Fabrizio Barbazza

Fabrizio Barbazza

Born	(1963-04-02) 2 April 1963 Monza, Lombardy, Italy
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Italian
Active years	1991, 1993
Teams	AGS, Minardi
Races	20 (8 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	2
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First race	1991 San Marino Grand Prix
Last race	1993 French Grand Prix

Fabrizio Barbazza (born 2 April 1963) is an Italian former Formula One driver who raced for the AGS and Minardi teams and was the 1987 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year.

Career

Early career

Barbazza was born in Monza, Lombardy. After a career in motorcross in his teens, he began racing Formula Monza in 1982. The following year he moved into Italian Formula Three Championship, 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, 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 in 1987 and finished third in the 1987 Indianapolis 500, 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, along with failing to qualify three times. He returned to CART for 1989 for eight races with a best finish of eighth at Toronto. He also drove in eight Japanese Formula 3000 races.

Barbazza at the 1992 Long Beach Grand Prix.

In 1990 he joined International F3000 full-time driving for the Crypton team, where he 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 Formula One team for the third round of the championship, replacing Stefan Johansson. 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 both failed to pre-qualify for the 1991 Spanish Grand Prix. 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 in practice for the 1992 Indianapolis 500 and was not able to qualify. It would be his last appearance in CART. In 1993 Barbazza rejoined Formula One with the Minardi team, scoring points twice in his first four races. However, Barbazza would be replaced by Pierluigi Martini after eight races. In 1995, while racing a Ferrari 333SP sports prototype at the Road Atlanta circuit, he was involved in an 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 didn't return to racing. Instead he started a go-kart 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)

Year	Team	Series	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Rank	Points
1986	Arciero Racing	ARS	LBH DNS	PHX 3	MIL DNS	MEA 1	CLE 1	TOR 10	POC 2	MDO 7	NAZ 1	LS 1	MIA 1	1st	145

CART

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Rank	Points
1987	Arciero Racing	LBH 17	PHX 12	INDY 3	MIL 14	POR 4	MEA Ret	CLE Ret	TOR 11	MIS 6	POC 14	ROA 8	MDO Ret	NAZ 13	LS DNS	MIA Ret		12th	42
1989	Arciero Racing	PHX	LBH	INDY	MIL	DET Ret	POR Ret	CLE Ret	MEA Ret	TOR 8	MIS	POC	MDO Ret	ROA 12	NAZ	LS Ret		24th	6
1992	Arciero Racing	SRF 12	PHX Ret	LBH Ret	INDY DNQ	DET	POR	MIL	NHM	TOR	MIS	CLE	ROA	VAN	MDO	NAZ	LS	35th	1

Indy 500 results

Complete International Formula 3000 results

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

Complete Japanese Formula 3000 results

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

Complete Formula One results

(key)

External links

• Profile on F1 Rejects
• Champcar Stats
• Indylights Stats
• Driver Database Profile
• Racing Reference Profile