Andrea Piccini

Date of birth:	12th December 1978
Place of birth:	Sansepolcro (Toscany, Italy)
Nationality:	Italian
Lives:	Sansepolcro (Toscany, Italy)
Martial Status:	Single
Hobbies:	Music & Computers
Website:	www.andreapiccini.com

Career Highlights:

Andrea started his career in go-karting in 1994, taking part in only 5 races, snatching one victory and one second position. In 1995, after obtaining his licence from the Scuola Federale CSAI, he moved on to single-seater racing and took part in the Italian Formula Europe Boxer Championship.

However, he lacked sponsors and experience and therefore failed to achieve any significant results. In January 1996, Draco Racing puts his skills to the test at the wheel of a Formula Opel Lotus, surprising Adriano Morini, the owner of the team, who subsequently offered him a position on the team. However, due to his lack of sponsors, when he entered the German Formula Opel Lotus Championship, he experienced the same difficulties as before. His breakthrough finally came in the race at Mugello, where due to the teams internal problems, Andrea found himself without a car and, on the advice of Adriano Morini himself, he joined the Austrian team Penker Racing Team (P.R.A.). Straight away, he found himself at home with the new car and new team. He came in ninth and eleventh in the qualifications, but nevertheless did not finish either of the two races he entered.

Following the excellent results he achieved, Andrea decided to remain with the P.R.A. for another year. 1997 saw his first complete racing season. He achieved the 10th position in the European Formula Opel Lotus Championship (1 pole position, 4 times on the podium and one fastest lap-time, and fifth in the German Championship). In November of the same year, he took part in a F.3000 test with the Coloni team. Even though he achieved excellent lap-times, in 1998, he continued to experience difficulties in obtaining sponsorship and decided to return to the European Formula Opel Lotus Championship with P.R.A. At the end of a exceedingly tough season, halfway through of which he was leading the championship, he was placed third, with two pole positions, 6 top-threes and two fastest lap-times. In Summer 1998 , he was asked to participate in two days of test at Mugello with the official Alfa 156 Turismo and achieved one of the fastest lap-times.

On February 10th 1999, he signs a contract with Kid Jensen Racing in order to take part to the F.3000 International Championship. It is their first season, both for the team and for the driver, but their union turns out to be one of the greatest surprises of the entire championship. During the first race in Imola, Andrea gains the fourth position, although, due to a technical problem, he has to stop ten laps before the end of the race. He gains the thirteen position at Magny Cours, the eighth in Silverstone and finally, he gets a fifth position and his first two points at Zeltweg in Austria. He’s eighteen in the championship (42 cars and 50 participants) and third among the rookies. Thanks to the great results he obtained, Andrea decides to race with Kid Jensen Racing also for the following year.

The season 2000 does not meet everybody’s expectations. Although on several occasions he’s very fast, Andrea only gains three points with a fourth position in Hockenheim, where he races on an insidiously wet track. The relationship with the English team becomes very difficult after the first few races and it comes to an end at the end of the season, when Kid Jensen Racing shuts down.

2001 is the year of the big change. Andrea manages to become a test driver for European Minardi and, for the first time, he drives a Formula One car. The agreement with the team also includes his participation to the F3000 championship. The season seems to be a very hard one for Andrea, due to the few test drives he made. Andrea always is one of the fastest drivers in the tests, but neither him nor his team mate manage to obtain any relevant result. At the end of the season, Andrea only has one point, obtained on Zeltweg racetrack, where he had started from the very last position. Even if the F3000 season seems to be quite negative, we must not forget Andrea’s work as a test driver. Under Giancarlo Minardi’s strict control, he drives about 1000 km with a European Minardi F.1 on Mugello and Fiorano racetracks, becoming familiar with the driving of a Formula One car and showing once again his talent.