Who knew: The 'Barilla guy' is a former F1 driver as well as a pasta billionaire

If you have been paying attention to Formula 1 over the last year then you may have noticed the increased presence of a certain pasta brand.

From Ted's Notebook appearances to trackside advertising boards, Barilla is making a splash in the pinnacle of motorsport and you can even now buy F1- themed pasta.

Yes, that's right, the Official Pasta Partner of Formula 1 have now come out with 'Racing Wheels', a new and improved pasta form designed to look like a race car wheel, packaged in Barilla's classic blue box and stamped with the official F1 logo.

But it may not have struck you that this isn't just another random brand activation like Doritos or Gatorade.

Barilla has deep connections with F1 that span far back to when the pasta brand's Deputy Chairman enjoyed his own racing career, one that even saw him make it to the premier form of single seaters.

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Who is Paolo Barilla?

Paolo Barilla was born in Milan in April 1961 and is now known to most as the 'Barilla guy', the face of his family business who gets wheeled out whenever Barilla are launching a new partnership, as they did last April with F1.

He began his career in the family Company at Barilla France in 1991 and just three years later was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Barilla Group, a role he still holds today.

Paolo joined F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and Ilaria Lodigiani, the Chief Category & Marketing Officer at Barilla, to officially kick start the multi-year deal between the two brands at last year's Bahrain Grand Prix.

F1 fans are now able to enjoy the Italian brand’s Pasta Bars around the Paddock and in the prestigious Formula 1 Paddock Club, where the world’s biggest pasta producer is now served.

But this connection between the two icons of the motorsport and pasta industries comes back to the fact that Paolo himself started his career far from the family business, behind the wheel of a kart in 1975.

In 1976, Paolo got his first taste of victory, winning the Italian 100cc karting title.

After entering Formula Fiat Abarth in 1980, Paolo moved up to F1 support series F3 in 1981, winning two races to finish third in the Italian Championship.

The following year he took on F2 with Minardi, but in 1983, he switched his focus to sports cars, a choice that prospered when he went on to claim victory at the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans, winning by three laps in 1985.

In 1987, Barilla returned to single-seaters and raced in the Japanese Formula 3000 Championship, before returning to his old Minardi squad for an F1 test in 1989.

And it was this test that finally handed him the opportunity to try his hand in F1.

Paolo Barilla the F1 driver

Paolo Barilla’s F1 career began when he was called up to replace an injured Pierluigi Martini at the 1989 Japanese GP. Though he qualified 19th on debut with his former F2 team, Barilla was forced to retire from the race at Suzuka after suffering a clutch failure on the opening lap.

It wasn't all bad news for Paolo who was signed as a full-time Minardi F1 driver for the 1990 championship, but sadly, the Italian racer didn't make it through the entire campaign. He was replaced by Gianni Morbidelli after the Spanish GP having struggled through the season, a decision which convinced him to focus on the family business with the Barilla Group.

In total, Barilla's F1 career consists of nine grand prix starts, five of which he retired from. He never made it into the top 10, with the best finish of his F1 career being P11 at the 1990 San Marino GP.

A career in pasta and motorsport

So how did an F1 driver make his way into the pasta industry? Well, aside from Barilla being the family business, Paolo believes the two sectors have more in common than you may think.

In the words of the former Minardi driver: "A lightning-fast F1 car and a delicious plate of pasta: what do they have in common? At first, it may not be obvious, but behind both, and the effort that goes into making them, are skilled professionals, passionate and determined, driven by the desire to keep improving.

"Our greatest satisfaction is being able to offer all the men and women of F1, after an intense competition, a well-deserved plate of pasta."

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Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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