Ivan Franco Capelli (born 24 May 1963) is an Italian broadcaster and former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to .
Born and raised in Milan, Capelli began competitive kart racing aged 15. He was widely successful across lower formulae, winning titles in Italian Formula 3, FIA European Formula 3 and International Formula 3000. After making his Formula One debut with Tyrrell at the 1985 European Grand Prix, he made sporadic appearances for Tyrell and AGS before signing for March full-time in . He participated in 98 Grands Prix, achieving three podiums.
After exiting Formula One, Capelli competed in touring car racing until 2017, becoming a race-winner in the Italian GT Championship and the Trofeo Maserati. From 1998 to 2017, he was a commentator and pundit for Rai 1.
Early life and career Ivan Franco Capelli was born on 24 May 1963 in Milan, Italy. Capelli began his career as a kart driver when he was 15 years old, and after four years he moved to the Italian Formula Three Championship.
In 1983, Capelli became Italian Formula Three champion, after dominating the series with nine victories. After that, he moved with the Coloni team to the European Formula Three Championship, and here he was the champion again in 1984.
In 1985, Capelli graduated to the European Formula 3000 Championship with a Genoa Racing March-Cosworth and won one race. After making his Formula One debut in 1985 and failing to sign a full-time contract, he contested the 1986 Formula 3000 Championship, still with Genoa Racing, and also raced a BMW in the European Touring Car Championship.
Formula One career Tyrrell and AGS (1985–1986) In 1985, Capelli debuted in Formula One, driving a Tyrrell at the European Grand Prix, and finished fourth in Australia. Nevertheless, he was not picked up for a full-time Formula One drive in 1986.
Despite not landing a full-time contract for 1986, Capelli started several F1 races for the AGS team. Meanwhile, Cesare Gariboldi, boss of Genoa Racing, was working with Robin Herd of March to create a new Formula One outfit. Capelli was a core component in their plans. By now, Capelli and Gariboldi had an almost father-son relationship.
March / Leyton House (1987–1991)
In 1987, Capelli was in Formula One full-time with the March team, led by Gariboldi and running Herd's new chassis with a Cosworth V8 normally aspirated engine. Capelli also continued with BMW touring cars for the Schnitzer team, as the March budget was tight (so much that they raced at the Belgian Grand Prix with a detuned 3.3-litre sports car engine rather than the full 3.5l Formula One unit), and the Schnitzer team had works status with BMW, allowing him to be on the German company's payroll. Capelli scored March's first point with sixth at the Monaco Grand Prix and March's return to Formula One was generally seen as competent, professional and promising for the future.
In 1988, Capelli had a March chassis designed by Adrian Newey (later a winner of multiple Constructors' Championships as a designer at Williams, McLaren and Red Bull) combined with a Judd V8 engine (derived from the Brabham-Honda CART engine and the Judd/Honda F3000 unit). March had hoped to be the favoured development partner for this engine, but they found themselves sharing it with the French Ligier team as well as the defending F1 Constructors' Champions Williams who had lost their supply of turbocharged Honda engines to McLaren. Capelli was joined in the team by the British Formula 3 Champion, Brazilian rookie Maurício Gugelmin. They made a strong team and the March 881 was the surprise of the year. At Spa-Francorchamps he scored his first podium with a third place behind Ayrton Senna's and Alain Prost's McLarens (though this was not known until after the season when the Benettons were disqualified for fuel irregularities). Capelli's best finish was second place at the Portuguese Grand Prix where he finished behind Prost. Even better was ahead for the Italian when he became the first non-turbo driver since to lead a World Championship Grand Prix. This happened on lap 16 of the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka when Prost missed a gear coming out of the final chicane and Capelli was able to get ahead before the start/finish line and officially lead the lap. However, Prost used Honda's superior power and was ahead before turn 1. His Judd V8 suffered an electrical failure just three laps later.
However, the momentum did not continue. March had financial problems and a sponsor, Leyton House, acquired a controlling interest. Gugelmin finished third in his home race at Jacarepaguá in 1989, but this was done in the 1988 car. The definitive 1989 Leyton House March was a disappointment, and neither driver challenged for the top in the rest of the year. Capelli in particular only finished once throughout the season (12th in Belgium) and went far enough to be classified on one further occasion (Monaco where he dropped out from 6th place near the end and was classified 11th). Despite this, he was one of only six drivers to start in all of the 16 races of the 1989 season (the others were the McLaren drivers Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, the Williams duo Riccardo Patrese and Thierry Boutsen, and Benetton's Alessandro Nannini). Team spirit remained intact despite the death of Gariboldi in a car crash and midway through the season Capelli felt happy enough in the team to take up his option for 1990. The new decade started poorly, though. Newey's car (given the prefix CG in honour of Gariboldi) had excellent aerodynamics and exclusive use of Judd's updated V8 engine, but it was intolerant of bumps. It was so bad on the notoriously bumpy Mexico City track that neither driver could control the car and both failed to qualify. Nevertheless, in the next at Paul Ricard in France came a complete turnaround in form. Capelli led Gugelmin in a Leyton House 1–2 throughout much of the race. Gugelmin finally retired, and Capelli was overtaken near the end by the Ferrari of Prost with only three laps remaining and went on to finish second. Revisions to the car had made it more competitive (ironically Newey left the team shortly before the race to join Williams), but it was the billiard table-smooth track which allowed the result. Despite some promising showings at Silverstone and Hockenheim, it remained their best race of the season.
