Fabiano Margheriti

Venice, Italy

**Fabiano Mario 'Fabi' Margheriti** is an Italian racing driver and team owner who drove in Formula One from 1978 to 1993. He previously owned the Scuderia Margheriti Formula One team, before the team was sold off and became Dingley Grand Prix. In 2003 he took over the Minardi team, which had faced financial issues, with the team becoming Scuderia Margheriti.

## Early Years

The younger of the Italian Margheriti brothers, Fabiano was born and raised in Venice where he lived with his father, Antonio, his mother, Maria & his older brother Vivaldo. Much of Fabiano’s younger years were spent in the Venitian luxury of his parents’ large home – however the two brothers were often out of the house competing in various sports. Fabiano loved to race, whether it be on foot, on bicycles or in karts. Fabi’s older brother often pushed him into more daring ventures, such as building their own contraptions and racing them against each other. With parental funding, the brothers advanced through local karting series and were singled out by scouts as bright prospects.

However, after a series of increasingly daring and dangerous escapades, Fabiano and his brother fell out of favour with their father and were forced out of their family home. Fabi moved to Verona with his brother, where they started a custom road car shop.

## Racing Career

After advancing from a promising karting spell, Fabiano used his saved millions in 1975 to enter official Italian motorsport series where he enjoyed sporadic successes. However, the pressure for consistent results was ever-present as he needed to secure a high-paying drive before his saved inheritance ran out. He paid for a Formula Three drive with Scuderia Everest in 1976, and dominated the championship; winning with a total of 57 points.

In 1977, both Margheriti brothers secured Formula Two seats for the year. However after just a few pre-season tests in which Fabiano traded lap records with his brother, the Formula Two team Fabiano was due to start the season with (Formula Everest) entered administration and eventually liquidated. Fabiano secured a drive mid-1977 season, but only started the last 2 races. He finished 3rd and 4th.

### **1978**

#### Debut and wildcard appearances

By the middle of 1978, Fabiano had taken part in multiple Formula One tests for various teams and finally got his chance at the German Grand Prix. He made his Grand Prix debut with Renault, on the same weekend as his brother, who made his debut for Wolf. He qualified 5th, and drove to a lonely third place. In Austria, Fabiano secured himself another wildcard drive, this time for Arrows. He put in another strong performance, qualifying 3rd and finishing in 2nd - benefitting from a Van Damme spin.

After his strong performances in midfield cars, Fabiano got his big break after competing in just 2 races. After the Austrian Grand Prix, Margheriti was called up to temporarily replace Gervais Trémaux at Ferrari until the end of the season. He hastily made his Ferrari debut at the Italian GP in Monza of all places - but the weekend did not start well. A crash in qualifying meant Fabiano had to start from the back of the grid - and to make things worse, he sustained light damage to his car on lap one. However, despite the damage, Fabiano fought back through the field in the opening laps, and found himself alongside William Worchestershire-Smythe coming into the Ascari chicane on lap 7. The two drivers made contact, and Margheriti found himself with more damage which required repairs this time. A pit stop for fresh tyres and repairs relegated Fabi all the way down to 14th, but once again he fought back through the field - this time on fresh soft tyres. Incredibly, Margheriti fought all the way up into 4th, and when Stefan Van Damme crashed in the closing laps, the Italian was promoted into 3rd. Against all the odds, Fabiano finished on the podium on his Ferrari debut at Monza - a fairytale start to his career at the Maranello outfit.

Following the Italian Grand Prix, an underwhelming United States East GP followed. Fabiano qualified 4th, but struggled with severe understeer in the race after being turned backwards on lap one following contact with Jeremy Spocinklass. He went on to finish 6th, holding off a hard-charging Van Damme in the closing laps.

1978 ended on a flat note for Fabiano, as he was an unfortunate victim of the Ferrari boycott of the Canadian Grand Prix. In the midst of turmoil, known as the FISA-FOCA war, Ferrari elected to protest against F1's leadership and did not race at the final round of the 1978 season despite both drivers being present at the venue ready to race. However, Fabiano would retain his race seat for 1979 and go on to race alongisde Richard Jockey once more.

**Championship Position: 8th (15 pts)**

### **1979**

The 1979 Formula One season started optimistically for Ferrari, with private tests at Fiorano showing that the raw pace of the new car was far superior to its predecessor. Fabiano qualified 2nd for the opening round in Argentina, and although he finished 4th it was a close-fought battle for the top 5.

South Africa saw reliability issues demote the Ferrari of Margheriti slowly down the order having started the race battling with his teammate for 3rd. The car overheated, and Fabiano had to nurse the car to 9th. At Long Beach, Fabiano drove an average race from 5th on the grid. The Ferraris struggled all weekend with low-speed grip and Fabi finished in formation in 5th with his teammate Jockey directly behind. At Monaco, the Ferrari's once again showed their slow-speed sluggishness. Fabiano finished 6th with Jockey in 8th.

The San Marino Grand Prix was effectively a home race for Ferrari and Fabiano, and so the pressure was on to do well. The car suited the track and Fabiano lined up on pole. He held off the charging field down into Tosa, and from there took a commanding win in front of the adoring Italian crowd - his first ever Formula One victory.

> "Yes! My first win, I cannot believe it! Forza Ferrari! I have to go find Viv... he will want to see me. Bellissimo!"
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- *Fabiano Margheriti, following the 1979 San Marino Grand Prix.*

Two more strong performances followed, with a lonely third place finish in Dijon and another pole and race win at a monsoon British GP. Coming to the second half of the season, Fabiano was now a title contender.

However, Fabiano's title hopes took a hit in Hockenheim when he crashed out of fourth in a hectic wet German Grand Prix, and diminished further when he was spun around on lap one at the Austrian GP and could only manage 8th. He now needed consistent points finishes if he wanted to claw back the gap to the top 2.

Fabiano's season fell apart towards the end. Underwhelming sixth places in his home race at Monza and then Canada followed, with Fabiano citing being 'lost with the setup'. This seemed to be resolved at the final round in Watkins Glen, with the Ferraris looking back on form. Jockey won the race, but Fabiano hit gearbox issues and limped home to 7th without a 4th gear.

**Championship Position: 5th (29 pts)**

### **1980**

Ferrari had another strong package in 1980, and Fabiano was fired up for another competitive season with the Maranello outfit. He qualified strongly in third place for Round one in Argentina, but his Ferrari V12 failed spectacularly on lap 5. Round 2 in South Africa was a hard race on tyres, and electing for the long hard tyre stint cost Ferrari as most other teams elected for a pit stop. Fabiano fell back from 1st to 8th in the final 10 laps.

After a disappointing start to the season, Fabiano got points on the board at Long Beach with a strong 2nd-place finish, shadowing Tempestini to the line around 2 seconds behind for most of the race. A weak qualifying in Monaco saw Fabiano start in 7th, but he made up 2 places on-track and another position when team-mate Jockey retired. He finished 4th.

San Marino was another triumph for the Maranello team, similarly to the previous year. Only this time, both cars were on the podium. Fabiano qualified 2nd, and Jockey 4th. However, by Tosa on lap one, they were first and second to the delight of the roaring Italian crowd. The race finished with a Ferrari 1-2, with Fabi in 2nd and another Italian of Tempestini behind in 3rd. The French GP saw Fabiano go one better, with the Ferrari chasing down his brother in the Williams. When Vivaldo retired from the race, Fabiano inherited the lead and went on to win the race.

Britain was a poor performance from Ferrari, with a strong qualifying result mired by tyre wear in the race. Fabiano finished outside the points in 7th, and Jockey even lower in 9th. Germany saw Fabiano claim a better result, finishing 4th after qualifying there too. Once again, he clearly out-drove Jockey who had a terrible weekend and finished down in 12th.

Austria was a heavily controversial race. Before the race, Enzo Ferrari suggested McLaren had illegal suspension which was causing abnormally low tyre wear. This saga would continue for months, with tensions rising between team bosses as well as drivers. This tension came to a climax at the Austrian Grand Prix, as McLaren's Dingley closed in rapidly on leader Fabiano with 2 laps to go. Dingley launched his car up the inside into the first chicane, but locked up and the two drivers made contact. Fabiano's front right suspension immediately broke on impact, sending the Italian into the gravel trap unable to steer. Dingley limped to the end, but was overtaken by Jurg Scheller who took his first Formula One victory. Ferrari lodged a protest against Dingley's move asking for disqualification, as well as another protest against McLaren's suspension - threatening to boycott the upcoming Italian GP if McLaren were not investigated.

