in practice, qualifying an ...

Career

Early career

Barbazza was born in

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

. After a career in

motorcross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competiti ...

in his teens, he began racing

Formula Monza In science, a formula is a concise way of expressing information symbolically, as in a mathematical formula or a ''chemical formula''. The informal use of the terminology, term ''formula'' in science refers to the Commensurability (philosophy o ...

in 1982. The following year, he moved into

Italian Formula Three Championship The Italian Formula Three Championship was the Formula Three racing competition in Italy. History Formula Three has traditionally been regarded as the first major stepping stone for F1 hopefuls - it is typically the first point in a driver's care ...

and, in 1984, finished sixth in the series. In 1985, he won four races and finished third in the championship. He then went to the United States and entered the

American Racing Series Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program ...

, where he won four races and the title in his first attempt.

CART, F3000, and Formula One

After his success in ARS, Barbazza entered

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed tr ...

in 1987 and finished third in the

1987 Indianapolis 500 The 71st Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday May 24, 1987. After dominating practice, qualifying, and most of the race, leader Mario Andretti slowed with mechanical problems with only 23 l ...

, becoming CART's Rookie of the Year. Despite his success he could not find a ride in CART for 1988 and only made two starts in

Formula 3000 Formula 3000 (F3000) was a type of open wheel, single seater formula racing, occupying the tier immediately below Formula One and above Formula Three. It was so named because the cars were powered by 3.0 L engines. Formula 3000 championships ...

, along with failing to qualify three times. He returned to CART for 1989 for eight races with a best finish of eighth at

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. He also drove in eight

Japanese Formula 3000 The Japanese Super Formula Championship is a formula racing series. It is considered as being the top level of single-seater racing in Japan and regional motorsports in Asia. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and ...

races.

In 1990 he joined International F3000 full-time driving for the Crypton team, finishing 16th in points with a best finish of fourth at his home track in Monza, his only point-scoring finish of the season. For 1991 Barbazza signed on with the struggling AGS

team for the third round of the championship, replacing

Stefan Johansson Stefan Nils Edwin Johansson (born 8 September 1956) is a Swedish racing driver who drove in Formula One for both Ferrari and McLaren, among other teams. Since leaving Formula One he has won the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans and raced in a number o ...

. Barbazza failed to qualify for all twelve races he attempted with the team and the team shut down after both Barbazza and his teammate

Olivier Grouillard Olivier Grouillard (born 2 September 1958) is a racing driver from France. He started racing go-karts from the age of fourteen competing in events such as the Volant Elf. He progressed to Formula Renault winning the title before Grouillard compet ...

both failed to pre-qualify for the

1991 Spanish Grand Prix The 1991 Spanish Grand Prix (formally the XXXIII Gran Premio Tío Pepe de España) was a Formula One motor race held on 29 September 1991 at the Circuit de Catalunya. It was the fourteenth race of the 1991 Formula One World Championship, and the fi ...

. For the 1992 racing season, Barbazza again returned to the Arciero team in CART. However, after respectable performances in two-year-old equipment for the first three races of the season, he wrecked his 1990-vintage

Lola Lola may refer to: Places * Lolá, a or subdistrict of Panama * Lola Township, Cherokee County, Kansas, United States * Lola Prefecture, Guinea * Lola, Guinea, a town in Lola Prefecture * Lola Island, in the Solomon Islands People * Lola (fo ...

in practice for the

1992 Indianapolis 500 The 76th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday, May 24, 1992. The race is famous for the fierce battle in the closing laps, as race winner Al Unser Jr. held off second place Scott Goodyear for ...

and was not able to qualify. It would be his last appearance in CART. In 1993 Barbazza rejoined Formula One with the

team, scoring points twice in his first four races. However, Barbazza would be replaced by

Pierluigi Martini Pierluigi Martini (born 23 April 1961) is an Italian former racing driver. He won the 1999 24 hours of Le Mans and participated in 124 Formula One Grands Prix (with 119 starts) between 1984 and 1995. Early life Martini's uncle, Giancarlo Martin ...

after eight races. In 1995, while racing a

Ferrari 333SP The Ferrari 333 SP is a sports prototype race car that was built by Italian race car manufacturer Dallara and later Michelotto to compete in the World Sports Car championship for Ferrari. Unveiled at the end of 1993, at the behest of amateur ra ...

sports prototype at the

Road Atlanta Road Atlanta (known for sponsorship reasons as Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta) is a road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur spo ...

circuit, he was involved in a major accident with Jeremy Dale, which resulted in heavy head and chest injuries which left him in critical condition, in a coma and on artificial respiration. Although he fully recovered, he did not return to racing. Instead he started a

go-kart A go-kart, also written as go-cart (often referred to as simply a kart), is a type of sports car, close wheeled car, open-wheel car or quadracycle. Go-karts come in all shapes and forms, from non-motorised models to high-performance Kart rac ...

circuit in Monza and began designing crash barriers. He has since relocated to Cuba where he has set up a fishing resort in the north of the country called La Villa Clara. He has also raced again, at a local karting track in Cuba, where he has re-discovered his love for the sport.

Career summary

American open wheel racing

Indy Lights

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

)

CART

Indy 500 results

Complete International Formula 3000 results

(

) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Japanese Formula 3000 results

(

) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula One results

(

)

External links

Profile on F1 Rejects (archive)Driver Database ProfileRacing Reference Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbazza, Fabrizio 1963 births Living people Italian racing drivers Italian Formula One drivers AGS Formula One drivers Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year Indianapolis 500 drivers Champ Car drivers Indy Lights champions Indy Lights drivers Japanese Formula 3000 Championship drivers Minardi Formula One drivers International Formula 3000 drivers EuroInternational drivers