Bruno Giacomelli (; born 10 September 1952) is an Italian former racing driver, who competed in Formula One between and .
Giacomelli won one of the two 1976 British Formula 3 Championships and the Formula Two championship. From to , Giacomelli participated in 82 Formula One Grands Prix for McLaren, Alfa Romeo and Toleman, debuting at the 1977 Italian Grand Prix. He achieved one podium and scored a total of 14 championship points. He returned to Formula One in with Life, but failed to pre-qualify in each of his 12 attempts driving the F190, prior to the team's withdrawal after the .
Early career Giacomelli began his career in Formula Italia, which he won in 1975. In 1976, he graduated to Formula Three where he competed with March and finished runner up in his first season, to Rupert Keegan, in the B.A.R.C Championship and won the B.R.D.C. title. He also led from start to finish in a March-Toyota in the 1976 Monaco Grand Prix Formula Three support race. His average speed was 74.84 miles per hour.Auto Racing, Syracuse Herald-Journal, 30 May 1976, Page 72.
Giacomelli moved into Formula Two in 1977, working in close association with Robin Herd and the March factory. He retired from the Formula Two Pau Grand Prix in May 1977, after his car made contact with one driven by Jacques Laffite. However, he managed to score three F2 wins in 1977 (at Vallelunga, Mugello and Donington Park) and finished fifth in the championship. He also made his Formula One World Championship debut in 1977 in a third works McLaren M23-Cosworth at the 1977 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, retiring with an engine problem which caused him to spin off.
Giacomelli dominated the following F2 season. Apart from a third-place finish in the Mugello Grand Prix in May 1978Auto Racing, Syracuse Herald Journal, 29 May 1978, Page 21. and a second-place in Vallelunga, Giacomelli won eight of the twelve races and won the title, beating the runner up Marc Surer by 29 points.Sports Briefs, Syracuse Herald Journal, 19 June 1978, Page 25. Giacomelli became the first Italian to win the European Formula Two Championship.
Formula One
After his sole F1 race in , Giacomelli entered five races in for McLaren, when his Formula Two commitments allowed. He achieved his best finish, of seventh place, in the 1978 British Grand Prix. After winning the European F2 title, he switched to Alfa Romeo for their return to building F1 cars in . Alfa only entered their 177 and 179 cars in a handful of events that year, and Giacomelli could only achieve a best of 17th place in the 1979 French Grand Prix.
However, in the following year, the team looked more promising. Giacomelli earned a surprise 6th place qualifying position for Alfa Romeo at Brands Hatch for the 1980 British Grand Prix.French teams dominate, Syracuse Herald Journal, 13 July 1980, Page 46. Giacomelli posted a third-place qualifying time for the 1980 Italian Grand Prix at Imola. Three of his six mechanics sustained injuries on the Friday before the race, when their helicopter crashed en route to the track.Andretti May Drive for a New Team, Syracuse Post Standard, Page 15. He won the pole position for the 1980 United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, New York in his Alfa Romeo. Giacomelli improved on his opening day time by 1.25 seconds, with a time of 1 minute 33.29 seconds over the 3.37-mile track.Formula Ones Go crazy at the Glen, Syracuse Herald-American, 5 October 1980, Page D13. However, despite these flashes of speed Giacomelli only managed to finish three of the season's fourteen races due to crashes or mechanical breakdowns; although two of his finishes were fifth places at the season-opening 1980 Argentine Grand Prix and the 1980 German Grand Prix, thus netting him four points and placing him 16th in the Drivers' Championship.
In , the car was somewhat more reliable, with Giacomelli being a classified finisher in eight of the season's 15 races - however he struggled to achieve good results until the end of the year, with a fourth and a third in the season-ending Canadian and Caesars Palace Grands Prix respectively - the latter was Giacomelli's only podium finish in F1, and he achieved his best-ever championship finish by ending up 15th in the drivers' standings.