The Italian GP saw Fabiano drive to an uninspired 4th, but he once again outperformed Jockey by a margin of 15 seconds. The Canadian GP saw Fabiano drop out of second place, as Dingley secured the championship. The Italian was visibly frustrated, but was determined to make amends. He did, and ended the 1980 season on a high with a win at Watkins Glen.

**Championship Position: 2nd (39 pts)**

### **1981**

Ferrari's 1981 challenger was noticeably weaker than its predecessors. As other teams moved to turbo cars as well as improving aerodynamics and ground effect, Ferrari were stuck with lower downforce and a heavy V12. Fabiano drove to seventh place in the opening round in South Africa, quoting that he "had faith in the car's design philosophy". At the more power-focused tracks of Watkins Glen and Imola, Fabiano picked up two third place finishes.

At Zolder, Fabiano got a lucky break when a completely unorthodox strategy saw less competitive cars scything through the field on two-stop strategies as the hard tyre runners struggled to find pace. Fabiano soared away at the front on softer tyres as the likes of Dingley and Van Damme attempted to complete the race with only one stop. After Dingley's gearbox started failing, Margheriti found himself in 2nd, with Van Damme leading. Fabiano closed the gap to the Belgian driver before Van Damme span with two laps to go. Fabiano would get his only win of 1981, with an unlikely 2nd for Molina behind.
Underwhelming performances at the street circuits of Monaco and Detroit followed, highlighting the Ferrari's weaknesses. There was an unlikely podium in Canada thanks to Van Damme's retirement and an aggressive one-stop strategy, but Ferrari's notoriously unreliable V12 gave out again at the British Grand Prix - however, points did not seem to be on the cards for the Italian anyway. The French GP saw a decidedly average performance despite decent qualifying pace - seeing Fabiano beat on equal teams by his teammate for only the second time in 1981.

Ferrari had three high-speed tracks that suited them at the end of the season - and Fabiano put in three strong performances, finishing 3rd in all of them. In Germany he stayed in contention by using the tow of Van Damme's Lotus, and pushing his Ferrari to the limit of adhesion through the tighter stadium section. At Monza, Fabiano secured a miraculous pole position, sending the formerly downbeat Italian crowd into overdrive. He lost the lead on Lap one, but brought his Ferrari home in 3rd - soaking in the Tifosi's atmosphere as he stood on the podium alongside fellow Italian and race winner Tempestini.

**Championship Position: 4th (33 pts)**

### **1982**

#### Early Rounds

Ferrari looked rather strong for the 1982 season, although Williams and McLaren seemed stronger going into the first round. Fabiano was optimistic heading into the South African GP, however going into Saturday, Fabiano started to show severe flu-like symptoms and had to sit out qualifying and the race. Due to the extremely short notice, the Ferrari test driver was unable to make it to the remote circuit in time and Van Damme was the only Ferrari driver to compete in the GP. For Round two in the USA, Fabiano struggled throughout the weekend with outright pace. He qualified 5th, and finished 4th after Tempestini crashed on the arguably better strategy. He mentioned "I was very alarmed when I see my gap to my teammate and my brother". Fabiano returned to Maranello between Rounds two and three, and spent a lot of time with his performance analyst poring over the data from Watkins Glen.

When the Formula One circus arrived in Imola, Fabiano found himself closer to his teammate in qualifying and the race. He qualified 4th, and stayed there for most of the race. Mick Ashcroft approached from behind on Lap 22, and made a dive to the inside of Tosa. Fabiano outbroke Ashcroft, and the two were side-by-side through the corner with Fabiano's rear left wheel level with Ashcroft's front right. Ashcroft tapped Fabiano's rear, and sent him into a spin. The Italian's car then failed to engage first gear after the spin, and the engine appeared to fail while the car was stationary. Blame for the incident was placed firmly on Ashcroft, who was handed a 10-second time penalty. Fabiano failed to score points.

#### Mid-Season (+ Vivaldo's injury)

For the Belgian Grand Prix, Fabiano was determined to show up his more experienced Belgian teammate at his home race. After a troublesome P5 in qualifying which involved a crash followed by a run in the spare car, Fabiano moved up into 4th at the first corner of lap one and chased down the three leaders. When Dingley made a mistake at Les Combes, Fabiano took advantage and moved up into 3rd.

On Lap two, Fabiano's brother Vivaldo made contact with race leader Stefan Van Damme at Blanchimont, and the car burst into flames after colliding with the tyre wall at high speed. The race continued, with Fabiano even challenging for the lead over the next few laps. Despite a misunderstanding at his pitstop, which cost Fabiano valuable time and dropped him back down to 4th, he re-overtook Mick Ashcroft in the closing laps and secured his first podium of the year - albeit at his brother's expense.

Fabiano learned of his brother's injuries immediately after the race, with his friend Fausto Di Stasio informing him before Fabi even got out of the car. Instead of taking part in the podium ceremony and the other scheduled post-race events, Fabiano was given special permission by an FIA Official to leave the venue. He left the track with his father Antonio, who drove to the hospital in Liege with Fabiano still in his race suit and helmet. Fabiano stayed at his brother's side for 11 days, only leaving the hospital to travel to Monte Carlo for the next GP. Vivaldo was declared in a stable condition, and Fabiano was assured by doctors that the risk of deterioration was low.

The Italian's first race win of 1982 came at the Monaco Grand Prix. Fabiano was in second in the early laps (having qualified there) until race leader Chuck Dingley collided with the wall at Piscine and subsequently slowed. Fabiano took the lead and stayed there, holding off a hard-charging Van Damme for the majority of the race as well as a resurgent Dingley on fresh tyres in 3rd in the final few laps. He dedicated the win to his brother Vivaldo, who was still fighting for his life in hospital in Belgium.

As part of the GPDA, Fabiano was one of the advocates for the United States GP at Detroit to be called off on safety grounds. Due to a poor track surface, a lack of brake marker boards, and an overall lack of driver safety at the circuit, the GPDA got their wish and the GP was called off. During the weekend's commotion, however, Fabiano recieved some good news. His brother Vivaldo had awoken from his coma and seemed to be on the mend despite his burn injuries.

> "Allora, Non è possibile tornare in Europa subito prima del giri nordamericano, ma ovviamente sono molto felice che Viv sia sveglio. Da quello che abbiamo sentito, è lo stesso Viv di prima. Sono entusiasta di rivederlo, ma cercherò di convincerlo a non tornare troppo presto, si?"
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> "So, it is not possible to go back to Europe right before the North American tour, but of course I am very happy that Viv is awake. From what we've heard, it's the same Viv as before. I'm excited to see him again, but I'll try to convince him not to come back too soon, yes?"
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> - *Fabiano Margheriti, addressing his brother Vivaldo's recovery in hospital in 1982.*
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After the cancelled Detroit GP, Formula One moved to its next planned race in Montreal, Canada. Through the weekend, it became evident that both Ferrari drivers were struggling with the tight Canadian circuit. Fabiano was circulating in 4th in the early stages of the race, far off the pace of his teammate. After Donnelly coasted into the pit box with no fuel, the Ferraris moved into 2nd and 3rd, but Donnelly retook the final podium position after a botched double pitstop for Fabiano which required him to drive around the lap again before taking on tyres. Despite the mistake, Fabiano put down his poor performance down to lack of confidence with the car & track, and being unable to cross a 'mental barrier' to commit to the more dangerous corners.

#### Final Rounds

At Road America (the substitute for the cancelled Detroit), the Ferraris seemed to be the best car at tyre management and had very good race pace. Fabiano qualified 2nd, but was jumped by his teammate at the start, and Van Damme battled for the lead with Dingley. When the two ahead collided, Fabiano overtook Dingley to complete the Ferrari 1-2 with Donnelly in 3rd. Another 1-2 at the British GP in Donington followed, with Van Damme once again taking the victory. Fabiano qualified on pole, but gearbox issues in the race demoted him to 3rd. He came back with superior pace, closing a 5+ second gap to Dingley in 2nd. All three drivers went side-by-side on the final lap into the Melbourne hairpin, with Fabiano managing to overtake Dingley, but was unable to beat his teammate out of the final turn.

Fabiano continued his newfound form into the next round at the French GP, the final Formula One race to be hosted at the Dijon circuit. A convincing sweep of the weekend cemented Fabiano's title aspirations, with the Italian taking pole, the win, the fastest lap, and leading every single lap of the race - his first ever Formula One Grand Slam. Furthermore, he was helped in his title race by a DNF for his teammate Van Damme, who collided with a backmarker mid-race.

