Nicola Larini

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Nicola Larini
Larini in 2006, as a WTCC driver
Nationality  Italian
Formula One World Championship career
Active years	1987 - 1992, 1994, 1997
Teams	Coloni, Osella, Ligier, Modena, Ferrari, Sauber
Races	75 (50 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podium finishes	1
Career points	7
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First race	1987 Italian Grand Prix
Last race	1997 Monaco Grand Prix

Nicola Larini (born March 19, 1964) is a racing driver from Italy. He participated in 75 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on September 6, 1987. He achieved 1 podium, and scored a total of 7 championship points.

Larini was born in Lido di Camaiore, Tuscany. He began car racing in Formula Italia in 1983, then moved up to Formula Abarth in 1984, placing third overall. He also started in Italian Formula Three the same season. In 1986 he won the title for Coloni in a Dallara, and briefly drove for the same team in Formula 3000 the following year. His rapid ascendancy continued when Coloni entered the final two European rounds of the 1987 Formula One season. Larini failed to qualify for the Italian Grand Prix, but got into the Spanish Grand Prix, only to retire early on.

For the 1988 season he was signed by the Osella Formula One team, and drew good notices for his valiant performances in the hugely uncompetitive car, with a best result of 9th in the Monaco Grand Prix. He would continue with Osella in the 1989 season, their much-improved car suffering from the lottery of pre-qualifying. However, Larini continued to shine, running 6th at the San Marino Grand Prix until a hub failure, and running third at the Canadian Grand Prix until an electrical failure. He would also qualify 10th for the Japanese Grand Prix.

The 1990 Formula One season saw a move up the grid to the Ligier team, but the well-funded French team were at a creative dead-end and the car was a distinct midfielder. A brace of seventh places were Larini's best results in a low-key year, although he easily outshone Philippe Alliot in the other Ligier.

Larini then moved to the new Modena team for the 1991 season, once again having to face pre-qualifying. He got through in the opening round, the United States Grand Prix, and held on for seventh place, but the team would develop acute financial difficulties, and were unable to progress. As a result, Larini would only qualify for four more races.

For the 1992 season, he was out of luck for a Grand Prix drive, but was signed by Ferrari to develop their active suspension system. Larini kept his racing instincts sharp by winning the Italian Touring Cars Championship for Alfa Romeo, and was called up to the Ferrari Formula One team for the end of the year, replacing Ivan Capelli to race-test the active suspension car. He made a fair impression, but started both races from the back of the grid for technical reasons. However, 1993 saw more Ferrari testing and touring cars, this time taking the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft title in Germany for Alfa Romeo.

In 1994, he would have another chance with Ferrari in Formula One, replacing the injured Jean Alesi early in the season. He qualified seventh at the Pacific Grand Prix, but along with Ayrton Senna was eliminated at the first corner by Mika Häkkinen. Then at the San Marino Grand Prix he took second place, but his first points score was overshadowed by the tragic deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna. It was back to touring cars with Alfa for the rest of the year, with Larini placing third in the German series.

Alfa would drop off the pace for the next two years, with Larini placing sixth in the German series in 1995, and 11th in the Italian series in 1996. However, 1997 would see his Ferrari connections land him a seat with Sauber, who were using rebranded Ferrari engines. Larini scored a point on his return at the Australian Grand Prix, but left after five races after a series of disagreements with Peter Sauber.

Since then Larini has been a stalwart in touring cars, for Alfa Romeo for many years, and since 2005 for Chevrolet.

[edit] Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year	Team	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	WDC	Points
1987	Coloni	Ford	BRA	SMR	BEL	MON	USA	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	AUT	ITA DNQ	POR	ESP Ret	MEX	JPN	AUS		-	0
1988	Osella	Osella	BRA DNQ	SMR DSQ	MON 9	MEX DNQ	CAN DNQ	USE Ret	FRA Ret	GBR 19	GER Ret	HUN DNPQ	BEL Ret	ITA Ret	POR 12	ESP Ret	JPN Ret	AUS DNPQ		27th	0
1989	Osella	Ford	BRA DSQ	SMR 12	MON DNPQ	MEX DNPQ	USA DNPQ	CAN Ret	FRA DNPQ	GBR Ret	GER DNPQ	HUN DNPQ	BEL DNPQ	ITA Ret	POR DNPQ	ESP Ret	JPN Ret	AUS Ret		33rd	0
1990	Ligier	Ford	USA Ret	BRA 11	SMR 10	MON Ret	CAN Ret	MEX 16	FRA 14	GBR 10	GER 10	HUN 11	BEL 14	ITA 11	POR 10	ESP 7	JPN 7	AUS 10		19th	0
1991	Modena	Lamborghini	USA 7	BRA DNPQ	SMR DNPQ	MON DNPQ	CAN DNPQ	MEX DNPQ	FRA DNPQ	GBR DNPQ	GER Ret	HUN 16	BEL DNQ	ITA 16	POR DNQ	ESP DNQ	JPN DNQ	AUS Ret		-	0
1992	Ferrari	Ferrari	RSA	MEX	BRA	ESP	SMR	MON	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	JPN 12	AUS 11		29th	0
1994	Ferrari	Ferrari	BRA	PAC Ret	SMR 2	MON	ESP	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	EUR	JPN	AUS		14th	6
1997	Sauber	Petronas	AUS 6	BRA 11	ARG Ret	SMR 7	MON Ret	ESP	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	AUT	LUX	JPN	EUR	19th	1

[edit] External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by Franco Forini	Italian Formula Three Champion 1986	Succeeded by Enrico Bertaggia
Preceded by Roberto Ravaglia	Italian Touring Car Champion 1992	Succeeded by Roberto Ravaglia
Preceded by Klaus Ludwig	German Touring Car Champion 1993	Succeeded by Klaus Ludwig