Alessandro Nannini

Interesting facts

He scored his sole F1 win at the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix: running third for Benetton, he inherited the lead when Senna and Prost collided - Prost retired, and although Senna rejoined the race, he was disqualified for missing a chicane, handing Nannini the victory. On October 12, 1990, just a week after finishing third at the Spanish Grand Prix, the ground gave way beneath his helicopter as it landed at his vineyard near Siena - the accident severed his right forearm, and despite microsurgery to repair it, his F1 career was over for good. Benetton signed young Michael Schumacher to fill his seat for the rest of the season - the start of Schumacher's F1 career. Nannini showed remarkable determination in returning to racing: from 1993 he competed in touring cars with Alfa Romeo despite only partial use of his right hand, finishing fourth in the 1994 DTM, before closing out his career in GT racing for Mercedes in 1997. Alessandro Nannini made his Formula 1 debut in 1986 and raced until 1990, 5 seasons in total as an Italian driver. He scored a total of 65 championship points over his career.