Fabiano looked set for another championship lifeline when he qualified on pole at Hockenheim, with neither of his championship rivals on the front row with him. He led early on, before being passed by a hard-charging Chuck Dingley just before the halfway point. Ideally, Fabiano needed to beat Dingley to keep his title hopes realistic - but with 2 laps to go, Fabiano was forced off track by the American, cut the final chicane, and had to settle for 2nd.

At Austria, he was mathematically still in the championship running although it was unlikely with a 15 point gap to Dingley. Fabiano's brother Vivaldo saw a strong return to form during the race, taking pole and the lead on lap one. Fabiano battled with his brother for the lead, until he ran wide around the halfway point of the race. He mounted a comeback, but ongoing engine troubles throughout the race led to an engine failure on the final lap, which was later put down to grass and other debris blocking the Ferrari's radiator following his excursion. It was a disappointing race for the Italian with Dingley securing the Drivers' championship, but his woes were eased as Ferrari wrapped up the constructors' championship with one round to go. At the final round Monza, Fabiano rounded off his season on a high despite losing out on the championship. He led the race from start to finish, winning by a large margin.

**Championship Position: 3rd (55 pts)**

### **1983**

The 1983 Formula One field was wildly unpredictable. After the banning of ground effect skirts at the end of the 1982 season, teams scrambled to recover lost downforce and claw back time in other areas. Ferrari opted for maximum downforce, using a decent engine to their advantage as they piled on the 'dirty downforce'. Even though Renault had emerged as the car to beat in 1983, with a suspiciously powerful engine - especially in qualifying - Ferrari had a strong race package and was very kind on the tyres. Throughout the season, their design philosophy gave them the edge on faster tracks with longer, fast corners. The aero efficiency of the long-wheelbase Ferrari also helped with this. This saw Fabiano take second place at the high-speed South African Grand Prix. He did even better at Watkins Glen, taking home the win by eight seconds ahead of Strip Weathers. Skylar West led the race comfortably, but dropped out with an engine failure caused by a jammed turbo wastegate.

Fabiano was looking strong once again at the high-speed track of Imola, as did Van Damme in the sister Ferrari. Unfortunately Fabiano then collided with the Renault of Strip Weathers, who was recovering from a poor pitstop. The damage caused Fabiano to pit again for emergency repairs, and Fabiano returned to the track to finish the race in 8th. The Belgian GP at Spa-Francorchamps was another disappointing result off the back of fourth in qualifying - the Italian pulling over on Lap 7 with an oil leak. The car smouldering as a dejected Fabiano looked on from the barrier - Van Damme once again proving the Ferrari's potential at high-speed tracks by finishing 3rd for the second time in a row.

Monaco put the Ferrari's weak chassis on show, with Fabiano struggling around the tight circuit. He qualified 6th and finished 7th - his teammate Van Damme finished two positions behind in 9th. Canada was just as disappointing for the Maranello team, with both cars struggling over the kerbs and qualifying outside of the top 10. Fabiano benefitted from some rivals' misfortune to finish 6th and bring home one point.

Ferrari encountered a stroke of luck in Road America. After practice they seemed to be the second fastest team behind Renault, and after Skylar West encountered mechanical problems early on in the race, Fabiano controlled the race, keeping a small gap behind to his teammate. After 3rd-placed Weathers made a mistake, the Ferraris were able to cruise to the finish in formation. Fabiano would not know it at the time, but this win would be his final podium for over 11 months, marking the start of the longest podium drought of his career.

The end of 1983 was a disaster for Ferrari. After the summer break, Ferrari were being out-developed on all fronts as they elected to delay their new design concepts to 1984. At Donington, both cars qualified at the tail end of the Top 10 and only Fabiano managed a point as Van Damme retired. Similar pace followed at France, with Van Damme slimly beating Fabiano to 6th with the Italian in 7th. Hockenheim was a complete disaster - Fabiano crashed out of 11th after pushing too hard at turn one and Van Damme retired with yet another smoking engine. At Austria, the high speed nature of the track provided a small advantage for Ferrari, but they were still only able to manage a 4-5 finish - even after DNF's for Skylar West and Mick Ashcroft.

Fabiano's atrocious 1983 season ended with yet another mechanical DNF at Monza. After qualifying in 4th, he made his way into third place at the first chicane - using his powerful engine and low-drag aero setup to stay ahead of Sid Donnelly's Brabham. On Lap 10, Fabiano went three-wide down the pit straight with Donnelly and his teammate Van Damme. At this exact moment, Fabiano's Ferrari V6 let go in a spectacular cloud of white smoke, and the Italian ground to a halt after the pit exit, hopping out of his burning Ferrari as the Tifosi looked on in disbelief.

**Championship Position: 4th (29 pts)**

### **1984**

Ferrari's catastrophic reliability carried over into the 1984 season, but things were made even worse by a lack of performance in the early rounds. In round one, Fabiano and Van Damme made contact into turn one on the first lap - with both drivers retiring. However, Enzo Ferrari was blunt in his comments to the Italian media after the crash, saying "We did not drop any points. This crash means nothing."

Ferrari made the most of Renault misfortune in Kyalami, splitting their strategy and finishing in 4th and 6th (Fabiano in 6th), only a couple of seconds apart. Team Principal Marco Piccinini said Ferrari had no real explanation for the upturn in pace, other than 'being more opportunistic' and 'learning their strengths'. At the next round at Spa-Francorchamps, Ferrari continued at around the same level, with both drivers seeming to have pace just outside the points. Fabiano qualified 7th, but retired with a mechanical failure on Lap 12 whilst circulating in 9th. It was exactly the same story at Imola with another mechanical DNF for Fabiano, this time a clutch issue making him unable to accelerate from his pit stop in sixth place, while battling his teammate.

A disappointing and uneventful tenth place in Monaco for Fabiano put the Ferrari's poor handling on full display, but at Canada the Scuderia benefitted from a crazy race in which Ashcroft, Van Damme, Kerrigan, Weathers and Wilson all retired from positions ahead of Fabiano, which gave him a very fortunate podium finish in 3rd. Road America saw some minor upgrades for Ferrari, seeing them threaten points positions and podiums in practice sessions. Fabiano was running in 6th during the race, and a late retirement for Dingley saw him move up to 5th at the chequered flag.

More upgrades arrived for Ferrari at Donington, seeing them move further up the pecking order for the final rounds of the championship. The Scuderia achieved their best qualifying of the season, starting the race from 2nd and 4th. Unfortunately neither driver finished the race, with Fabiano crashing while directly behind a backmarker through Coppice corner. The great pace continued into Germany, with the Ferrari engine able to stretch its legs on Hockenheim's long straights. Van Damme won the race, but Fabiano retired from second place with a gearbox issue. Austria was a messy race for Fabiano, and he crossed the line for a single point in 6th after two off-track excursions in the final stint.

It had been a rocky season for the Italian, but he once again showed his resilience at his home race in Monza - a good qualifying putting him on the clean side of the grid in third place for the race start. On Lap one he overtook the two Renaults into the first chicane, and never looked back. He took the win by a small two second margin over Skylar West, and in the post-race press conference he described it as his 'hardest win ever'. Not long afterwards, Fabiano's teammate Stefan Van Damme announced he was taking a sabbatical from Formula One.

The final round in Adelaide saw an upturn in form for the McLaren team, and Fabiano saw himself outpaced by Chuck Dingley, who took his first win of the season. Fabiano finished 2nd, just holding off Santiago Reyes in the other McLaren.

#### Amended Results (Post-Renault DSQ)

After the 1984 season's conclusion, Renault were disqualified from the championship due to an illegal car. This retroactively modified some of Fabiano's results. The changes are listed below:

* South African GP: 6th > 5th
* Monaco GP: 10th > 9th
* Canadian GP: 3rd > 2nd
* USA GP: 5th > 3rd
* Austrian GP: 6th > 5th

**Championship Position: 5th (28pts)\***

\**After Renault DSQ*

### 1985

Ahead of the 1985 season, Fabiano Margheriti was vocal on the issue of Ferrari's lacklustre record over the last two seasons, saying "Ferrari need consistent reliability from the turbo engine to compete for championships once again". The issue of Fabiano's contract was a talking point through December, the Italian holding off on contract talks and was technically unemployed for several months. Eventually, after testing the 1985 car at Maranello, Fabiano re-signed with Ferrari on a one-year contract. The reigning world champion Mick Ashcroft joined the Italian at Ferrari, much to the frustration of Fabiano who was expecting a number one driver role and instead was placed on 'equal terms' with Ashcroft.

