Emanuele Pirro (born 12 January 1962 in Rome, Italy) is an Italian former racing driver, who competed in Formula One between 1989 and 1991 and is a five-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner. He completed for the Benetton and Scuderia Italia (Dallara) teams, and scored three points.
Pirro started in karts aged 11, and aged 18 he drove in Formula Fiat Abarth. Between 1981 and 1983 he raced in European Formula Three, before spending 1984 in Formula Two and then 1985 and 1986 in Formula 3000.
In 1988 he was signed as McLaren test driver, and started competing in Japanese Formula 3000 until the middle of 1989. Pirro was originally expected to deputise for Philippe Alliot in the Larrousse but instead replaced Johnny Herbert at Benetton. At his third race, the German Grand Prix, having qualified ninth, Pirro was running as high as third before having a serious crash. At the final race of the season in Australia, Pirro scored his first points after finishing in fifth place.
In the offseason, Pirro signed a two-year deal with the Scuderia Italia outfit. However, due to a bout of hepatitis, Pirro was unable to compete in the first two races of the 1990 season. With an uncompetitive car, Pirro had a disappointing season and failed to score a single point. Continuing with the team in 1991, Pirro had more success in a marginally better car, scoring a single point at the Monaco Grand Prix, but equally failed to pre-qualify three times and crashed early on at the Hungarian GP despite qualifying in seventh place. He left the sport after being unable to find a drive for 1992, and started driving touring cars.
After spending 1992 in the DTM, he then split his time until 1998 in the Italian Superturismo Championship (winning the title in 1994 and 1995) and the Super Tourenwagen Cup (winning in 1996). He returned to Le Mans in 1998 for the first time since 1981, and started to compete as an endurance racing driver in the American Le Mans Series in 2000. Having obtained Audi connections in the Super Tourenwagen Cup, then went to win the 24 Hour race a total of five times (2000–2002 and 2006–2007) and a class win in 2003. He competed at his final Le Mans in 2010, and has since decreased his top-level racing activity, but did compete at the 2012 24 Hours of Daytona. He is also a two-time winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring, in 2000 and 2007.
In more recent seasons, Pirro has served as the driver representative on the Steward's Panel, his first race being the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.[1]
Formula One Career[]
Formula One Statistical Overview[]
Formula One Record[]
| Year | Entrant | Team | WDC Pts. | WDC Pos. | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 |  Motor Racing Developments Ltd.
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Brabham-BMW | Test Driver | ||
| Toleman Group Motorsport
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Toleman-Hart | ||||
| 1988 | Honda Marlboro McLaren
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McLaren-Honda | Test Driver | ||
| 1989 | Honda Marlboro McLaren
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McLaren-Honda | Test Driver | Report | |
 Equipe Larrousse
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Lola-Lamborghini | ||||
| Benetton Formula Ltd.
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Benetton-Ford Cosworth | 2 | 23rd | ||
| 1990 | Honda Marlboro McLaren
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McLaren-Honda | Test Driver | Report | |
 BMS Scuderia Italia
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Dallara-Ford Cosworth | 0 | NC | ||
| 1991 | Honda Marlboro McLaren
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McLaren-Honda | Test Driver | Report | |
| BMS Scuderia Italia
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Dallara-Judd | 1 | 18th | ||
| 1997 | Mild Seven Benetton Renault
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Benetton-Renault | Test Driver | ||
Career Statistics[]
| Entries | 40 |
| Starts | 37 |
| Pole Positions | 0 |
| Race Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Fastest Laps | 0 |
| Points | 3 |
| Laps Raced | 1368 |
| Distance Raced | 6,375 km (3,961 mi) |
Career Results[]
| Complete Formula One Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Pts | Pos | |||||||
| 1989 | 
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2 | 23rd | |||||||
| 9th | 11th | Ret | 8th | 10th | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 5th | ||||||||||||||||
| 1990 |
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0 | NC | |||||||
| Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 11th | Ret | 10th | Ret | Ret | 15th | Ret | Ret | Ret | ||||||||||||
| 1991 |
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1 | 18th | |||||||
| Ret | 11th | DNPQ | 6th | 9th | DNPQ | DNPQ | 10th | 10th | Ret | 8th | 10th | Ret | 15th | Ret | 7th [2] | ||||||||||
| Key | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Symbol | Meaning | Symbol | Meaning | ||
| 1st | Winner | Ret | Retired | ||
| 2nd | Podium finish | DSQ | Disqualified | ||
| 3rd | DNQ | Did not qualify | |||
| 5th | Points finish | DNPQ | Did not pre-qualify | ||
| 14th | Non-points finish | TD | Test driver | ||
| Italics | Fastest Lap | DNS | Did not start | ||
| 18th† | Classified finish (retired with >90% race distance) | NC | Non-classified finish (<90% race distance) | ||
| 4thP | Qualified for pole position | [+] More Symbols | |||
Notes[]
- ↑ "Race Stewards Biographies - 2018 Canadian Grand Prix". FIA. https://www.fia.com/file/69007/download?token=eH5LaWtv. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
- ↑ Race stopped after 14/81 Laps. Half points awarded
External links[]
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