Alessandro Nannini
Italian · 1986–1990
Photo: madagascarica from Verneuil Grand, France · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · cropped
Nannini in numbers
65 official points · best championship finish: 6th in 1989
0Drivers’ titles
none
0Constructors’ titles
none
1.3% of races
11.8% of races
0Drivers’ titles
none
0Constructors’ titles
none
0Drivers’ titles
none
0Constructors’ titles
none
2.2% of races with Benetton
19.6% of races with Benetton
Alessandro Nannini won one race in Formula 1 and was on course to win more when an accident away from the track took it all away. An Italian born in Siena in 1959, he made his debut in 1986 with Minardi, where in two years he barely saw the finish, and in 1988 he moved to Benetton. That first year he was already on the podium twice, third at Silverstone and at Jerez.
His win came in Japan in 1989. He crossed the line second, behind Ayrton Senna, but the stewards disqualified Senna over his manoeuvre after the collision with Alain Prost, and the victory went to Nannini. He finished that year sixth in the championship.
In 1990, with Nelson Piquet as team-mate, he added three more podiums, including second place at Hockenheim. In October, before the last two races, the helicopter he was travelling in crashed and he lost his right forearm, which surgeons managed to reattach. He never returned to Formula 1, though he did return to touring cars. He stopped at 76 Grands Prix, 9 podiums and one win.
Ver en españolRating by season
- First season
- 77 1988
- Peak
- 79 1989
- 1990
- 79 Benetton
3 seasons in the database, from 1988 to 1990. Our own rating, from 50 to 99.
Teams
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Best year
1989
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His team-mates
6 team-mates across 5 seasons. When both finished the race, Nannini was ahead in 11 of 20; on the grid he started ahead in 49 of 75.
| Year | Team-mate | In the race | On the grid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Andrea de CesarisMinardi · 15 races | 0-1 | 8-7 |
| 1987 | Adrián CamposMinardi · 16 races | · | 15-0 |
| 1988 | Thierry BoutsenBenetton · 16 races | 2-4 | 8-8 |
| 1989 | Emanuele PirroBenetton · 10 races | 3-0 | 9-1 |
| 1989 | Johnny HerbertBenetton · 5 races | 3-1 | 4-1 |
| 1990 | Nelson PiquetBenetton · 14 races | 3-3 | 5-9 |
The first number is always Nannini's. A team-mate is whoever started the same race for the same team. "In the race" only counts races both finished, because a retirement says nothing about who was quicker. "On the grid" is the starting position, with penalties already applied.
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Titles, wins, poles and podiums side by side, against any of the 789 drivers in history.