For 1982, Alfa introduced their new Alfa Romeo 182 to replace the ageing 179; however, the new chassis proved to be unreliable in the first half of the season. In the second half, it was reliable enough to allow Giacomelli to finish all but two of the races; however, the year only yielded one points finish for him, with a fifth in Germany. Giacomelli was eliminated at the start of the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder when his Alfa Romeo collided with the two ATS cars of Eliseo Salazar and Manfred Winkelhock.Watson Wins Grand Prix, Syracuse Post Standard, 10 May 1982, Page 25. Alfa recruited Mauro Baldi to partner Andrea de Cesaris for the 1983 Formula One season and Giacomelli joined Toleman. Giacomelli was outperformed by his teammate Derek Warwick, though he did manage to pick up a final F1 point at the 1983 European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch.
Giacomelli was the test driver for the Leyton House March team in 1988 and 1989, as well as in 1990 in its Leyton House incarnation. He was offered a test driver position with McLaren for 1990 but turned it down.
In 1990, Giacomelli returned to F1 with the Life outfit, taking over from Gary Brabham (who left the team two races into the season). The car, saddled with an ineffectual and fragile W12 engine, struggled to get within 20 seconds of the pole time at many circuits, and Giacomelli failed to even get out of pre-qualifying at any of the 12 Grands Prix he contested with the team. At the Portuguese Grand Prix, the team reverted to a more conventional Judd V8 engine, but the car had not been adapted for the new engine and the team were unable to properly fit the engine cover, leading to them pulling out of the event without completing a single lap. When Giacomelli was able to drive the Judd-powered car in Spain, he found himself 18 seconds off the pace despite the new engine. With money in short supply and few hopes of improving their desperately noncompetitive package, the team folded before the final two races of the season, ending Giacomelli's F1 career.
CART
Giacomelli made 11 starts in CART in 1984 and 1985, ten of which were for Patrick Racing. His best finish was a fifth place on the Meadowlands street course in 1985. He attempted but failed to qualify for the 1984 Indianapolis 500.
Racing record Career summary
SeasonSeriesTeamRacesWinsPolesF/LapsPodiumsPointsPosition1974Formula Italia?1???0NC1975Formula ItaliaCevenini?5???451st1976BARC BP Super Visco British Formula ThreeMarch Engineering125549712ndBRDC Shellsport British Formula Three525?5791stFIA European Formula 3 Championship100000NC1977European Formula TwoAFMP Euroracing / March Engineering133333324thCASC Formula AtlanticEcurie Canada100000NCFormula OneMarlboro Team McLaren100000NC1978European Formula TwoPolifac BMW Junior Team1288610781stFormula OneMarlboro Team McLaren500000NCJapanese Formula Two101100NC1979BMW M1 Procar ChampionshipOsella Squadra Corse80001619thFormula OneAutodelta400000NC1980Formula OneMarlboro Team Alfa Romeo140100416th1981Formula OneMarlboro Team Alfa Romeo150001715th1982Formula OneMarlboro Team Alfa Romeo160000222nd1983Formula OneCandy Toleman Motorsport140000119th1984CART PPG Indy Car World SeriesTheodore Racing10000532ndPatrick Racing100001985CART PPG Indy Car World SeriesPatrick Racing900003219thWorld Sportscar ChampionshipPorsche Kremer Racing100000NC‡1986World Sportscar ChampionshipSponsor Guest Team200001044thPorsche Kremer Racing200001987World Touring Car ChampionshipPro Team Italia/Imberti500004231stWorld Sportscar ChampionshipBritten – Lloyd Racing100000NCMussato Action Car100001988World Sportscar ChampionshipPorsche Kremer Racing400002037thAll-Japan Sports Prototype ChampionshipLeyton House Racing210013010th24 Hours of Le MansKenwood Kremer Racing10000N/A9th1989World Sportscar ChampionshipMussato Action Car400000NCPorsche Kremer Racing2000024 Hours of Le Mans10000N/ADNF1990World Sportscar ChampionshipSpice Engineering30001617th24 Hours of Le MansRichard Lloyd Racing10000N/A11thAll-Japan Sports Prototype ChampionshipDavey Racing100000NCFormula OneLife Racing Engines000000NC1995BPR Global GT SeriesFreisinger Motorsport3000015115th ‡ Not eligible for Championship points.
