Giovanna Amati
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Born | Rome, Italy | 20 July 1959
---|---|
Formula One World Championship career | |
Nationality | Italian |
Active years | 1992 |
Teams | Brabham |
Entries | 3 (0 starts) |
Championships | 0 |
Wins | 0 |
Podiums | 0 |
Career points | 0 |
Pole positions | 0 |
Fastest laps | 0 |
First entry | 1992 South African Grand Prix |
Last entry | 1992 Brazilian Grand Prix |
Giovanna Amati (Italian pronunciation:
Brought up in a wealthy background, Amati was kidnapped in 1978[3] before being released on an 800 million lira ransom.
She started her racing career in Formula Abarth series, before moving up into Formula Three for 1985–86. An entry into Formula 3000 in 1987 brought little success but the following year, Amati improved her performances. She moved to Japan for 1989 but still had no success. A move back to Europe in 1990 saw better performances that continued into 1991. In 1992, Amati became the fifth and last woman Formula One driver when she signed for Brabham.[4][5]
Early life
Amati was born in Rome on 20 July 1959,[1] to actress Anna Maria Pancani and theatre-chain owner Giovanni Amati. As a child, she displayed a passion for cars and expressed the wish to attend a motor racing academy when older.[6]
Kidnapping
At the age of 19, Amati was kidnapped for ransom on 12 February 1978
Nieto, a French citizen, was later arrested after a meeting with Amati arranged by the police. When he was released, newspapers published stories detailing Amati's Stockholm syndrome and the strong emotional relationship between her and her captor,[11] though Amati herself denied those claims.[3] He was sentenced to 18 years in prison.[3] Nieto escaped prison in 1989 and remained a fugitive until he was arrested again in April 2010.[3][12][13]
Career
Early career
To improve her driving skills, Amati attended a motor racing school together with her friend,
In 1991, Amati joined GJ Motorsports driving a Reynard 91D Cosworth for the entire season. She qualified for six rounds and managed to draw a few top-ten finishes although she never scored any points. By the end of the year, Amati tested a Formula One car for the first time, completing 30 laps on a Benetton.[14]
Formula One
Amati signed with the
In South Africa, Amati's inexperience showed on the track. She spun six times during practice and was unable to qualify after setting a time that was nine seconds slower than pole sitter Nigel Mansell and four seconds slower than teammate van de Poele.[16]
At the Mexican Grand Prix, Amati failed to qualify again, setting a time more than 10 seconds slower than Mansell.[16]
Amati's last attempt to qualify a Formula One car was in Brazil. She and van de Poele lapped respectively 10 and 6 seconds slower than Mansell, and were excluded from the race. Brabham sacked Amati and replaced her with future 1996 World Champion Damon Hill.[16] Hill failed to qualify for the next five races until he successfully put the car on the grid for the 1992 British Grand Prix, although he lapped over eight seconds slower than pole sitter Mansell. As of 2024, Amati is the last female driver who has attempted to qualify a Formula One car.
Post-Formula One career
Amati went into the
Following her retirement from motor sport, Amati worked briefly as a sport commentator, writing columns for Italian motorsport publications and providing television commentary.[17]
Racing record
Complete International Formula 3000 results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | Tyres | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | DC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1987 | BS Automotive | Lola T87/50 | Ford Cosworth | A
|
SIL | VAL
|
SPA | PAU | DON 16 |
PER DNQ |
BRH | BIR | IMO DNQ |
BUG
|
JAR
|
NC | 0 |
1988 | Colt Racing | Lola T88/50 | Ford Cosworth | A
|
JER 10 |
VAL Ret |
PAU DNQ |
SIL DNQ |
MNZ 10 |
PER 12 |
BRH DNQ |
BIR DNQ |
BUG
|
ZOL
|
DIJ | NC | 0 |
1990 | Roni Motorsport | Reynard 90D | Ford Cosworth | A
|
DON Ret |
SIL DNQ |
PAU DNQ |
JER DNQ |
NC | 0 | |||||||
Lola T89/50 | MNZ DNQ |
||||||||||||||||
Colin Bennett Racing | Reynard 90D | Mugen Honda | PER DNQ |
HOC 15 |
BRH DNQ |
BIR DNQ |
BUG DNQ |
NOG | |||||||||
1991 | GJ Motorsports | Reynard 91D | Ford Cosworth | A
|
VAL DNQ |
PAU Ret |
JER DNQ |
MUG 14 |
PER Ret |
HOC 9 |
BRH 19 |
SPA DNQ |
BUG 7 |
NOG Ret |
NC | 0 | |
Complete Formula One results
(key)
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | WDC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1992 | Motor Racing Developments Ltd. | BT60B
|
Judd 3.5 L V10 | RSA DNQ |
MEX DNQ |
BRA DNQ |
ESP | SMR | MON | CAN | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | POR | JPN | AUS | NC | 0 |
See also
References
- ^ a b "Giovanna Amati". oldracingcars.com. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
- ^ Diepraam, Mattijs. "8W – Who – Giovanna Amati". 8W Forix. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f Patrick Nathanson (13 November 2015). "Giovanna Amati: The remarkable story of F1's last female driver". BBC. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
- ^ "Giovanna Amati". Silhouet. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ^ "Queens of Speed". ESPN. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
- ^ "Sequestrò Giovanna Amati nel '78, arrestato dopo 22 anni di latitanza - Corriere della Sera". www.corriere.it (in Italian). Retrieved 27 August 2018.
- ^ "A Disillusioned Italian Kidnap Victim Discovers That Home May Not Be Where the Heart Is". people.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
- ^ a b c "How "Star Wars" Once Saved a Grand Prix Driver". formula1blog. Archived from the original on 8 December 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
- ^ "Man arrested on date with girl he kidnapped". The Montreal Gazette. 26 May 1978.
- ^ "Tearful reunion with victim brings kidnap confession". The Montreal Gazette. 29 May 1978. p. 6.
- ^ "Love leads to French gangster's arrest". The Modesto Bee. 26 May 1978. p. C6.[dead link]
- ^ "The Kidnapping of Giovanna Amati". F1 Rejects. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
- ^ "Arrestato dopo 22 di latitanza Daniel Nieto, il bandito gentiluomo ("Gentleman criminal" Daniel Nieto arrested after 22 years)". La Repubblica (in Italian). 24 April 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ a b c "Giovanna Amati Biography (Before Formula One)". F1 Rejects. Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
- ^ Smith, Sam The Amati-ville Horror: Surviving an 160mph F3000 crash Motorsport. January 4, 2016
- ^ a b c d "Giovanna Amati Biography (Formula One)". F1 Rejects. Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
- ^ a b "Giovanna Amati Biography (After Formula One)". F1 Rejects. Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
- ^ a b "Giovanna Amati". Motor Sport. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ^ "Giovanna Amati Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ^ "All championship race entries, by Giovanna Amati". ChicaneF1. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
External links
- Giovanna Amati Biography at F1 Rejects
- Giovanna Amati Profile at ESPN
- Career Statistics
- Giovanna Amati career summary at DriverDB.com