Team story
Origins
Enzo Coloni reached Formula 1 after success in the junior categories, bringing Nicola Larini, already his driver in Formula 3, with him. The yellow FC187 appeared at Monza in September 1987 but failed to qualify. Its first start came at Jerez: the step up had been made, although retirement still left the new team without a result.
The Formula 1 journey
With Gabriele Tarquini, 1988 brought eighth place in Canada, the constructor's best championship placing. In 1989 Roberto Moreno and Pierre-Henri Raphanel both qualified at Monaco. Christian Vanderpleyn's subsequent C3 did not turn that achievement into a regular presence; the Portuguese Grand Prix, contested by Moreno, would remain Coloni's final start.
Historical timeline
Three chapters in the story of Coloni
Three episodes to revisit the people, cars and races that shaped this journey.
First appearance · Spanish Grand Prix
Nicola Larini · Spanish Grand Prix 1987. The recorded outcome is DNF. This is the first recorded race start, or the first entry if the team never started a race.
Sporting landmark · Canadian Grand Prix
Gabriele Tarquini · Canadian Grand Prix 1988. The recorded position is P8; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This marks the first win or podium where one exists, otherwise the highest recorded placing for this constructor.
Latest recorded appearance · Portuguese Grand Prix
Roberto Moreno · Portuguese Grand Prix 1989. The recorded outcome is DNF. This is the last race start attributed to this constructor in the archive, not necessarily the end of the organisation behind it.
A distinctive way of racing
The 1990 agreement with Subaru changed the project: Carlo Chiti and Motori Moderni produced the flat-twelve fitted to Bertrand Gachot's C3B. Its size, weight and performance hampered the package. The partnership ended during the season and the Cosworth returned, but even the engine change failed to bring the team back into a race.
Pre-qualifying had become its main obstacle.
What remains
Pedro Chaves and Naoki Hattori tried again with the C4 in 1991 without getting past that barrier. The sale to Andrea Sassetti opened the separate Andrea Moda chapter. Coloni instead continued in the feeder categories: the end of its Formula 1 programme did not erase its work in Formula 3000 and later GP2, settings closer to the team's original scale.