In 1991, Leyton House was responsible not only for chassis development but also bankrolled the ambitious Ilmor V10 engine programme. With so many new ingredients, results were again sparse, although Capelli often qualified and raced well. When Leyton House's owner Akira Akagi was arrested in connection with the Fuji Bank fraud, the team was in a precarious state. Capelli had signed for Scuderia Ferrari for the '92 season, so he voluntarily stepped down, allowing pay driver Karl Wendlinger to finish the season and personally paid to attend the races he missed to offer support to the team and advice to his rookie substitute.
Ferrari and Jordan (1992–1993) In 1992, Capelli became the first Italian with a regular drive with Ferrari since Michele Alboreto in 1988, after Gianni Morbidelli's one-off race for the team the season before. As of 2025, Capelli is still the last Italian to have a regular drive for Ferrari, with substitute appearances for Nicola Larini (1994), Luca Badoer and Giancarlo Fisichella (both 2009). The Scuderia had gone through a tough time in 1991, but with a new car, the F92A, expectations were high. The new car was not competitive and before the season began Capelli was showing his disappointment. A driver who enjoyed the convivial atmosphere of a family-type team, he struggled to integrate with the bureaucratic structure of the early 1990s Ferrari. Losing motivation, the team in turn lost confidence in him and his teammate Jean Alesi gained the upper hand. Capelli was sacked before the season's end. It was the last time until Felipe Massa in 2011 that a Ferrari driver failed to finish on the podium during a season.
This experience seemingly broke his spirit, but those who had worked with him in March still had faith, notably Ian Phillips, then Jordan's team manager. Taking a Jordan seat for 1993 alongside young rookie Rubens Barrichello, whom the team hoped would prosper under the more experienced driver, Capelli failed to rediscover the spark that not long ago had marked him as a champion of the future. After failing to qualify for the second race in Brazil, he left the team by mutual consent, being replaced by Thierry Boutsen. He did not race in Formula One again.
Other ventures
Touring car racing Following his exit from Formula One, Capelli raced from 1994 to 1996 with a Nissan Primera with mixed results in the German Super Tourenwagen Cup for BMS Scuderia Italia and in some rounds of the Spanish Touring Car Championship in 1995 and 1996.
Broadcasting Capelli became a Formula One commentator from 1998 until 2017 on the Italian TV station Rai 1.
Racing record Career summary
SeasonSeriesTeamRacesWinsPolesF/LapsPodiumsPointsPosition1982Italian Formula ThreeCesare Gariboldi11001125.56thEuropean Formula ThreeTorino Corse300000NC1983Italian Formula ThreeColoni Motorsport12910810911stEuropean Formula Three30001515th1984European Formula ThreeColoni Motorsport124249601stItalian Formula Three10011612thMacau Grand PrixMarlboro Theodore Racing Team10000N/A5th1985European Formula 3000 ChampionshipGenoa Racing61012137thFormula OneTyrrell Racing Organisation20000319th1986International Formula 3000 ChampionshipGenoa Racing112316391stJapanese Formula TwoLeyton House Racing300?2337thFormula OneJolly Club SpA200000NCMacau Grand PrixDavid Price Racing w/ Marlboro Theodore Racing10000N/A11thIMSA GT ChampionshipConte Racing100000NC1987Formula OneLeyton House March Racing Team150000119thWorld Touring Car ChampionshipSchnitzer Motorsport500036023rdEuropean Touring Car Championship100000NC1988Formula OneLeyton House March Racing Team150002177th1989Formula OneLeyton House Racing1600000NC1990Formula OneLeyton House140001610th1991Formula OneLeyton House140000118th1992Formula OneScuderia Ferrari SpA140000313th1993Italian Superturismo ChampionshipNissan Castrol Racing60000820thFIA Touring Car World Cup20000820thFormula OneSasol Jordan100000NC1994Super Tourenwagen CupNissan Primera Racing800102111th1995Super Tourenwagen CupNissan Primera Racing1100002629thCampeonato de España de TurismosTeam Repsol Nissan400020NC†24 Hours of Le MansHonda Motor Co. Ltd.10000N/ADNF1996Super Tourenwagen CupNissan Primera Racing800004925thCampeonato de España de TurismosTeam Repsol Nissan400020NC†1997IMSA GT ChampionshipTarget 24100000NCFIA GT ChampionshipKonrad Motorsport100000NC2000Grand American Road Racing ChampionshipFranco Scapini Motorsport100000NCFIA GT ChampionshipSupertech erg100000NC2001FIA Sportscar ChampionshipR&M100000NC2002FIA GT ChampionshipTeam Veloqx100000NC2003Porsche SupercupPorsche AG100000NC†2006Italian GT ChampionshipRacing Box, Loris Kessel Racing63225847th2008Australian GT ChampionshipRod Wilson200000NCAustralian Tourist TrophyTrofeo Motorsport20000665th2009Lamborghini Super TrofeoAutomobili Lamborghini30000611th2010Trofeo Maserati?212?10NC2012International GTSprint SeriesKessel Racing20002329th2013Italian Touring Car Championship??????4315thAustralian GT ChampionshipTrofeo Motorsport400017314th2015Italian GT ChampionshipTeam Pellin20000242nd2017Australian GT ChampionshipTrofeo Motorsport200000NC†Intercontinental GT Challenge10000414th † As Capelli was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.
Complete International Formula 3000 results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pts 1985 Genoa Racing March 85B Cosworth SIL THR EST NÜR VAL SPA DIJ PER ÖST ZAN DON 7th 13 Sanremo Racing PAU 1986 Genoa Racing March 86B Cosworth SIL VAL PAU SPA IMO MUG PER ÖST BIR BUG JAR 1st 38