Alberto Colombo

Alberto Colombo (23 February 1946 – 7 January 2024) was an Italian racing driver. He unsuccessfully entered three Formula One Grands Prix in 1978 with ATS (two failures to qualify) and Merzario (one failure to pre-qualify). He won the 1974 Italian Formula Three Championship and also enjoyed some success in Formula Two.

In 1980, Colombo was involved in the Team Riviera Formula 1 project, with the role of driver and team manager. With Gianfranco Bielli as technical director, Riviera secured a sponsorship deal with the French sportwear company Le Coq Sportif, and took over much of the material from the defunct Kauhsen Formula 1 Team. They commissioned a new chassis to former Merzario chief designer Giorgio Valentini, but the car was never assembled due to lack of funds and the team quietly folded.

After he retired from active racing, Colombo run the Sanremo Racing team throughout the 1980s as team owner and manager in the European Formula 2 Championship and the FIA International F3000 Championship, helping to promote the careers of young Italian racing drivers such as Gabriele Tarquini, Carlo Rossi, Guido Daccò and Ivan Capelli.

Colombo died on 7 January 2024, at the age of 77, after a long illness.

Racing record

Complete European Formula Two Championship 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 13 14 15 16 17 Pts Silvio Moser Racing Team Surtees TS10 Ford MAL HOC THR NÜR PAU KIN NIV HOC ROU MNZ MAN KAR PER SAL NOR ALB VLL NC 0 Vittorio Brambilla March 732 BMW BAR HOC PAU SAL HOC MUG KAR PER HOC VLL NC 0 Trivellato Racing Team March 752 BMW EST THR HOC PAU HOC SAL ROU MUG PER SIL ZOL NOG VLL 25th 1 March 742 NÜR Delta Squadra Corse March 752 BMW HOC THR VLL SAL PAU HOC ROU 17th 1 Alberto Colombo MUG PER EST NOG HOC AFMP Euroracing March 772 BMW SIL THR HOC NÜR VLL PAU MUG ROU NOG PER MIS EST DON 7th 18 San Remo Racing March 782 BMW THR HOC NÜR PAU MUG VLL ROU DON NOG PER MIS HOC 8th 11 San Remo Racing March 782 BMW SIL HOC THR NÜR VLL MUG PAU HOC ZAN PER MIS DON 13th 8 Sanremo Racing March 782 BMW THR HOC NÜR VLL PAU SIL ZOL MUG PER 10th 9 Toleman TG280 Hart ZAN MIS HOC

Complete Formula One World Championship results (key) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Pts 1978 ATS Racing Team ATS HS1 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG BRA RSA USW MON BEL ESP SWE FRA GBR GER AUT NED NC 0 Team Merzario Merzario A1 ITA USA CAN

Complete British Formula One Championship 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 1980 Sanremo Racing March 782 BMW OUL BRH SIL MAL THR MNZ MAL SNE BRH THR OUL SIL NC 0