Alessandro Nannini

Alessandro " Sandro " Nannini (* July 7, 1959 in Siena ) is an Italian former race car driver. He launched between 1986 and 1990 at 77 Grand Prix races in the automotive elite class Formula 1 and won one of them. Then Nannini was, inter alia, active in the DTM. His sister is the rock musician Gianna Nannini.

Racing career

Nannini began his motorsport career in rallies with a Citroën Dyane and a Lancia Stratos. In 1980 he moved to Formula racing and came first in the junior class Italian Formula Fiat Abarth, from which he graduated in 1981 as Master. Nannini rose to the formula 2 and started there for the Minardi team, which took with BMW engines. The Italian showed good performances, but hardly won a major success because its vehicles were susceptible; in three years in Formula 2, it was only two second places. As Minardi decided for entry into Formula 1, Nannini followed his team. However, he came in 1985 to no race, but the team stood as a test driver to the side.

1986 Nannini got the cockpit next to Andrea de Cesaris and made ​​his Formula 1 debut in Rio de Janeiro, where he failed in 19th place lying with transmission failure. In all other races of the season - except for the Grand Prix in Mexico ( 14th) - it turned out, however, made ​​in qualifying compared to the more experienced De Cesaris the better figure. In 1987 Nannini again for Minardi and managed as best placement twice eleventh place in Hungary and Portugal. For 1988, the Italian Benetton team, where he started next to the Belgian Thierry Boutsen signed him. This Nannini sat for the first time in a competitive Formula 1 car and justified its use with two third place finishes at Silverstone and Jerez de la Frontera and the tenth in the drivers' standings.

After Boutsens change to Williams Nannini also got a contract with Benetton for 1989, and received in the UK emerging talent Johnny Herbert a new teammates. This, however, had a serious accident in 1988 in Formula 3000 and repeatedly broken feet problems with the brakes and did not bring the benefits that the new team boss Flavio Briatore had imagined. Herbert was replaced by Emanuele Pirro, who only collected two championship points in ten races. Nannini, however, continued throughout the season 32 points and was sixth in the drivers' world championship. On October 22, 1989, he surprisingly won the Grand Prix of Japan, in which the McLaren drivers and championship rival Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna delivered a historic duel, which ended seven laps to go in a collision. Senna had indeed can push again and had driven before Nannini across the finish line, but was disqualified immediately after the race.

Nannini remained at Benetton in 1990 and now got the triple world champion Nelson Piquet as a teammate. The Italians could offer Piquet stand up and hit him a few times. Until the Grand Prix of Spain Nannini collected only five points less than the Brazilians and had to show a podium more. In Hungary, he had a good chance for his second Formula 1 victory, however, was torpedoed in second place and directly behind the leader lying on Ayrton Senna.

A week after the Grand Prix of Spain Nannini right hand was severed in a helicopter crash near Siena. The hand could be sewn back on it though, but he can move only in a very restricted since then. His Formula 1 career had Nannini thereby terminate involuntarily because the forces acting on the hands are too big in a F1 race car. His comeback was Nannini in 1992 in the Italian Touring Car Championship ( CIVT ) on a Alfa 155 GTA. From 1993, he moved Nannini in the German Touring Car Championship, where he drove an Alfa Romeo 155 Alfa Corse team for which was specially adapted to his handicap. The car had two lever for the sequential gearbox, a high - and the other, but could no longer pull to downshift, as a result of his injury Nannini push the lever just forward to. Already in his first race in April 1993 in Zolder, Belgium Nannini stood on the podium, a total he won 14 races and was third in the 1996 Appreciation series. After switching off the ITC in late 1996 Nannini joined for the 1997 season in the FIA GT Championship, where he drove a CLK -GTR for the AMG Mercedes team. At the end of the season, Nannini retired from active racing.

Success statistics

Grand Prix victories

Le Mans results

Career as an entrepreneur

Guido Nannini's grandfather founded in 1911 in Siena opened a pastry shop and a cafe under the name Bar ideals, in which the first espresso machine Siena was used. Alessandro's father Danilo and his uncle Aldo took over the business and expanded successfully with ice cream shops, a coffee roasting company and a global trading. Meanwhile, Alessandro Nannini has taken over the management of the Group.

Political career

At the local elections on May 15 and 16, 2011, Nannini presented as a mayoral candidate in Siena for the list Io amo Siena in alliance with Silvio Berlusconi's party ( PdL ). It failed with 18.23 % but clearly against the candidate of the left Ceccuzzi. Nannini was, however, elected council of his hometown ..

44006
de