Teo Fabi

Teodorico Fabi (born March 9, 1955, Milan, Italy), better known as Teo Fabi, is an Italian former racing driver.

Career
Fabi became European Karting Champion in 1975 and followed that up with the European Formula Ford FF1600 title in 1977. This led to European Formula Three in 1978, taking three wins en route to 4th overall, and he also won the year's New Zealand Formula Pacific title. After this came two years in Formula Two before a switch to CanAm in 1981, winning four races in partnership with actor Paul Newman for Newman Freeman Racing. He also joined Lancia's WSC team, scoring a win at the Nürburgring 1000 km race in 1982 with Michele Alboreto and Riccardo Patrese.

Sponsorship from Candy saw him land a seat with the struggling Toleman team in 1982. Using a Hart turbocharged engine the team had only qualified twice the previous season. The season got off to a difficult start when the first race was disrupted by a drivers' strike. Fabi, under pressure from Toleman manager Alex Hawkinge was the only driver to break the strike (Jochen Mass took no part from the start). His place was then jeopardised when Candy switched their support to Tyrrell, but he saw out the season. The car was uncompetitive and the team largely focused on lead driver Derek Warwick, resulting in Fabi only qualifying six times from 14 attempts. He only saw the chequered flag once, at Imola - he was 7th on the road at the FOCA boycotted event but had not completed enough laps to be classified.

For 1983 his American connections landed him a test with the Forsythe Indycar team, where he impressed. In their March chassis he was a front runner, taking four wins and pole position at the Indy 500 (leading the opening 23 laps before eventually retiring with a broken fuel valve O-ring on lap 44). He finished 2nd overall in the standings and took the title of Rookie of the Year.

This rekindled Formula One teams' interest and, with help from Parmalat joined the Brabham BMW team as number 2 to reigning World Champion Nelson Piquet. The deal was unusual, however - Fabi would continue with a partial Indycar programme for Forsythe and miss several Grand Prix; for these races his younger brother Corrado would drive the second Brabham. The mixed approach led to disappointing results in both categories and mid-season saw Teo decide to concentrate solely on Formula One. His performances improved, including a strong run at Monza, but the Brabham was unreliable. Fabi scored points on three occasions, his best result being 3rd at Detroit and was classed 9th overall.

Brabham dropped him for 1985 and he initially struggled to find a seat. However, his profile in Italy allowed him to rejoin Toleman (now heavily sponsored by the Benetton family) when they belatedly joined the championship at the Monaco Grand Prix. The disturbed preseason meant the car was never reliable but Fabi's speed lead to the marque's only pole position at the Nurburgring. The team failed to score any points and Fabi only finished twice (even these races were disrupted by mechanical problems).

Toleman were fully taken over before the season to become Benetton Formula, with powerful BMW engines and Gerhard Berger coming onboard. The Benetton was fast but fragile with difficult Pirelli tyres and Fabi often qualified better than he raced. Despite taking two pole positions he only scored points once, for 5th place at the Spanish Grand Prix. He gained a reputation for being most competitive on faster circuits and struggling on slower, more technical courses.

Benetton retained him for 1987, joined by Thierry Boutsen with Ford Cosworth turbo engines. While the package wasn't as fast it was more consistent, allowing Fabi to score points on five occasions (his best being 3rd place at one of his favourite tracks, the Österreichring) and placing a personal best 9th overall in the drivers' championship. However, Benetton signed Alessandro Nannini for 1988 to partner Boutsen.

Unable to find a competitive drive in Formula One, Fabi returned to Indycars with Porsche's ambitious engine programme. After some promise in 1988 the combination allowed Fabi to place 4th overall in 1989 with some regular points finishes and a win at Mid-Ohio. After 1990 proved to be a backwards step he returned to sportscars with TWR Jaguar, taking the 1991 title thanks to one win and consistent finishes elsewhere. 1992 saw one-off drives for Toyota at Le Mans and Newman Haas in Indycars before three moderately successful full seasons in Indycars, two for Jim Hall's team and one reuniting him with Forsythe. After two races with PacWest in 1996 and an unsuccessful attempt to qualify for the Indy 500 he retired from motorsport.

Complete European Formula Two Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula One results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

American Open-Wheel racing results
(key)

PPG Indycar Series
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)