Guido Cappellini facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Guido Cappellini |
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| Nationality | Italian |
| Born | 7 September 1959 Mariano Comense, Italy |
| Retired | 2009 |
| F1 Powerboat World Championship | |
| Years active | 1990-2009 |
| Teams | DAC Racing |
| Best finish | 1st in 1993-96, 1999, 2001-03, 2005, 2009 |
| Previous series | |
| 1986-89 1985 1983 |
FONDA Formula Grand Prix Formula 3 World Championship S850 Class |
Guido Cappellini (born September 7, 1959) is a famous Italian motorboat racer. He is known as the most successful driver ever in the F1 Powerboat World Championship. He won an amazing ten world titles! After retiring from Formula 1 in 2009, he also raced in other types of boat racing, like the Class 1 offshore championship.
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Guido Cappellini's Racing Journey
Guido Cappellini started his racing career not in boats, but in kart racing. In 1981, he won the 135cc Italian Championship. He won it again in 1982, and also took home the 135cc European Championship that year. In 1982, Guido even got to try out a Formula 3 car. He showed great promise by getting the top starting spot in his very first race!
However, in 1983, he decided to switch to boat racing. That same year, he won the S850 class in the 100 Miglia del Lario race. He also won in the F3 Inshore category at the Six Hours of Paris. By 1985, he finished fifth overall in the F3 Inshore World Championship.
Early Boat Racing: FONDA Formula Grand Prix
Guido Cappellini joined the Formula Grand Prix series in 1986. He drove a Molinari boat with a Mercury engine. That year, his best results were two fourth-place finishes in Hanover and Singapore.
Even when Formula 1 became a world championship mainly in the United States, Guido kept racing in Europe. He raced with DAC Racing, which was the factory team for DAC boats. In 1987, he got his first podium (a top-three finish) by coming third in Miami. In 1988, he finished second three times in Augusta, Dublin, and Singapore. He ended that year in fourth place overall. In 1989, Guido won his first race in the series, which took place in Como, Italy.
Becoming a Legend in Formula 1
More victories came for Guido in 1990 in Budapest, when the series was renamed the Formula 1 World Championship. He also won in Penang in 1991. In 1992, he almost won the championship but was just beaten by fellow Italian Fabrizio Bocca.
But things quickly improved for Guido. From 1993 to 1996, he won four F1 driver's titles in a row! This is a record that no one has matched yet. He won another title in 1999. Then, he showed his amazing skill again by winning three more championships in a row from 2001 to 2003.
During this time, Guido's main rival was Scott Gilman. They both had great success over the next few seasons. Gilman won in 2004, then Guido won his ninth title in 2005. This was also his 50th career victory! Gilman won again in 2006.
After 2006, Guido's performance in the sport started to slow down a bit. Other drivers like Sami Seliö and Jay Price became very strong. But Guido was determined to win an amazing tenth world title. He worked hard and achieved it in style with a fantastic performance in the second half of the 2009 season. He beat tough competitors like Seliö, Price, Thani Al Qamzi, and Jonas Andersson. After reaching this huge milestone, Guido Cappellini announced he was retiring from F1 racing. He then decided to focus on other types of boat racing.
Life After F1 Racing
After leaving F1, Guido Cappellini moved to the Class 1 offshore category. He became the team manager for the DAC Racing team, which uses boat number 74. From 2010 onwards, Guido had some good results in this class. In 2013, he stepped back from driving himself. Tomaso Polli took over his driving duties. This was because of a disagreement about the technical rules. Guido said he would gladly return to driving when the rules were fair for all teams.
See also
In Spanish: Guido Cappellini para niños
