Alberto Colombo (racing driver)

Alberto Colombo (23 February 1946 – 7 January 2024) was an Italian racing driver. He unsuccessfully entered three Formula One Grands Prix in 1978 with ATS (two failures to qualify) and Merzario (one failure to pre-qualify). He won the 1974 Italian Formula Three Championship and also enjoyed some success in Formula Two.

In 1980 Colombo was involved in the Team Riviera Formula 1 project, with the role of driver and team manager. With Gianfranco Bielli as technical director, Riviera secured a sponsorship deal with the French sportwear company Le Coq Sportif, and took over much of the material from the defunct Kauhsen Formula 1 Team. They commissioned a new chassis to former Merzario chief designer Giorgio Valentini, but the car was never assembled due to lack of funds and the team quietly folded.^[1]

After he retired from active racing, Colombo run the Sanremo Racing team throughout the 1980s as team owner and manager in the European Formula 2 Championship and the FIA International F3000 Championship, helping to promote the careers of young Italian racing drivers such as Gabriele Tarquini, Carlo Rossi, Guido Daccò and Ivan Capelli.

Colombo died on 7 January 2024, at the age of 77, after a long illness.^[2]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

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