Beppe Gabbiani

Giuseppe 'Beppe' Gabbiani (born 2 January 1957 in Piacenza, Italy) is an Italian racing driver who participated in Formula One during the 1978 and 1981 seasons. His motorsport career began in karting starting in 1971, where he achieved remarkable success, winning two Italian titles, two European championships, and the Junior international title. After this excellent karting foundation, Gabbiani moved to Formula Italia before advancing to European Formula 3, where he made an immediate and impressive impact by winning in his very first car race during the 1977 European F3 Championship. His early promise brought him to the attention of Formula One teams.

During 1978, Surtees called upon Gabbiani to replace an injured Vittorio Brambilla for the final two races of the season in Canada and the United States, but he failed to qualify for either race. His Formula One career resumed in 1981 when he joined Italian team Osella Squadra Corse to drive an Osella FA1B-Cosworth. He made his first Grand Prix start at the season-opening United States Grand Prix West at Long Beach, though he failed to finish due to an accident. His second start came at the San Marino Grand Prix where another accident ended his race, followed by an engine failure at the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder.

Gabbiani participated in 17 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 1 October 1978, scoring no championship points. Despite his Formula One struggles, Gabbiani found considerably greater success in Formula 2. His best racing season came in 1983 when, aboard an Onyx Racing March 832-BMW, he won four of the first five races of the championship, ultimately finishing third in the final standings. This Formula 2 performance demonstrated the talent that circumstances and equipment prevented him from fully displaying in Formula One.