14 Facts About Vincenzo Sospiri

Vincenzo Sospiri was born on 7 October 1966 and is an Italian former racing driver.

In 1981, at the age of 15, Sospiri started racing in the Italian 100cc karting championship.

Vincenzo Sospiri stepped back down into the Italian F3 series in 1992, before making a return to Formula 3000 in 1993, driving a Reynard 93D Judd for the Mythos team.

Vincenzo Sospiri moved to the Super Nova team for 1994 and mounted a challenge for the championship despite not winning any races, eventually finishing fourth.

Vincenzo Sospiri stayed at Super Nova for 1995 where he won three races and beat his teammate Ricardo Rosset to the F3000 title.

Vincenzo Sospiri revealed, in a 2022 YouTube interview with a fan, that his biggest heroes in racing were Ayrton Senna and Dan Gurney, for whom he would later drive.

Vincenzo Sospiri had tested for the Simtek Formula One team at Estoril in 1994, but was unable to raise enough funds to gain a race seat at the time.

Vincenzo Sospiri finally got his chance to race in Formula One with the MasterCard Lola project in 1997.

Vincenzo Sospiri hoped to return to the grid in Brazil, but the team was withdrawn due to the massive debts incurred by its failing Formula One effort.

Vincenzo Sospiri put the Scandia Dallara-Oldsmobile third on the starting grid in his first IndyCar start and finished 17th in the race.

In 1998 Sospiri was brought on to Dan Gurney's All American Racers team as a late-season replacement for P J Jones and drove in the final four races of the season for the team.

Vincenzo Sospiri had a best finish of 15th at both Houston and Surfers Paradise and failed to finish in the points as the team's struggles continued.

Vincenzo Sospiri was named to an ISM Racing entry for the 1999 Indianapolis 500 but the car was driven by Brian Tyler instead, who failed to qualify.

Vincenzo Sospiri retired from racing in 2001 and is the team manager for Vincenzo Sospiri Racing.