# Ivan Capelli

Ivan Franco Capelli (born 24 May 1963) is an Italian broadcaster and former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1985 to 1993.
Born and raised in Milan, Capelli began competitive kart racing aged 15. He was widely successful across lower formulae, winning titles in Italian Formula 3, FIA European Formula 3 and International Formula 3000. After making his Formula One debut with Tyrrell at the 1985 European Grand Prix, he made sporadic appearances for Tyrell and AGS before signing for March full-time in 1987. He participated in 98 Grands Prix, achieving three podiums.
After exiting Formula One, Capelli competed in touring car racing until 2017, becoming a race-winner in the Italian GT Championship and the Trofeo Maserati. From 1998 to 2017, he was a commentator and pundit for Rai 1.

## Early life and career

Ivan Franco Capelli was born on 24 May 1963 in Milan, Italy. Capelli began his career as a kart driver when he was 15 years old, and after four years he moved to the Italian Formula Three Championship.
In 1983 he became Italian Formula Three champion, after dominating the series with nine victories. After that, he moved with the Coloni team to the European Formula Three Championship, and here he was the champion again in 1984.
In 1985 he graduated to the European Formula 3000 Championship with a Genoa Racing March-Cosworth and won one race. After making his Formula One debut in 1985 and failing to sign a full-time contract, he contested the 1986 Formula 3000 Championship, still with Genoa Racing, and also raced a BMW in the European Touring Car Championship.

## Formula One career
### Tyrrell and AGS (1985–1986)

In 1985, Capelli debuted in Formula One, driving a Tyrrell at the European Grand Prix, and finished fourth in Australia. Nevertheless, he was not picked up for a full-time Formula One drive in 1986.
Despite not landing a full-time contract for 1986, Capelli started several F1 races for the AGS team. Meanwhile, Cesare Gariboldi, boss of Genoa Racing, was working with Robin Herd of March to create a new Formula One outfit. Capelli was a core component in their plans. By now, Capelli and Gariboldi had an almost father-son relationship.

### March / Leyton House (1987–1991)

In 1987 Capelli was in Formula One full-time with the March team, led by Gariboldi and running Herd's new chassis with a Cosworth V8 normally aspirated engine. Capelli also continued with BMW touring cars for the Schnitzer team, as the March budget was tight (so much that they raced at the Belgian Grand Prix with a detuned 3.3-litre sports car engine rather than the full 3.5l Formula One unit), and the Schnitzer team had works status with BMW, allowing him to be on the German company's payroll. Capelli scored March's first point with sixth at the Monaco Grand Prix and March's return to Formula One was generally seen as competent, professional and promising for the future.
In 1988 Capelli had a March chassis designed by Adrian Newey (later a winner of multiple Constructors' Championships as a designer at Williams, McLaren and Red Bull) combined with a Judd V8 engine (derived from the Brabham-Honda CART engine and the Judd/Honda F3000 unit). March had hoped to be the favoured development partner for this engine, but they found themselves sharing it with the French Ligier team as well as the defending F1 Constructors' Champions Williams who had lost their supply of turbocharged Honda engines to McLaren. Capelli was joined in the team by the British Formula 3 Champion, Brazilian rookie Maurício Gugelmin. They made a strong team and the March 881 was the surprise of the year. At Spa-Francorchamps he scored his first podium with a third place behind Ayrton Senna's and Alain Prost's McLarens (though this was not known until after the season when the Benettons were disqualified for fuel irregularities). Capelli's best finish was second place at the Portuguese Grand Prix where he finished behind Prost. Even better was ahead for the Italian when he became the first non-turbo driver since 1983 to lead a World Championship Grand Prix. This happened on lap 16 of the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka when Prost missed a gear coming out of the final chicane and Capelli was able to get ahead before the start/finish line and officially lead the lap. However, Prost used Honda's superior power and was ahead before turn 1. His Judd V8 suffered an electrical failure just three laps later.
However, the momentum did not continue. March had financial problems and a sponsor, Leyton House, acquired a controlling interest. Gugelmin finished third in his home race at Jacarepaguá in 1989, but this was done in the 1988 car. The definitive 1989 Leyton House March was a disappointment, and neither driver challenged for the top in the rest of the year. Capelli in particular only finished once throughout the season (12th in Belgium) and went far enough to be classified on one further occasion (Monaco where he dropped out from 6th place near the end and was classified 11th). Despite this, he was one of only six drivers to start in all of the 16 races of the 1989 season (the others were the McLaren drivers Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, the Williams duo Riccardo Patrese and Thierry Boutsen, and Benetton's Alessandro Nannini). Team spirit remained intact despite the death of Gariboldi in a car crash and midway through the season Capelli felt happy enough in the team to take up his option for 1990. The new decade started poorly, though. Newey's car (given the prefix CG in honour of Gariboldi) had excellent aerodynamics and exclusive use of Judd's updated V8 engine, but it was intolerant of bumps. It was so bad on the notoriously bumpy Mexico City track that neither driver could control the car and both failed to qualify. Nevertheless, in the next at Paul Ricard in France came a complete turnaround in form. Capelli led Gugelmin in a Leyton House 1–2 throughout much of the race. Gugelmin finally retired, and Capelli was overtaken near the end by the Ferrari of Prost with only 3 laps remaining and went on to finish second. Revisions to the car had made it more competitive (ironically Newey left the team shortly before the race to join Williams), but it was the billiard table-smooth track which allowed the result. Despite some promising showings at Silverstone and Hockenheim, it remained their best race of the season.
In 1991, Leyton House was responsible not only for chassis development but also bankrolled the ambitious Ilmor V10 engine programme. With so many new ingredients, results were again sparse, although Capelli often qualified and raced well. When Leyton House's owner Akira Akagi was arrested in connection with the Fuji Bank fraud, the team was in a precarious state. Capelli had signed for Scuderia Ferrari for the '92 season, so he voluntarily stepped down, allowing pay driver Karl Wendlinger to finish the season and personally paid to attend the races he missed to offer support to the team and advice to his rookie substitute.