Going into the first round in Brazil, the Ferrari package seemed to carry over the pace it had at the end of the 1984 season - but rigorous pre-season testing from Ferrari had proven the V6 turbo engine had a lot more reliable mileage in it this time. Fabiano looked strong through practice, recieving some upgrades on Friday that worked well and put him right up amongst the fast McLarens of Dingley and new signing Stefan Wolff. On Saturday, a decent lap from Fabiano put him 2nd on the grid, behind Dingley. At the start, Fabiano got a good launch and led into turn one as the season got underway. The entire first stint consisted of Fabiano being followed closely by Stefan Wolff's McLaren (whom he mistakenly thought was DIngley), only for the German to pit early onto an alternate two-stop strategy. Fabiano now had Dingley behind him, both of them on the same strategy. Fabiano pitted early onto another set of hard tyres, believing Chuck had attempted the undercut (this turned out to just be down to Fabiano not seeing the McLaren in his mirror, and assuming the McLaren had pitted).

Fabiano emerged behind Wolff, who had one stop to go. After Dingley completed his final stop, he was on softer tyres and overtook Fabiano in the closing laps to take the win. Fabiano crossed the line in 2nd, and although it was a good result for the team, he was disappointed with his finishing position - quipping in the post-race conference "maybe I need some bigger mirrors".

Round two in Imola saw an expectant Tifosi hoping for a Margheriti masterpiece. Fabiano and Vivaldo had been setting the timesheets alight all through Friday and Saturday morning - and they locked out the front row in qualifying. Vivaldo was on pole, with Fabiano just behind. As the race began on Sunday, the two swapped their positions mutiple times in the opening laps as they battled for the lead - the loyal crowd cheering them on. Eventually, after a mistake from Vivaldo, Dingley chased down Fabiano for P1 and soared past the Italian just a handful of laps before their pit stops. Fabiano made the one-lap overcut work, however, and emerged right behind Dingley. He slipsteamed and passed him into Tosa, and made it stick. He held the lead of the race until just three laps from the end, when Dingley atttemped a move at Rivazza 1. Fabiano placed his car in the middle of the track, which startled Dingley who expected the Ferrari to stay right. Dingley took evasive action and slid across the infield grass - the very same mistake that cost Gervais Tremaux his life just 2 years earlier. He managed to slow his car down to around 80 km/h, but still made contact with Fabiano at a 90 degree angle, taking them both out of the race. Vivaldo Margheriti would benefit from this and take his first win of the season.

> "I got hit. Not much else to say. [...] I just stayed in the middle of the track, He f\*cked it up himself."
> *- Fabiano Margheriti addressing the Imola 1985 crash post-race.*
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At the Monaco GP, a typically strong race for the Italian, he qualified in second place but dropped to 4th after a slow pit stop. However, a few laps later, Fabiano would get lucky; as Mick Ashcroft held up Jack Wilson and Vivaldo Margheriti at the Loews hairpin. The two podium contenders collided, and Fabiano slipped through a narrow gap on the corner exit to get himself back into 2nd. A lonely third place in Canada followed (aside from some Lap 1 wheel banging with his brother) and a poor, misjudged two-stop strategy in Road America saw him finish a distant 8th.

In the heat of the British summer at Donington, Fabiano elected for a more aggressive strategy during the race. The Ferrari did a two-stop race, hoping to close the gap to Dingley at the end of the race. He pushed hard, but Dingley responded with some spare pace and kept the Italian at arm's length. Fabiano finished 10 seconds behind the American.

Fabiano's run of finishes came to an end during an incident-packed German GP at Hockenheim. The Margheriti brothers locked out the front row, with Fabiano in 2nd. At the start, Fabiano kept pace with his brother until an uncharacteristic mistake on Lap 4. Hockenheim's notoriously savage kerbs claimed their first victim of the race, spinning Fabiano to the inside wall on the exit of Turn One. Many more drivers fell prey to the kerbs that day, including Wolff and Wilson. At Austria, the lightweight Brabham and Lotus found some surprise pace, and the battle for 3rd was between the usual suspects of Wilson, Dingley, and the Margheriti brothers. The three drivers battled hard, with Fabiano defending from and reovertaking Vivaldo multiple times. Eventually, Wilson lost control of his Lotus and tapped Fabiano as he spun around at the Bosch Kurve. Vivaldo took the opportunity to extend the gap to Fabiano, who eventually fell down into the clutches of Danilo Koren. Fabiano re-overtook Koren on the final lap and finished 5th.

The Italian GP at Monza was the site of a huge battle between the Margheriti brothers on their home turf. As Dingley disappeared into the distance. Fabiano desperately defended his second place from a hard-charging Vivaldo. The two came together multiple times, both of them escaping damage. Vivaldo would cross the line ahead, but Fabiano would get the second place after two 5-second penalties were given to his brother. After the race, Fabiano criticised his brother's actions, telling the press *"Sometimes I am on the edge, but never dirty. But Vivaldo do at least 3 moves which were illegal to me, and the penalty was correct."* He hit out even more at his brother, going on to say *"I have always said he is fast but cannot race side by side. He still cannot accept the Spa '82 being his error."*

An average Belgian GP followed for the Italian, who avoided a DIngley crash in the opening laps to take third place, unable to chase down Stefan Wolff for 2nd.

An outside shot at the championship for Fabiano came to an end in South Africa. While battling for 5th with Jack Wilson, the Italian closed the door on his rival and sent the two drivers spinning. Wilson finished 6th and Margheriti 7th, as DIngley won the race to inch closer to his 5th title. After the race, Fabiano doubled down in his defensive move - although the stewards took a dim view and awarded him a penalty (although it did not affect his finishing position).

#### Australian GP 1985 - Death in the Family

Fabiano was deeply affected by the untimely death of his brother at the 1985 Australian Grand Prix. After battling with his brother for the last time during the race for second place, Fabiano got ahead and started to put a gap behind his Ferrari. Not long after, Vivaldo hit the wall at the fast turn ten and succumbed to head and neck injuries in the ambulance a few minutes later.

The race was red flagged briefly before restarting only five minutes later with a hastily repaired barrier. During this time, Fabiano wasn't even made aware that it was his brother who had the accident - he then got back into his Ferrari to restart the race and ended up winning after Chuck Dingley dropped to 2nd due to mechanical issues on the final lap. In parc ferme, all the drivers patiently waited for news on Vivaldo's condition. Eventually, the drivers were told he was being taken to hospital via road ambulance. This seemed to ease Fabiano's worries as the air ambulance would only usually be used for serious injuries. Unbeknownst to the drivers, though, was the fact that the air ambulance was already being used for Stefan Wolff who had crashed earlier in the race. In reality, Vivaldo had died at the track but the event organisers refused to admit this at the time as this would have mandated the cessation of track activities.

Fabiano would not find out about his brother's death until 8:17PM that evening after leaving the track himself.

### 1986 - First Championship

Despite his brother's death, Fabiano publicly vowed to not let it affect him on-track going into the 1986 season. He backed this stetement up by obliterating the opposition at Jacarepaguá and taking the win by 10 seconds after starting on pole. Clearly the Ferrari was a fast race car, and Fabiano capitalised on their early-season performance by taking a second consecutive pole and win at Round 2 in Imola, capping off a grand slam weekend at his home track. At Round 3 in Monaco, Fabiano made a small mistake in qualifying and started the race 5th. He gained 1 position during the race and finished 4th, maintaining the championship lead. A mechanical DNF in Canada followed while running in 4th not far behind Chuck Dingley. Two poor weekends were not enough to dampen Fabiano's spirits though, as he finished a strong 2nd at a wet Road America, sharing the podium with the two Lotus drivers of Reyes and Wilson.

What followed was arguably the best run of results of the Italian's career so far. Fabiano had a flawless weekend at the British GP as his rivals faltered. Dingley and Reyes both got caught in incidents, and Fabiano cleared off to take a comfortable 10-second win over Lukas Schmidt in the Minardi. Another strong result in Germany followed, although Santiago Reyes won the race and took 3 points out of Fabiano's lead. What followed Germany were two incredible important races in Austria and Italy - and Fabiano took the championship by the scruff of the neck. He battled Dingley hard in Austria, taking the win by 1.7 seconds, the action reminiscent of their 1980 battle.

