Piercarlo Ghinzani
| Born |
16 January 1952 Riviera d'Adda, Lombardy, Italy |
|---|---|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |
 Italian |
| Active years | 1981, 1983 – 1989 |
| Teams | Osella, Toleman, Ligier, Zakspeed |
| Entries | 111 (76 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 2 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1981 Belgian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1989 Australian Grand Prix |
Piercarlo Ghinzani (born 16 January 1952 in Riviera d'Adda, Lombardy) is a former racing driver from Italy. He currently manages his own racing team, Team Ghinzani, which was created in 1992 and is currently involved in several Formula Three championships.
Before his Formula One career, Ghinzani raced between 1976 and 1979 with Team Euroracing, in several Formula Three championships such as the European Championship which he won in 1977, the Italian Championship which he won in 1979 and the British Championship. He also raced in Formula 2 in 1978.
He participated in 111 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 17 May at the 1981 Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder. Though he participated in 111 Grands Prix, he only qualified for 77 of those, and started 76. He spent much of the 1980s racing for the small Osella team, and he only ever took one points finish. Ghinzani explained his continued association with unsuccessful teams such as Osella by saying it was better to be in Formula One, even at the back of the grid, than it was not being in it.
Following sporadic F1 appearances in 1981, and racing in Group C Sports car racing as a teammate to Michele Alboreto and Riccardo Patrese for Lancia, Ghinzani's first full season with the Osella team was in 1983. Despite achieving no points finishes he was retained for 1984. After qualifying 20th for the second race of the season at Kyalami in South African, he crashed in the morning warm-up at high speed through the Jukskei Sweep. His Osella hit the wall and with almost a full fuel load of 220 litres, went up in flames and he suffered burns to his hands and face that kept him out of the race. He recovered to take his only career points when he finished a surprising 5th at the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix in a race marked by high attrition, crumbling tarmac and oppressive heat.
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