Riccardo Paletti

Riccardo Paletti (1958-1982) was an Italian racing driver born in Milan and son of a Milanese entrepreneur who had built his fortune as a real estate developper, and amongst a number of business interests, was the importer for Pioneer audio equipment in Italy.

After a modest Formula 3 campaign in 1979, two fifth place finishes only, Paletti, with the backing of Pioneer, joined the 1981 European F2 with Mike Earle’s Onyx team where he scored two podium finishes at Silverstone and at Thruxton.

Although still on a learning curve in Formula 2, Paletti decided to join the uncompetitive team Osella in 1982 alongside Jean-Pierre Jarier (picture-below). He admitted that Formula One struck him with a little bit of fear, but his sponsor, Pioneer, wanted him to move up and Paletti did not want to miss this opportunity.

After many failed attempts, Paletti finally qualified for the 1982 Canadian Grand Prix, but at the start, Didier Pironi’s Ferrari, on pole position, stalled and the young Italian’s Osella slammed into the rear of the stranded Ferrari at 180 km/h. So sadly, Paletti sustained heavy chest injuries and died soon after arriving at the hospital…