The Italian *Tifosi* went wild for Fabiano's arrival in Monza, which he was quoted as saying on Saturday "gave me an extra half a second." He took pole by 0.4 seconds over Williams' Eduardo Ventura, and just cleared the Brazilian's front wing into turn one. The opening laps were close, with the Williams doing well to hold onto the Ferrari, but eventually Ventura's tyres started to drop off and by the time they pitted, Fabiano had a five second advantage. The second half of the race was pure bliss for the Italian fans, who saw Fabiano extend his lead over his soon-to-be rival. He crossed the line with a 6.4 second advantage and saluted his team on the pit wall as he came through to take victory, completing his second grand slam of the year, and the third of his F1 career.

By now, Fabiano had all-but wrapped up his first Formula 1 title. The mood at Ferrari was jubilant, especially following Skylar West's encouraging 4th-place finish. Ferrari had also just announced a new driver lineup for 1987, which replaced West with the promising youngster Jack Wilson. There was a party atmosphere at the Maranello outfit going into the Belgian GP, in which Fabiano qualified 6th. The McLarens and Williams cars suited the track well, with Ferrari and Brabham left to battle for the lower points positions. Fabiano made the best of this situation, though, and made his way to the front of the midfield train to finish in 4th - only a couple of seconds ahead of his title rival Reyes.

Kyalami was Fabiano's first chance to take the title. Going into the South African GP, Fabiano was on 107 points and Reyes was on 89. The maths was a little complicated due to both drivers still losing points due to drop rounds, but the upshot was that if Fabiano finished the race inside the top seven then he would be world champion. He started the weekend shakily - crashing his Ferrari F1/86 into the tyre wall at turn five during first practice on Friday. He would have lost a lot of running, but changing conditions made sure that his competitors also missed vital practice time. Saturday rolled around and the rain continued on and off - Fabiano managed to sneak in a lap during more changeable conditions which netted him a lucky pole position. Reyes was caught out by the rain and started 11th.

The rain held off on Sunday, and Fabiano was in perfect position to win his first ever title. The sun broke through the clouds as the drivers waited on the grid, and as the lights went out Fabiano got a great start and led the Williams of Danilo Koren on the long run down to turn one. Fabiano defended the inside, and just about stayed ahead of the slipstreaming Williams. While sitting behind the Ferrari on lap 10, Koren pitted for soft tyres and committed to the two-stop strategy. Fabiano stayed on the one-stop, pitting for hard tyres on the halfway point of the race and coming out behind the WIlliams which had one more stop to go. After re-inheriting the lead, Fabiano watched the gap to a hard-charging Koren come down as Reyes floundered in 7th. Fabiano was only a few laps away from his first Formula One title, but the gap was coming down fast. Even though he could now afford to DNF, Fabiano fought to keep the Williams behind. Eventually, on the final lap, Koren made a small mistake at turn one and let Fabiano cruise the remainder of the lap to claim his first world title.

### **1987 - New kid on the block**

If Fabiano thought 1987 would be as easy as 1986, he was in for a surprise as Williams came into '87 with their guns blazing. Fabiano was also strong, but in the opening round he retired via a mechanical failure as Williams brought home a 1-2 with Danilo Koren winning. Ventura took home another Williams win at Imola as Fabiano finished 6th - but Fabiano bounced back with a win at his happy hunting ground of Monaco. The lack of power required at Monaco meant that the Ferrari performed better than usual compared to the monstrously powerful Williams-Honda. A podium in Canada followed and the points swung back in Fabiano's favour, as Dingley took the victory and Ventura limped to 8th with turbo issues.

Fabiano retired at the United States GP due to a suspension failure, with Chuck Dingley winning at home. Fabiano was looking dangerously close to dropping out of the title hunt - but his next few races would get him back in the fight. P2 at Paul Ricard behind Wolff, followed by 3rd at Silverstone and Hockenheim put him right back behind Ventura in the standings. This was followed by an incredible race at the Österreichring in which the two rivals battled all race long in wet-to-dry conditions. Hailed as one of the greatest battles in Formula One history, Fabiano completed the race-winning overtake around the outside into the fast 4th gear final corner. The win put Fabiano into the championship lead ahead of Ventura with three rounds to go.

A very wet Italian GP weekend caused a mixed-up grid on Saturday - Chuck Dingley took pole position with Fabiano down in 9th and Ventura 10th. It was dry for the race on Sunday, but the rained-out weekend meant nobody had a good dry setup. Amazingly, Andrew Young went on to win the race with Ventura 4th and Fabiano 6th. Unfortunately, when it mattered, Fabiano had one of the worst weekends of his season in Belgium. He wasn't able to find the right setup or match his rivals around the Spa-Francorchamps circuit and ended up finishing 5th. It wasn't a bad result after the weekend he had, but in terms of the championship it was a big blow due to Ventura winning the race. It meant that with one round to go, with 15 points on offer, Fabiano needed to bridge an 8 point gap to overcome Ventura's advantage and win the championship. If Ventura finished 4th, he would win the championship whatever happened.

As it would happen, none of these permutations would matter after the first lap. Going into the first corner of the Autódromo Magdalena Mixhuca, Fabiano pulled out of Ventura's slipstream and went to the left of the Williams. Taking the inside for turn one, Ventura took the natural racing line through the turn 1-2-3 complex. Fabiano, on the left of Ventura, found himself in a quickly disappearing gap. As Ventura turned into turn two, the two championship rivals made contact. Ventura was kicked a metre or so into the air, and spun off the track with his left-rear suspension broken. His race was over. Fabiano briefly found himself in first place, but after the hit with Ventura in which he found his Ferrari bouncing over the inside kerb at turn two, he quickly realised he was missing his front wing and had some sort of suspension damage. Remarkably, Fabiano held the lead until turn four, when he locked up due to the lack of front downforce. He pitted at the end of the first lap, replacing the front wing and taking new hard tyres.

With Ventura out of the race, Fabiano had to finish the race in third place to win the championship. A simple task to understand, which the team let him know with a simple 'NEED P3' on his pitboard every lap. However, it would take some kind of miracle to achieve - he was lapped by surprise race leader Andrew Young in the pitlane, and only unlapped himself on Lap 13. Fabiano would go on to recover to P9, but it meant that Ventura won the championship. Two days later, Fabiano announced that he would not be renewing his Ferrari contract and would instead be swapping seats with an unhappy Chuck Dingley in a final shock twist for the year.

### 1988-1990 - The frustrating McLaren years

A lot of people were caught off guard by the announcement when Ferrari announced Chuck Dingley for 1988. It was the American who had set things in motion after a falling out with Ron Dennis following two difficult years in which Ferrari and Williams had been superior. After striking a deal with Ferrari, Fabiano quickly jumped ship to McLaren. It was a decision he had been contemplating for about a year, with the Italian quoted as saying "I got a call from Ron right after Austria. But I had to wait a long time because the decision had not been made on Chuck yet."

Fabiano looked to be competitive straight out of the box in 1988 in the competitive McLaren MP4/4. There were rumours that McLaren were going to be much further ahead of the field, but when their competitors showed up in pre-season testing it was obvious that other teams had copied their revolutionary sleek design. In March, it was revealed that a leaked internal document written by Steve Nichols (Engineering Director) addressed to Gordon Murray (Technical Director) detailing the MP4/4's design philosophy was misplaced in the closing months of 1987. Many teams either saw for themselves or heard about the numerous tricks Murray was planning to use on the MP4/4, and applied it to their own cars. As a result, at the start of the season, at least 4 cars on the grid were in possession of pull-rod front suspension, and almost half the grid had adopted the low-profile, lying down driving position to aid aerodynamics.

Despite this, McLaren were still race win challengers. Fabiano took pole at the season opener in Brazil, and finished P2 behind Dingley. Unfortunately, a technical retirement in San Marino and an unlucky crash with Wilson in Monaco put him on the back foot going into the middle of the season. Fabiano was characteristically calm about his misfortune, however.

He was sympathetic to his team for the Monaco mishaps, who had to make a very quick pitstop after a front wing failure in the final sector. They put him on the wrong tyre and he fell back towards Wilson at the end of the race - eventually retiring due a collision with the Scot. "I do not blame them for putting on the wrong tyre. It was the strategy we agreed on before the start of the race. They did not have time to get the medium tyre out of the back of the garage." Fabiano said after the race.

