One of the most underrated drivers in the history of Formula One is Giovanni Lavaggi. Many of you know him as Johnny Carwash and remember him for the burning Minardi at Hockenheim. I personally know him as the last gentlemen driver in the Formula One, and remember him for his willpower to reach what he reached in the autosport. Anyway, like any other Formula One driver there was a point in time they had their first taste with a Formula One car. After some research for another article, i found information about his very first test with a Formula One car. For a team I wrote many articles about recently. This chapter In the March F1 saga has to be told as well!
Giovanni is an example, a long gone generation, that came in the Formula One pure on willpower. Even for 1995, when he made his debut with Pacific Grand Prix, it is interesting this was still possible in the Formula One. Back then, most of the drivers had a decent career, or at least a longer path, before they appeared on the grid. Starting in his early days with motor-cross, he abandoned competitive racing to follow his studies. Only in 1979, with a brief outcome in the rally sport, Giovanni returned to autosport.
At the age of 25, he made made his debut in the Formula Junior Monza, only to move in 1984 to the Formula Panda where he finished second overall. That year he debuted also in the Italian Formula 3 in a Dallara 384. Lacking the needed sponsorship, he was unable to race full seasons in most of the series he appeared in. In 1985 and 1986, he did a handful of races in the Italian Formula 3. There was more luck in the Interseries and the Prototype championships.
While Giovanni passed the thirties, he came in the scope of March F1. As published in a couple of articles March was in a far from good situation. With Leyton House, going into bankruptcy the end for the team was near. Thanks to Henny Vollenberg the team survived and changed their name to March F1. How Lavaggi came in the scope from the team is not sure. Neither is the contract the both signed. Some state that he was the teams’ official test driver for the season, other state that he was only contracted for a couple of races as their test driver. My info only states that Giovanni tested for March and was not officially their test driver.
It doesn’t mean that March F1 offered Giovanni his first taste with a Formula One car. The 30th of September 1992 he appeared on the circuit at Estoril for March. His March CG911B was fitted with the new, narrower, Goodyear tyres for 1993. Sadly, it seems that the media didn’t care much for Lavaggi’s test at Estoril. While mentioned in the test times no one mentioned him in the articles. He completed approx. 30 laps with the March with a best time of 1:21.82 it was the slowest time of the weekend. Hill was the quickest with a 1:14.19. A small pixelate photo does exist of his test. It seems he tested as well at Silverstone for March no data available.
As said, I’m not sure if more test sessions happened after, or even before, that test with March. After his test he moved back to the Interseries, did some International Formula 3000 before he tried his luck in the states in 1994. In 1995, he would appear for the first time on the grid for Pacific during the German, Hungarian, Belgian and Italian Grand Prix. A year later, he would appear on the grid for the last six races of the season for Scuderia Minardi. With a tenth place at Hungary, he would even have scored a point with today’s system.
