50. Michele Alboreto (Italy) 194 Starts, 5
Race Wins, 250.1 F-Points
Since
Alberto Ascari, no Italian has won the Formula One World Championship, but
Michele Alboreto arguably came closest. Having grown up in Milan, Alboreto's
introduction to the world of motor racing was through his pursuit of technical
design, which he used to help build his first car for the Formula Monza
series. Though his machinery was not successful, once his breakthrough into the
sport had been made he was able to establish himself as a talented driver,
winning races in a March and being snapped up for the Formula 3 series in 1979.
The
following year, Alboreto was able to take the European Formula Three title, and
his success started to draw the interest of Formula One outfits. Tyrrell struck
a deal with the Italian, and gave him a place in their team for the 1981 season.
In the meantime, Alboreto broadened his horizons by participating in sportscar
races, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and the Six Hours of Watkins Glen
event, which he won alongside fellow Italian Riccardo Patrese.
Up
until 1983 Alboreto continued to take part in sportscar races, partnering
Patrese in the Lancia team. The two had moderate success in the Endurance Race
championships, but when Lancia converted their team for the World Sportscar
Championship, opportunities for victory became sparse.
Nevertheless,
by this time Alboreto was beginning to demonstrate his capabilities to the world
of Formula One. Despite his first season in the Tyrrell amounting to very
little, 1982 saw the Italian score his first podium finish when he took third
place at the San Marino Grand Prix. However, this achievement was somewhat
tainted by the fact that many of the teams had boycotted the race due to an
ongoing political war strangling the sport.
If
the podium at San Marino had failed to prove Alboreto's ability, then the last
race of the season tucked any doubts safely away as the Italian scored his
first victory of his career. At the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Alboreto drove
fantastically to catch up with and pass Alain Prost for the lead. Once ahead,
he held steady and was able to take Tyrrell's first race win for four years.
Alboreto
continued at Tyrrell for 1983, but the car was far less competitive than in the
previous season due to it not being fitted with the turbo engines that other
top teams were now adopting. Both Alboreto and his teammate Danny Sullivan
struggled to score points at all during the season, but Alboreto did manage a
surprise race victory when he came home first at the Detroit Grand Prix. The
impact of the turbo-engines were diminished by the tight and difficult circuit,
and having qualified in sixth Alboreto was able to take advantage of his
rivals' misfortune for an unlikely triumph.
Dissatisfied
with the car Tyrrell had provided him, Alboreto sought new pastures and leapt
when the opportunity arose for him to drive for Ferrari. In doing so, Alboreto
became the first Italian in over a decade to drive for the famous team, and he
flew his country's flag with pride by scoring his first victory for Scuderia
just three races into the season. At the Belgian Grand Prix, Alboreto took pole
position and completed a lights-to-flag victory, ahead of his new teammate Rene
Arnoux for a 1-3 finish.
Though
the success at Zolder showed promise for Alboreto's 1984 campaign, reliability
issues blighted the middle of the season for the Italian. It was only in the
final few races that he was able to pick up significant points, scoring podiums
at Austria, Italy and Europe to finish fourth place in the Drivers' Championship.
The
following year would be Alboreto's best shot at the title. With mechanical
problems seemingly a thing of the past, the Italian was able to take eight
podiums in the first ten races of the 1985 season. In the midst of these
podiums were two race victories. The first was at the Canadian Grand Prix,
where Alboreto and the other Ferrari driver Stefan Johansson pushed home a 1-2
finish. A few races later at the German Grand Prix, Alboreto worked his way
through the pack to take his fifth career victory. At the end of the Austrian
Grand Prix Alboreto had amassed 50 points, which put him level with McLaren's
Alain Prost. It appeared that a titanic fight for the championship was on the
cards between two drivers who were very much capable of wearing the crown.
But
the Ferrari faltered and left Alboreto forlorn. The Italian had to retire from
the last five races for various car failures, and that allowed Prost to romp
home to the 1985 World Championship. It had been a tremendous effort from
Alboreto, but it was to be his only real chance of title glory. The following
year's Ferrari struggled further with reliability problems, and the only ray of
sunshine in that 1986 campaign was a second-place finish at the Austrian Grand
Prix, where Alboreto finished a lap behind Alain Prost in first.
1987
marked the beginning of Alboreto's decline from the world of Formula One.
Ferrari chose to bring in Austrian driver Gerhard Berger, and Berger quickly
established himself as the quicker driver. Though the Austrian managed two
victories during the season, Alboreto could only achieve three podiums and
finished the season with less than half the points his teammate scored.
Though
Alboreto improved slightly for 1988, Ferrari deemed that he was no longer to be
a part of their team and refused to offer him a new contract. Alboreto's career
was close to experiencing a second wind when Frank Williams got in touch with
the Italian and asked him not to sign any deals, indicating that he would be
offered a drive for Williams for 1989. The offer never materialised, and having
held out for the Williams seat Alboreto was caught off guard and had few
options left.
Alboreto's
family encouraged him to retire, but he instead opted for a return to his
former team Tyrrell. Four races into the season Alboreto was able to score what
would be his final podium in Formula One when he finished third at the Mexican
Grand Prix. However, his relationship with the team deteriorated following a
dispute over sponsorship, and Alboreto found himself kicked out just six races
into the 1989 season. He ended the year with a fruitless stint at Larousse,
compounding his misery by breaking his ribs while going over a chicane at the
Hungarian Grand Prix.
In
1990 Alboreto moved onto a new project with the Footwork team, who were going
through a transition while the outfit were sold by Arrows. As an experienced
pair of hands, Alboreto was of great use to the ailing team and managed to keep
them running in respectable positions on the track. Though he was unable to
score any points in his first season at the team, a switch to Porsche engines
promised much for 1991.
The
results were disastrous, as the car was extremely unbalanced and barely managed
to qualify at all throughout the season. A switch to Honda engines in 1992
improved fortunes, with Alboreto taking a smattering of points during the
campaign. However, such measly success was a far cry from Alboreto's time at
Ferrari, and it seemed his Formula One career was coming to a close. A stint
with Scuderia Italia, which then became Minardi, marked Alboreto's final two
seasons in Grand Prix racing.
Alboreto
continued to race in other series such as IndyCar and Sportscar racing, but his
most significant success following his F1 career was winning the 1997 24 Hours
of Le Mans race alongside his former teammate at Ferrari Stefan Johansson.
In
2001 Michele Alboreto suffered a tyre failure while testing an Audi R8 in
Germany. His car crashed into a wall and he was killed. He was 44.
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