Michele Alboreto

Michele Alboreto (born 23 December, 1956 in Milan, Italy, died 25 April, 2001) was a Formula One driver who participated during seasons 1981 to 1994 in Tyrrell, Ferrari, Larrousse, Arrows, BMS Scuderia Italia and Minardi. Alboreto studied design, and started racing in 1976 in a car designed by himself; it was called CMR and was raced in Formula Monza without success. He moved to Formula 3 in 1978 and in 1979 finished third in the Italian F3 series. He moved to the European Championship in 1980 while doing endurance races for Lancia. In 1981 he won the Euroracing title, which resulted in a move to the Minardi Formula 2 team, while maintaining his connections with Lancia and partnering with Riccardo Patrese to win the Watkins Six Hours. He scored Minardi's only Formula 2 victory, at Misano, and made his Formula One debut in the 1981 San Marino GP, on board a Tyrrell.

After leaving Formula One he won the 1997 Le Mans 24 Hours with Stefan Johansson and Tom Kristensen in a TWR-run Porsche.

He was killed testing an Audi sportscar when he suffered a high-speed tire failure at the Lausitzring in eastern Germany.

To this day he holds the following records:

• Most Fastest Laps in a Season (5) – set at 1987 Japan
• Most 5th Fastest Laps (14) – set at 1988 Germany
• Most 5th Fastest Laps (15) – set at 1988 Portugal
• Most Consecutive 7th Place Finishes (4) – set at 1992 Germany
• Most 7th Place Finishes in a Season (5) – set at 1992 Hungary
• Most 7th Place Finishes in a Season (6) – set at 1992 Italy
• Most 25th Place Qualifications (12) – set at 1993 Portugal