Vincenzo Sospiri

Vincenzo Sospiri (born 7 October 1966) is an Italian racing driver who made a brief and unsuccessful attempt at Formula One while achieving significant success in sports car racing and other categories. Born in Forli, Italy, Sospiri signed with the Lola/MasterCard team for the 1997 Formula One season but failed to qualify for any of the three races he attempted (Australian, Brazilian, and Argentine Grands Prix). The Lola T97/30 was severely uncompetitive and overweight, and the team withdrew from Formula One after these three races, making it one of the shortest and least successful team entries in modern Formula One history. Despite this Formula One failure, Sospiri had achieved considerable success in other categories.

He was the International Formula 3000 Champion in 1995, driving for Super Nova Racing, demonstrating his speed and racecraft in the primary feeder series to Formula One. He also achieved success in Japanese motorsport, winning races in Japanese Formula 3000 and All-Japan Formula Three. Sospiri's greatest achievements came in sports car racing, particularly at Le Mans. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1998 driving for Porsche, sharing the winning car with Allan McNish and Laurent Aïello in a Porsche 911 GT1.

This victory, achieved just one year after his failed Formula One attempt, demonstrated his abilities as an endurance racing driver. He competed at Le Mans multiple times, achieving several podium finishes and class victories throughout his career. Sospiri also competed in the FIA GT Championship and other sports car series, racing for various manufacturers including Audi and Bentley in later years. After retiring from professional racing, Sospiri remained involved in motorsport through driver coaching, team management roles, and historic racing.

His career exemplifies how Formula One success does not always correlate with overall driving ability, and how talented drivers can achieve major victories in other disciplines despite F1 setbacks.