Fabiano backed up his confidence in the team with 4 straight podiums in Canada, USA, France, and a win in the UK at the team's home race. Fabiano was beating his teammate consistently (including a brilliant wheel-to-wheel battle for P2 in Montreal) and despite tensions with Dingley, Fabiano was looking as cool and calm as ever. The championship fight was back on ...until it wasn't.

Hockenheim 1988 saw a horrifying crash for Fabiano on Lap 1. After an incident with Dingley into turn two, Fabiano cut the chicane and rejoined behind Ventura and Pinho. Pinho then hit the barrier at the Ostkurve chicane, and Fabiano got caught in the wreckage. the heavy gearbox of Pinho's Minardi punctured the safety cell of Fabiano's McLaren, compromising its structural integrity. When Fabiano hit the wall, his seatbelt was torn from its mounting and he fractured two ribs.

Fabiano would go on to race in the Austrian GP despite his injury, but the effects of it were clear to see. He qualified in 9th, and things would only get worse from there. A spin on lap one demoted Fabiano to the back of the field, where, on lap three, his season would end. Soren Vinter had spun on the exit of the opening chicane, and had rejoined the track without looking. Fabiano darted to the left to avoid the Williams, but the gap between Vinter and the wall quickly diminished. Fabiano rear-ended the Williams at over 120mph, causing a compound fracture to his left leg. He was airlifted to hospital under anaesthetic, and subsequently ruled out of the remainder of the 1988 season.

Things only got worse for McLaren when in the very next race in Belgium, Sid Donnelly was killed after an incident with Bruce Kerrigan in Qualifying. Whilst Donnelly was fighting for his life in hospital, the #2 McLaren was taken by Hideki Takeda who went on to win the race. The MP4/4 would go on to score 2 wins in the final 3 races - a fact which Fabiano pointed out to the press in December. "I would have won the championship, but luck was not on our side."

1989 and 1990 were years to forget for Fabiano. The McLaren remained quick into the new naturally aspirated era, but Fabiano was still recovering from his injury, He failed to score a podium until the halfway point of 1989, and would only get one more with a win in Spa-Francorchamps. He finished the season in 4th place, 26 points behind his teammate in 2nd. Ron Dennis has since been quoted as saying "We were considering cutting him loose. I was convinced he wasn't the same driver after his injury. Obviously I was wrong."

Fabiano went into 1990 under a lot of pressure and it started off *very* badly. A crash on lap 6 of the opening race with Javier Navarro did little to ease said pressure, and it mounted even more when they collided again in the San Marino Grand Prix near the end. Both Margheriti and navarro would enter round 3 on zero points. As his rivals scored podiums, Fabiano only managed P7 after a poor qualifying at Monaco - the cracks were starting to show. He bounced back with P2 in the USA and P3 in Canada - but that momentum was curtailed by an engine failure at Paul Ricard. McLaren were starting to look like they were slipping away from the top of the field as Wilson streaked away at the top in his Ferrari.

By now, the title for Reyes looked impossible - but McLaren continued their push, and managed to score two more wins and seven podium finishes in the final six rounds. Fabiano won the final race in Japan, but by December the secret was out - he would be back in the red next year. After a long private talk with Ron Dennis, Fabiano chose to leave McLaren at the end of 1990 for one last stint at Ferrari. Despite Ron asking Fabiano to stay with the team after his Japanese GP win, Fabiano walked away after accusing McLaren of favouring Reyes for most of the season.

> "I have nothing against Santi; he is a very talented driver and we are still friends. But I was not given the tools to beat him this year and that help my decision to move back to Maranello. [...] At the end of the day, it is just the decisions of the leadership that I disagree with, and I saw a seat open at Ferrari who have not made those mistakes. Yes McLaren won the constructors' championship this year but I think we were a bit lucky with some of Van Damme's incidents. [...] This will be where I end my career. Back home."
>
>

>
> *- Fabiano Margheriti, post-race at the 1990 Japanese GP*
>
>

### 1991 - Back in the Red

After three disastrous years at McLaren with only three wins, Fabiano returned to Maranello in 1991 with a renewed passion and a smile that was rarely seen during his time in Woking. Ferrari were confident going into pre-season, quietly going about their business at Maranello as the new 642 broke cover. However, for the first race in South Africa, Ferrari showed up to Kyalami with a noticeably different car to the one seen in Fiorano. Dubbed the 643, the new car lit up the timing screens in Free Practice and saw Fabiano top the timing sheets with new teammate Javier Navarro also looking promising. Fabiano followed up his good Friday with pole position on Saturday - but a poor race start saw him drop to 3rd place behind Ventura's Williams and Pinho's Minardi.

Two laps before the halfway point of the race (halfway being the expected pit lap), Fabiano triggered an undercut from P2 as he struggled to get past the Williams on track. He gained the net lead, but it was soon evident that Ventura's only hope at the race win was to stay out and attempt an unprecedented zero-stop strategy. Fabiano's bold undercut paid off though, and he overcame a 20-plus second gap on fresh tyres to overtake Ventura at turn one and win the race in dominant fashion.

Interlagos had never been a strong track for either Ferrari or Margheriti. Coming into the weekend, Ferrari looked like the third best team behind Williams and McLaren. Fabiano qualified 5th, and was on track to finish 5th before his Ferrari came to a spluttering halt on the final lap, running out of fuel. He would be classified 8th, but lost out on some valuable points - Ventura now led the championship after a dominant win.

At his home race in Imola, Fabiano sported a special tongue-in-cheek helmet design. the baby blue helmet read:

> "devo vincere la gara oggi. il tempo sta finendo!"
>
>

> which translates to
> "I have to win the race today. time is running out!"
>
>

The helmet also sported a giant clock face on the top. Fabiano would stick to his word, though - after qualifying 3rd behind Reyes and Ventura, he would move up to P2 after Reyes was taken out by Ventura on lap one. He pressured the Brazilian for the first stint, just like Kyalami - and pitted for an undercut once again. This time, Ventura responded and pitted one lap later but Fabiano was already into the lead. Under immense pressure, Fabiano held onto the lead and after so many years away, took a win for Ferrari in Italy.

Monaco was another triumph for Fabiano. He qualified on the second row behind Pinho and Wolff - but managed to take the lead with an electric fiirst sector. He passed Pinho out of Sainte Devote, and Wolff at Casino Square. From there, he never looked back - his only on-track action being overtaking Wilson with a brave move at the Nouvelle chicane despite Wilson being on an alternative strategy. He won the race, and extended his championship lead. After the race, he was spotted on his yacht with his wife Melissa and his 12 year old son, Matteo.

Road America was the culmination of Minardi's flashes of pace throughout the early season. Both drivers finally managed to get a good qualifying session, and locked out the front row, leaving Fabiano in 3rd. Fabiano's race was lonely for the most part, pulling away from Makkinen and Wilson but falling back from the rapid Minardis. However, a stroke of luck would come Fabiano's way when the Minardi's collided on lap 13 and allowed the Italian to take the lead. Fabiano would win from Makkinen and Wilson, with the Minardi's salvaging 4th and 5th. Fabiano's title charge was looking even better - especially since his main rival, Ventura, finished a messy race down in 8th after a DNF in Monaco. At the halfway point of the season, many had already resigned to seeing another Margheriti championship as an inevitability... but it wasn't over yet.

At the French GP, it was becoming evident that Ferrari had no performance upgrades planned for the remainder of the year. Fabiano all but confirmed this after qualifying for the French Grand Prix, where he admitted that the B-spec car was pushed to the start of the season to give the Maranello team the edge early on. It had worked, but by the halfway point of the season it was clear that Williams now possessed the fastest car on the grid. Otto Makkinen hit a purple patch of form at Magny Cours, and Fabiano rounded out a messy weekend with P5 at the chequered flag. Rear tyre overheating had plagued him all weekend, which was evidenced with a spin during the race. He went on to say

> "It was not a perfect race, but you win championships on your bad days. And I think I did okay today."
>
>

Fabiano still had a healthy points margin to Makkinen going into the British Grand Prix. Williams looked strong again, and Makkinen was unchallenged through the weekend. Fabiano was equal on pace with Ventura and Wilson through Saturday and Sunday, and managed to fend off a race-long attack from WIlson to take P2. After the race, Fabiano seemed indifferent about the result and pointed the media to his points buffer.
Next up was Germany; a track where Ferrari's monstrous V12 would have them fighting at the very front. Williams would be strong, but Fabiano was fired up and ready to take victory. A small mistake in qualifying put Fabiano P3, which was arguably the best position to start for a run down into the first chicane at turn two. Fabiano had an intensity to him on the grid, turning down interviews and sitting in the car for most of his time on the grid. On the first lap Fabiano got a good start and jumped past Danilo Koren for 2nd place. He pulled out alongside Makkinen to take the lead, but was forced off track by the Finn at turn two. The Italian took to the escape road, and immediately returned the position to Makkinen. Another long straight approached, and as soon as he let Makkinen through, Fabiano was right back in the slipstream and trying to overtake on the outside at turn five. Makkinen squeezed Fabiano for a second time, making contact with the Ferrari and banging wheels as Fabiano went through the grass. Fabiano didn't give up, though - he followed Makkinen through the turn 8-9-10 chicane and got a better exit, making an incredible move around the outside at turn 11. Frustrated by the Italian's move, Makkinen attempted an outside-to-inside dummy at turn 12. He dived up the inside of Fabiano, the Ferrari's sidepod being struck by the Williams' front right tyre. Fabiano left the track, and slid through the gravel into the barrier. He punched his steering wheel, eventually throwing it out the left hand side of his cockpit. He walked back to the pits, helmet still on. Makkinen would go on to finish 2nd.