### Ferrari and Jordan (1992–1993)

In 1992, Capelli became the first Italian with a regular drive with Ferrari since Michele Alboreto in 1988, after Gianni Morbidelli's one-off race for the team the season before. The Scuderia had gone through a tough time in 1991, but with a new car, the F92A, expectations were high. The new car was not competitive and before the season began Capelli was showing his disappointment. A driver who enjoyed the convivial atmosphere of a family-type team, he struggled to integrate with the bureaucratic structure of the early 1990s Ferrari. Losing motivation, the team in turn lost confidence in him and his teammate Jean Alesi gained the upper hand. Capelli was sacked before the season's end. It was the last time until Felipe Massa in 2011 that a Ferrari driver failed to finish on the podium during a season.
This experience seemingly broke his spirit, but those who had worked with him in March still had faith, notably Ian Phillips, then Jordan's team manager. Taking a Jordan seat for 1993 alongside young rookie Rubens Barrichello, whom the team hoped would prosper under the more experienced driver, Capelli failed to rediscover the spark that not long ago had marked him as a champion of the future. After failing to qualify for the second race in Brazil, he left the team by mutual consent, being replaced by Thierry Boutsen. He did not race in Formula One again.

## Other ventures
### Touring car racing

Following his exit from Formula One, Capelli raced from 1994 to 1996 with a Nissan Primera with mixed results in the German Super Tourenwagen Cup for BMS Scuderia Italia and in some rounds of the Spanish Touring Car Championship in 1995 and 1996.

### Broadcasting

Capelli became a Formula One commentator from 1998 until 2017 on the Italian TV station Rai 1.