Complete European Formula Two Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pts AFMP Euroracing March 772 Hart SIL THR HOC NÜR 4th 32 March Engineering March 772P BMW VLL PAU MUG ROU NOG PER MIS EST March 782 DON Polifac BMW Junior Team March 782 BMW THR HOC NÜR PAU MUG VLL ROU DON NOG PER MIS HOC 1st 78
Complete Formula One results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Pts 1977 Marlboro Team McLaren McLaren M23E Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG BRA RSA USW ESP MON BEL SWE FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA USA CAN JPN NC 0 1978 Marlboro Team McLaren McLaren M26 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG BRA RSA USW MON BEL ESP SWE FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA USA CAN NC 0 1979 Autodelta Alfa Romeo 177 Alfa Romeo 115-12 3.0 F12 ARG BRA RSA USW ESP BEL MON FRA GBR GER AUT NED NC 0 Alfa Romeo 179 Alfa Romeo 1260 3.0 V12 ITA CAN USA 1980 Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 179 Alfa Romeo 1260 3.0 V12 ARG BRA RSA USW BEL MON FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA CAN USA 16th 4 1981 Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 179C Alfa Romeo 1260 3.0 V12 USW BRA ARG SMR BEL MON ESP ITA CAN CPL 15th 7 Alfa Romeo 179B FRA GBR GER AUT NED 1982 Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 179D Alfa Romeo 1260 3.0 V12 RSA 22nd 2 Alfa Romeo 182 BRA USW SMR BEL MON DET CAN NED GBR FRA GER AUT SUI ITA CPL 1983 Candy Toleman Motorsport Toleman TG183B Hart 415T 1.5 L4t BRA USW FRA SMR MON BEL DET CAN GBR GER AUT NED ITA EUR RSA 19th 1 1990 Life Racing Engines Life F190 Life F35 3.5 W12 USA BRA SMR MON CAN MEX FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA NC 0 Judd CV 3.5 V8 POR ESP JPN AUS
Complete BMW M1 Procar results (key) Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pts 1979 Osella Squadra Corse BMW M1 ZOL MON DIJ SIL HOC ÖST ZAN MNZ 19th 6
American Open-Wheel racing (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
CART PPG Indy Car World Series Year Team No. Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Pts Ref 1984 Theodore Racing 44 Theodore T83 Cosworth DFX V8t LBH PHX 32nd 5 Theodore T84 INDY MIL POR MEA CLE MCH ROA POC MDO SAN MCH PHX Patrick Racing 40 March 84C LAG CPL 1985 Patrick Racing 20 March 85C Cosworth DFX V8t LBH INDY MIL POR MEA CLE MCH ROA POC MDO SAN MCH LAG PHX MIA 19th 32
Complete World Endurance/World Sports Prototype Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Class Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pts 1985 Porsche Kremer Racing C1 Porsche 956B MUG MNZ SIL LMS HOC MOS SPA BRH FUJ SHA NC 0 1986 Sponsor Guest Team C1 Lancia LC2 MNZ SIL LMS NOR BRH JER NÜR 44th 10 Porsche Kremer Racing Porsche 962C SPA FUJ 1987 Britten – Lloyd Racing C1 Porsche 962C GTi JAR JER MNZ SIL LMS NC 0 Mussato Action Car Lancia LC2 NOR BRH NÜR SPA FUJ 1988 Porsche Kremer Racing C1 Porsche 962C JER JAR MNZ SIL 37th 20 Porsche 962-CK6 LMS BRN BRH NÜR SPA FUJ SAN 1989 Porsche Kremer Racing C1 Porsche 962-CK6 SUZ DIJ JAR NC 0 Mussato Action Car Lancia LC2 BRH NÜR DON SPA MEX 1990 Spice Engineering C Spice SE90C SUZ SIL SPA DIJ NÜR DON CGV MEX 17th 6 Team Lee-Davey Porsche 962C MNZ Not eligible for Championship points
24 Hours of Le Mans results