> I think is pretty clear. He ram me off the road because he cannot accept I am better at racing. [...] is just stupid... I try three time to go around the outside and every single time he hit into me and take the position. It was bad the first 2 times but he does not learn. I know he is young but not knowing how to race side-by-side at this level? There is no excuse. [...] To try a divebomb like that at our level, at the very top, when the whole world is watching? It is unacceptable. I can accept a small mistake like in the first sector where it is maybe racing incident, but if he is going to win a championship by ramming on purpose because he is angry? No. That have no place in our sport, and if he do not get a big penalty then there is no point in showing respect when racing in the future. I hope the FIA have some sense and disqualify.
>
>

*- Fabiano Margheriti during the 1991 German Grand Prix*

The Belgian Grand Prix would be a podium for Fabiano, but would still be a disappointment. He qualified well, attempting to take the lead from Ventura on lap one. He would slide off the road at *Les Combes*, however, and drop all the way behind Makkinen - who started at the back as punishment for his Hockenheim antics. Fabiano recovered to 3rd, benefitting from a huge shunt which took out Ventura and Reyes as well as Pinho crashing out from right in front of the Italian. Unfortunately, Makkinen would also benefit from the chaos to win the race from last place on the grid. An unbelieveable feat from the Finn, and a huge blow to Fabiano who lost five more points in the title fight.

The Italian Grand Prix would see Fabiano lose even more ground to his rival. After being taken out by Jasper Seatern in qualifying, Fabiano had a recovery drive on his hands. He managed to recover to 4th place - and despite a spin - managed to stay 4th. Makkinen would finish 2nd, surprisingly behind his new stand-in teammate, Rolph Mills, who refused to move over for the Finn in the closing laps. Despite this, Fabiano was now behind Makkkinen in the championship with two rounds to go - an almost unbelieveable thought just five races earlier.

Mills once again outshone Makkinen in Spain, helping Fabiano. The Ferrari was well-suited to the Barcelona track, and Fabiano managed to hold onto 3rd place ahead of Makkinen in a relatively uneventful race as drivers struggled to overtake at the fast flowing circuit. Going into the final round, Fabiano was only one point behind Makkinen. (although Fabiano still had a drop round of P8 and Makkinen P7, so the gap was effectively 0 points).

As it turned out, the title decider would be tarnished by some back luck for Makkinen. The Williams had looked strong again in free practice, but late on in the Friday running Makkinen suffered from a tyre blowout at the flat-out 130R corner. He was declared unfit to race, and so all Fabiano had to do to clinch his 2nd world championship was finish 8th. The McLaren's locked out the front row in qualifying, but a jump-starting Wilson served a penalty in the opening lap which put Fabiano into 2nd place behind a resurgent Reyes.

A poor pitstop from Reyes put him into P3 and Fabiano into P2 - with Mills jumping both drivers in the first round of stops. Fabiano pushed hard and swept around Mills at turn one to take the lead; a move that was not necessary to win the title, but had fans gritting their teeth. Contact was made as Fabiano came past, with Mills losing time. Fabiano sustained mild damage, cruising to the chequered flag to take his second and final world championship. Fabiano cried on the broadcasted team radio, before dedicating the world title to his brother who passed away in 1985. Two weeks later, Fabiano announced he would continue in Formula One for at least one more year with Ferrari.

### 1992 - The Failed Defence

After Fabiano renewed his Ferrari contract for 1992, Fabiano launched his title defence with a strong weekend at Kyalami, taking the win from Jack Wilson's McLaren. Fabiano successfully pulled off the one-stop strategy with his rivals attempting the two-stop, but Fabiano's tyres held on well in his first stint and he was able to keep Wilson at arm's length despite the McLaren's slight natural pace advantage. Fabiano seemed quietly confident in the post-race press conference, with a relatively competitive car and momentum on his side. He finished 3rd from pole in Brazil, which was eclipsed by home hero Alexsandro Pinho's incredible drive in the wet conditions to take victory ahead of Wilson and Fabiano.

Imola would see Fabiano spin while trying to overtake Santiago Reyes at *Rivazza* on lap 12. He made slight contact with the wall and changed his front wing in the subsequent stop - dropping to 12th and eventually finishing the race in 8th right behind Wilson who had gearbox issues late in the race. Fabiano accepted blame for the spin, jokingly stating he was "too busy focusing on Santi, I forgot where the corner was." Unfortunately, Fabiano's bad run of form would continue into the next round at Monaco - he would crash in qualifying, and only qualified 10th with a lap set early in the session. The race would see him only gain one position and finish 9th; A weekend to forget for the man who usually excelled in the Principality.

Road America would see incredibly hot temperatures claim three drivers' engines during the race. Margheriti, Pakkinen and Pinho would all retire with blown engines - Fabiano's Ferrari actually causing an oil fire and a brief red flag on lap 19. Three bad results in a row put Fabiano 23 points off the championship lead with a lot of ground to make up.

Another point was lost in the championship fight after a mediocre P6 at Magny-Cours, where the top six remained in a train for most of the second stint, unable to overtake due to turbulent air wakes from other leading cars. Fabiano made his feelings known over the radio, asking "Perché diavolo stiamo correndo qui? È impossibile!" ("Why the hell are we running here? It's impossible!") on his team radio on lap 27.

After a long summer break, Formula One returned with the British Grand Prix and Fabiano was on fire. After an engine scare in qualifying, he started the race from 3rd. In the race, he got a good start and overtook a crawling Mills before turn one. Despite suffering from excessive tyre wear in the first stint, the temperatures cooled enough towards the midpoint of the race and allowed Fabiano to hold off Mills' resurgent Williams to take the victory. He made up valuable championship points on Makkinen who finished 14th after a clash with Jack Wilson in the early stages. Wilson would recover to 5th.

Fabiano took 2nd in the championship from Makkinen at the German Grand Prix with a solid third place finish, making the most of an underpowered Ferrari engine in a reversal of fortunes from the previous year. Fabiano and Otto nearly collided on lap one again. However, contact was avoided by the Finn but he dropped to 9th after Pinho aggressively seized a chance to overtake. Fabiano was able to escape up the road in the first stint, but didn't have the pace to catch Wilson and Pakkinen.

The three-way championship fight would swing back towards Wilson at Spa, however - he was hooked up with his car all weekend, and took pole position and the race win. Fabiano, on a low downforce setup, was seen battling oversteer all race and came home in a disappointing 7th; not what the veteran Italian needed with his rivals taking a 1-2 finish. Thankfully, Fabiano would be thrown a lifeline in the Italian Grand Prix as Wilson would retire with a transmission failure, with Fabiano in the lead - but an extra stop after a slow puncture for the Italian would see a certain win turn into 4th with Reyes inheriting the win.

With two rounds to go, Fabiano needed a lot of good luck and two wins to retain his championship. He was 23 points behind Wilson, and 10 points behind Makkinen. Fabiano would need to bring his A-game - and he did. Ferrari absolutely crushed the competition in Barcelona with their superior aerodynamic package, taking a front-row lockout and a 1-2 finish. The nearest car to the Ferrari's would be Jimmy Russell's Jordan, over 20 seconds behind Navarro and over 30 behind Margheriti - his rivals languishing in 4th and 6th. If he was going to pull off the impossible and win the championship, he would need another performance of this caliber along with some bad luck for Wilson in Japan.