## Racing record
### Career summary

| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
| 1982 | Italian Formula Three | Cesare Gariboldi | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 25.5 | 6th |
| 1982 | European Formula Three | Torino Corse | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 1983 | Italian Formula Three | Coloni Motorsport | 12 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 91 | 1st |
| 1983 | European Formula Three | Coloni Motorsport | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 15th |
| 1984 | European Formula Three | Coloni Motorsport | 12 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 60 | 1st |
| 1984 | Italian Formula Three | Coloni Motorsport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 12th |
| 1984 | Macau Grand Prix | Marlboro Theodore Racing Team | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 5th |
| 1985 | European Formula 3000 Championship | Genoa Racing | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 7th |
| 1985 | Formula One | Tyrrell Racing Organisation | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 17th |
| 1986 | International Formula 3000 Championship | Genoa Racing | 11 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 39 | 1st |
| 1986 | Japanese Formula Two | Leyton House Racing | 3 | 0 | 0 | ? | 2 | 33 | 7th |
| 1986 | Formula One | Jolly Club SpA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 1986 | Macau Grand Prix | David Price Racing w/ Marlboro Theodore Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 11th |
| 1986 | IMSA GT Championship | Conte Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 1987 | Formula One | Leyton House March Racing Team | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19th |
| 1987 | World Touring Car Championship | Schnitzer Motorsport | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 60 | 23rd |
| 1987 | European Touring Car Championship | Schnitzer Motorsport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 1988 | Formula One | Leyton House March Racing Team | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 7th |
| 1989 | Formula One | Leyton House Racing | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 1990 | Formula One | Leyton House | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 10th |
| 1991 | Formula One | Leyton House | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18th |
| 1992 | Formula One | Scuderia Ferrari SpA | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13th |
| 1993 | Italian Superturismo Championship | Nissan Castrol Racing | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 20th |
| 1993 | FIA Touring Car World Cup | Nissan Castrol Racing | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 20th |
| 1993 | Formula One | Sasol Jordan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 1994 | Super Tourenwagen Cup | Nissan Primera Racing | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 11th |
| 1995 | Super Tourenwagen Cup | Nissan Primera Racing | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 29th |
| 1995 | Campeonato de España de Turismos | Team Repsol Nissan | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | NC† |
| 1995 | 24 Hours of Le Mans | Honda Motor Co. Ltd. | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | DNF |
| 1996 | Super Tourenwagen Cup | Nissan Primera Racing | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 25th |
| 1996 | Campeonato de España de Turismos | Team Repsol Nissan | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | NC† |
| 1997 | IMSA GT Championship | Target 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 1997 | FIA GT Championship | Konrad Motorsport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 2000 | Grand American Road Racing Championship | Franco Scapini Motorsport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 2000 | FIA GT Championship | Supertech erg | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 2001 | FIA Sportscar Championship | R&M | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 2002 | FIA GT Championship | Team Veloqx | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 2003 | Porsche Supercup | Porsche AG | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC† |
| 2006 | Italian GT Championship | Racing Box, Loris Kessel Racing | 6 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 84 | 7th |
| 2008 | Australian GT Championship | Rod Wilson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 2008 | Australian Tourist Trophy | Trofeo Motorsport | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 5th |
| 2009 | Lamborghini Super Trofeo | Automobili Lamborghini | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 11th |
| 2010 | Trofeo Maserati | ? | 2 | 1 | 2 | ? | 1 | 0 | NC |
| 2012 | International GTSprint Series | Kessel Racing | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 32 | 9th |
| 2013 | Italian Touring Car Championship | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 43 | 15th |
| 2013 | Australian GT Championship | Trofeo Motorsport | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 73 | 14th |
| 2015 | Italian GT Championship | Team Pellin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 42nd |
| 2017 | Australian GT Championship | Trofeo Motorsport | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC† |
| 2017 | Intercontinental GT Challenge | Trofeo Motorsport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 14th |
| Source: ||||||||||
$^†$ As Capelli was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.

### Complete International Formula 3000 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 | Pos. | Pts |
| 1985 | Genoa Racing | March 85B | Cosworth | SIL | THR | EST | NÜR | VAL Ret | | SPA Ret | DIJ Ret | PER Ret | ÖST 1 | ZAN DNS | DON 3 | 7th | 13 |
| 1985 | Sanremo Racing | March 85B | Cosworth | | | | | | PAU DNS | | | | | | | | | 7th | 13 |
| 1986 | Genoa Racing | March 86B | Cosworth | SIL Ret | VAL 1 | PAU Ret | SPA 3 | IMO 2 | MUG 3 | PER Ret | ÖST 1 | BIR Ret | BUG 4 | JAR 4 | | 1st | 38 |
| Sources: ||||||||||||||||||

### Complete Macau Grand Prix results

| Year | Team | Chassis/Engine | Qualifying | Race1 | Race2 | Overall ranking |
| 1984 | Marlboro Theodore Racing Team | Ralt・Toyota | 10th | 7 | 5 | 5th |
| 1986 | David Price Racing w/ Marlboro Theodore Racing | Reynard・Alfa Romeo | 16th | 14 | 12 | 11th |
| Source: |||||||

