Riccardo Paletti F1 driver

The young Italian Riccardo Paletti desperately wanted to drive in competitive motorsport. His father, Arietto Paletti, was a rich businessman from Milan who ran a successful building company and an import company bringing in Pioneer stereo systems to Italy. These businesses allowed Arietto to sponsor his nineteen-year-old son in the competitive world of single seater motor racing.

As a teenager, Riccardo had already proven his competitive nature. He was Italian junior karate champion at the age of thirteen and he had made the national skiing team when he was seventeen.

In his first year of racing, he drove an Osella in nine races of the 1978 Formula Super Ford championship. Although he did not win a race, he managed two second places and finished the season third in championship. In addition 1978 saw him with a drive in a Toyota-March in the Italian Formula 3. 

In 1979, he moved up to a full season in Formula 3 as a private entrant but did not succeed in winning any races. The best position he managed was fifth in just two races. He also had one drive in a Formula 2 race at Misano but, unfortunately, he crashed so failed to finish.

His second year in Formula 3, 1979, was no improvement. However, he did manage three more drives in Formula 2. Johnny Cecotto, the driver of the British Onyx formula 2 team, left the team mid-season. Mike Earle, the owner of the Onyx team, offered Riccardo drives at Zandvoort and Misano as well as the non-championship at Monza. Riccardo finished third in the race at Monza. These three drives led Mike Earle to offer the vacant driving spot in his team to the young Italian.

The winter before the 1980 season Riccardo moved to England to start testing with his new team. In the first race of the season he qualified in tenth place. During the race he moved up through the field to finish in second place. The second race, at Hockenheim, saw him retire part way through the race but not before he made the fastest lap. The third race had the team back in England at the Thruxton circuit and a third place for Riccardo. Unfortunately, he did not maintain this performance and in the rest of the season gained a point from only one race, the Vallelunga in Italy. The final six races of the season he failed to finish, retiring from each race.

To the surprise of many, Riccardo Paletti moved up to Formula 1 racing in 1982. The young man confessed that he would have preferred to stay one further year in Formula 2 before taking the leap into the World championship class. His father’s sponsorship had secured the second driving position in the Osella Formula 1 team for Paletti. Osella was entering its third year in Formula 1 and its previous two years had shown a marked lack of success. Their experienced number one driver, Frenchman Jean-Pierre Jarier, was having problems getting the car to qualify in every race. It was going to be a difficult job for the rookie driver, Paletti, as he was required to prequalify on the Friday morning for each race.

The opening meeting of the 1982 Formula 1 season took place at the Kyalami circuit. Jarier managed to qualify in last position on the grid. Paletti was three and a half seconds slower than is teammate and failed to qualify. He also failed to qualify at the next two meetings at the Jacarepagua circuit in Brazil and the Long Beach Street circuit.

At the San Marino Grand Prix, held at the Imola circuit in Italy, he got his first competitive drive. At the time, there was a dispute between FOCA and FISA. This dispute led to all the British Formula 1 teams boycotting the Imola meetin. With only 14 teams fielding drivers there was no necessity for the prequalifying session. Paletti’s first Formula 1 race lasted only twelve minutes before a suspension failure forced him to pull of the circuit and park.

The Belgian Gran Prix at Zolder saw the return of the prequalifying session and Riccardo again failed to make the cut. Tragedy struck the Saturday Practice session when the Canadian driver Gilles Villeneuve died in an accident.

The chance of qualifying for the next Grand Prix was remote as it was taking place in Monaco. The tight street circuit meant that only twenty cars could take part in the Grand Prix. A rookie in a non-competitive vehicle had little chance of qualifying. As it was neither of the Osella drivers succeeded in qualifying for the race.

Paletti was beginning to feel the frustrations common to many second drivers in Formula 1 teams. The first, more experienced, driver would get the better vehicle and if there were, a problem with both vehicles more work would go into getting the first drivers vehicle ready. This problem was borne out at the Detroit Grand Prix. Both the Osella drivers had managed to qualify and Paletti was immediately behind his teammate on the grid. At the start of the Sunday morning warm-up session Paletti’s car lost a wheel. While the mechanic worked at trying to repair the car, it was possible that Riccardo could drive the spare car. The chance of the spare car was taken away when Jarier’s car developed a fault with the fire extinguisher and he was allocated the spare car. With the cars starting to take their places on the grid, the mechanics finished work on Paletti’s car. Before he could take his seat the news came in that Jarier had hit a wall, damaged his car and was returning to the pits. Jarier took out Paletti’s repaired car leaving the frustrated young man to be a spectator at the race yet again.

The eighth meeting of the 1982 Formula 1 season was the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. While there he talked with is old team manager from Formula 2, Mike Earle. Earle was supporting Emilio de Villota as the third driver in the March team but was not happy with his performance. Paletti and Earle agreed to team up for the 1983 season.

Riccardo Paletti qualified twenty-third on the grid and this time he made it out onto the track for the race. It was his first start in a full Formula 1 grid. In pole position, the Ferrari of Didier Pironi stalled and the driver raised his arm to indicate the fault. This signal should have aborted the start but the light turned green and the cars started to accelerate along the starting straight. The drivers at the start of the grid managed to avoid the stationary vehicle but the drivers towards the rear of the grid had a problem many may not have seen Pironi’s signal and, by the time they reached the, obstacle they would be moving at about 150 kph. Two cars clipped the Ferrari but did little damage to either themselves or Pironi’s car. Paletti sticking to his driving line was not so lucky he hit the Ferrari at full speed shunting the car at least thirty meters along the track.

With the rest of the field already clear of the starting straight, Pironi exited his car to go to Paletti’s aid. The race marshals and rescue team soon joined him. Paletti was unconscious in his car with his head resting on the steering wheel. As they worked to free the trapped driver, the escaping fuel caught fire. The fire marshals worked feverously to put out the fire as well as preventing the flames and smoke reaching the unconscious driver.

With the fire extinguished, it still took nearly twenty-five minutes to free Paletti from the mangled wreck of the Osella. He was flown by helicopter to the Royal Victoria Hospital for treatment but died of internal injuries two days short of his twenty-fourth birthday.

Riccardo Paletti’s mother had flown to Montreal to watch her son race. They had intended going to New York for a few days to celebrate his birthday. Instead, she witnessed the tragic death of her beloved son.

Riccardo Paletti may not have had a long career in motorsport or a number of victories but he is well remembered in his Italian homeland. In 1983 the Varano circuit near Parma, Italy was renamed the Autodromo Riccardo Paletti

Riccardo Paletti: 15 June1958 to 13 June 1982 R.I.P.