As luck would have it, Japan would see bad luck intervene in the title race. However, it would not be for Wilson and would in fact see Fabiano retire. Wilson would take pole, with Fabiano in sescond place. Pakkinen, who had been strong all weekend, was a close 3rd on the grid with Makkinen down in 7th. If Fabiano made a good start, he was in with a chance. He wouldn't however - and saw Pakkinen and Wilson overtake him. He sat behind Wilson, attempting overtakes at the Casio triangle and turn one - but quickly saw that he couldn't quite get close enough with his slight power disadvantage. Fabiano converted to the two-stop strategy in an attempt to jump Wilson, informed by Navarro's impressive pace in clear air. Fabiano emerged in 4th behind Jimmy Russell's Jordan, and looked set for an easy move into turn one, followed by clear air to chase Wilson on the one-stop. However - as Fabiano went for the move around the outside of turn one, reminiscent of his overtake 12 months earlier, Russell would get a small snap of oversteer and make tyre-to-tyre contact with the Ferrari. Russell appeared to come off worse, spinning 180 degrees, but it would become clear seconds later that Fabiano had suffered punctures to both his right-side tyres. He slid off into the gravel two corners later, completely unable to turn left. Unable to escape the gravel trap, the Ferrari came to a slow stop along with Fabiano's slim hopes of a 3rd world title.

### 1993 - The Swan Song

1993 would be Fabiano's final year as a Formula One driver. Although he would not announce his retirement until the Friday of the Italian Grand Prix, there had been rumours since the pre-season that Fabiano was frustrated with the F93A's reliability - with the car even preemptively recieving an 'A' designation, which almost guaranteed a B-spec car mid-season. That would eventually come, but not until the F93A had done enough damage to end Fabiano's hopes of a 3rd World Championship.

The season started promisingly at Kyalami, with a resurgent Jordan turning the front fight into an 8-way free-for-all. It was a very close affair, with the top 8 in qualifying separated by less than a quarter of a second. Fabiano would go on to finish the race in 2nd and it looked like the reliability problems were fixed after all. However, they would make themselves known in the following rounds. An explosive gearbox failure in Brazil and a hydraulics issue when running in third at Imola wiped out any early hopes the Scuderia had, and they knew that a couple more retirements would probably kill off any championship hopes. 4th place at Monaco kept them alive, but another blow was dealt at Road America when another gearbox issue caused Fabiano to retire.

A distant 3rd place at Magny Cours kept his title hopes alive, but as well as a lack of reliability a lack of pace was also starting to show. Despite picking up podiums, the F93A was drastically down on power and would usually finish races 20+ seconds behind the leader. Silverstone and Hockenheim would put the nail in the coffin for the title, which was a distant dream at this point. 10th and 7th, at races where the B-Spec car was planned to already be ready, put a dejected Ferrari out of the title race. Fabiano's teammate, Alexsandro Pinho, now had five retirements from eight races which showed just how poor the F93A was. The F93B finally arrived at the Belgian Grand Prix, albeit too late for any title aspirations to be salvaged. It saw Fabiano finish 4th, which was still not a serious improvement, but fans and team alike could see how much the top of the field had closed up in recent races - Fabiano would only finish 5 seconds off the lead in Belgium.

On the Friday of the Italian Grand Prix, on the weekend after he had surpassed Stefan Van Damme as the most experienced Formula One driver of all time with 181 starts, Fabiano Margheriti called a press conference in which he announced that he would be retiring from Formula 1 at the end of the season. In the same press conference, he also announced that he would be working closely with his friend Fausto Di Stasio and Scuderia Italia team boss Beppe Lucchini to invest in the ailing Lola outfit. It would be rebranded Scuderia Margheriti, and with backing from a factory engine supplier (later revealed to be Lamborghini) they would be competing in Formula One for years to come with Fabiano as team owner. The news came as a mixed bag for fans, but it did help soften the blow for the tifosi - who at least had some good news to come with the bad news of their two-time world champion hero retiring from the sport. After qualifying in 3rd place, and showing some rapid race pace on Friday, hopes were high for a Margheriti podium. He would do even better, though. As the Mclarens' race pace fell off due to tyre wear, Fabiano took the lead on lap 13. He would go on to win the race, taking his final Grand Prix win in front of his adoring home crowd. Tears were shed by himself, Ferrari team members, family members and fans alike.

The Spanish Grand Prix was a much more tricky affair. After 4th place in qualifying, Fabiano would bump wheels with Rolph Mills into turn one on lap one and drop to 13th after a trip through the grass. His car would survive, though - and he would utilise the 1-stop strategy to finish the race in 6th place.

Fabiano's Formula One career would end at the 1993 Japanese Grand Prix. Running a helmet that was a split design replica of his own and his brother Vivaldo's helmets from their karting days, he thanked every one of his mechanics on the grid pre-race with a hug. He had once again qualified in 4th place and was hoping to end his career on the podium. Followed closely by McLaren's Wilson and his teammate Pinho, Fabiano was running in 4th for most of the race until Jordan's Ezequiel Zarco started to hit gearbox issues with five laps to go. Fabiano would pass him for 3rd, and Zarco would slip to 9th. Fabiano delebrated his final Formula One race on the podium, drenching race winner Makkinen with champagne. He shared a hug with Makkinen, seemingly forgiving the Finn for the events of Hockenheim two years prior.

Fabiano Margheriti ended his F1 career as the most experienced driver of all time, with 181 race starts over 16 years. He racked up 32 race wins and two world championships for Ferrari.

## Personal Life

    As of 2004, Fabiano resides in in the hills of Tuscany, Italy but also owns apartments in Monte Carlo and Verona. FMRA has grown considerably into a large custom shop equal to that of Abarth or AMG - dealing mostly in Alfa Romeos, with tens of branches across Europe. Fabiano's parents continued to live Venice for many years, with both of them occasionaly attending F1 race events in person. Fabiano's father did not attend races for a while, citing a bad relationship with Vivaldo - but since 1980 had attended a few races as a Ferrari guest. Fabiano's father Antonio would pass away in 1996 from leukemia, aged 76.

Fabiano is good friends with other Italian racers, especially in the motorcycling world. He regularly races motorcycles, and engages in track days with legendary Grand Prix riders Giacomo Agostini and Graziano Rossi.

Fabiano is an avid football fan, supporting and attending Inter Milan games for most of his life, even attending the trophy celebrations for their 1971 league title win. Fabiano now has the central part of the Inter crest tattoed on his right leg.

In 1977, Fabiano was involved in a serious car accident on the Monday after a European Formula Two race at Misano. Fabiano had dominated the race, and on the drive back home he allegedly allowed good friend and fellow Formula Two competitor Fausto Di Stasio to drive his Toyota Celica A20 through the Tuscan countryside on the final few miles back to Fabiano's residence. Di Stasio then rolled the car, which then burst into flames whilst upside down in a 6-foot ditch. Fabiano escaped unharmed, and pulled his friend from the wreck - but not before Di Stasio had suffered third-degree burns to his arms and chest. Di Stasio would never race in Formula Two again - instead going on to become Margheriti's agent, CEO of the official fan club, and part of the small entourage that accompanied him to every race.

As reward for his two Formula One podiums in his debut year, Margheriti received a gift from his Maranello employer at the end of the 1978 season. He took delivery of a Navy blue Ferrari 365 GTB/4 (more commonly known as the *Daytona*) and still owns the car to this day, only taking it out to drive on rare or special occasions.

In 1976, during his Formula Two career, Fabiano met Melissa De Luca - an Italian sports correspondent. On 20th December 1977, Melissa gave birth to their first child, Matteo. Since the birth of his son, Fabiano stayed at home in Tuscany much more often throughout Formula One break weeks and off-seasons. The couple became engaged in the summer of 1980 and they married on April 2nd 1984. On June 17th 1992, the couple welcomed their second child, a daughter named Eva.

### Car History

* 1975 - Oct 1976: Fiat 128 Special
* Oct 1976 - Present: FMRA Custom Alfa Romeo Spider
* Jan 1977 - Aug 1977: Toyota Celica A20 *(Destroyed)*
* Sept 1977 - Present: FMRA Custom Datsun S30 Fairlady Z
* December 1978 - Present: Ferrari Daytona
* March 1983 - Present: Ford Escort RS2000 4-door
* August 1990 - Present: Ferrari F40
* 1996 - Present: Alfa Romeo GTV 916