### Complete Formula One 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 | 14 | 15 | 16 | WDC | Points |
| 1985 | Tyrrell Racing Organisation | Tyrrell 014 | Renault EF4B 1.5 V6 t | BRA | POR | SMR | MON | CAN | DET | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT | NED | ITA | BEL | EUR Ret | RSA | AUS 4 | 19th | 3 |
| 1986 | Jolly Club SpA | AGS JH21C | Motori Moderni Tipo 615-90 1.5 V6 t | BRA | ESP | SMR | MON | BEL | CAN | DET | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | AUT | ITA Ret | POR Ret | MEX | AUS | NC | 0 |
| 1987 | Leyton House March Racing Team | March 87P | Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 V8 | BRA DNS | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 19th | 1 |
| 1987 | Leyton House March Racing Team | March 871 | Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 V8 | | SMR Ret | BEL Ret | MON 6 | DET Ret | FRA Ret | GBR Ret | GER Ret | HUN 10 | AUT 11 | ITA 13 | POR 9 | ESP 12 | MEX Ret | JPN Ret | AUS Ret | 19th | 1 |
| 1988 | Leyton House March Racing Team | March 881 | Judd CV 3.5 V8 | BRA Ret | SMR Ret | MON 10 | MEX 16 | CAN 5 | DET DNS | FRA 9 | GBR Ret | GER 5 | HUN Ret | BEL 3 | ITA 5 | POR 2 | ESP Ret | JPN Ret | AUS 6 | 7th | 17 |
| 1989 | Leyton House Racing | March 881 | Judd CV 3.5 V8 | BRA Ret | SMR Ret | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | NC | 0 |
| 1989 | Leyton House Racing | March CG891 | Judd EV 3.5 V8 | | | MON 11 | MEX Ret | USA Ret | CAN Ret | FRA Ret | GBR Ret | GER Ret | HUN Ret | BEL 12 | ITA Ret | POR Ret | ESP Ret | JPN Ret | AUS Ret | NC | 0 |
| 1990 | Leyton House | Leyton House CG901 | Judd EV 3.5 V8 | USA Ret | BRA DNQ | SMR Ret | MON Ret | CAN 10 | MEX DNQ | FRA 2 | GBR Ret | GER 7 | HUN Ret | BEL 7 | ITA Ret | POR Ret | ESP Ret | JPN Ret | AUS Ret | 10th | 6 |
| 1991 | Leyton House | Leyton House CG911 | Ilmor 2175A 3.5 V10 | USA Ret | BRA Ret | SMR Ret | MON Ret | CAN Ret | MEX Ret | FRA Ret | GBR Ret | GER Ret | HUN 6 | BEL Ret | ITA 8 | POR 17$^†$ | ESP Ret | JPN | AUS | 18th | 1 |
| 1992 | Scuderia Ferrari SpA | Ferrari F92A | Ferrari 038 3.5 V12 | RSA Ret | MEX Ret | BRA 5 | ESP 10$^†$ | SMR Ret | MON Ret | CAN Ret | FRA Ret | GBR 9 | GER Ret | HUN 6 | BEL Ret | | | | | 13th | 3 |
| 1992 | Scuderia Ferrari SpA | Ferrari F92AT | Ferrari 038 3.5 V12 | | | | | | | | | | | | | ITA Ret | POR Ret | JPN | AUS | 13th | 3 |
| 1993 | Sasol Jordan | Jordan 193 | Hart 1035 3.5 V10 | RSA Ret | BRA DNQ | EUR | SMR | ESP | MON | CAN | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | POR | JPN | AUS | NC | 0 |
| Sources: ||||||||||||||||||||||
$^†$ Driver did not finish the Grand Prix but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

### Complete Super Tourenwagen Cup results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Pos. | Pts |
| 1994 | Nissan Primera Racing | Nissan Primera | AVU Ret | WUN 6 | ZOL Ret | ZAN Ret | ÖST 8 | SAL 9 | SPA 9 | NÜR 5 | | | | | | | | | | | 11th | 21 |
| 1995 | Nissan Primera Racing | Nissan Primera | ZOL 1 11 | ZOL 2 Ret | SPA 1 Ret | SPA 2 DNS | ÖST 1 Ret | ÖST 2 DNS | HOC 1 Ret | HOC 2 DNS | NÜR 1 Ret | NÜR 2 14 | SAL 1 22 | SAL 2 20 | AVU 1 Ret | AVU 2 Ret | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | | | 29th | 26 |
| 1996 | Nissan Primera Racing | Nissan Primera | ZOL 1 21 | ZOL 2 DNS | ASS 1 14 | ASS 2 20 | HOC 1 | HOC 2 | SAC 1 | SAC 2 | WUN 1 | WUN 2 | ZWE 1 10 | ZWE 2 Ret | SAL 1 Ret | SAL 2 DNS | AVU 1 | AVU 2 | NÜR 1 8 | NÜR 2 13 | 25th | 49 |
| Source: |||||||||||||||||||||||

### Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
| 1995 | Honda Motor Co. Ltd. | Armin Hahne Bertrand Gachot | Honda NSX GT1 | GT1 | 7 | DNF | DNF |
| Sources: ||||||||

### Complete Porsche Supercup results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | DC | Points | Ref |
| 2003 | Porsche AG | Porsche 996 GT3 | ITA1 7 | ESP | AUT | MON | GER1 | FRA | GBR | GER2 | HUN | ITA2 | USA1 | USA2 | NC‡ | 0‡ | |
‡ – Guest driver – Not eligible for points.