Giorgio Pantano

A frontrunner right throughout his career, Giorgio Pantano was tipped to
make it to Formula One some time before he finally did. When he got there,
however, the situation wasn't right for him to show his undoubted ability.

The Italian took his first laps as a racing driver in karting, beginning as
a nine-year old in 1988 and spending five years patiently learning his trade
before beginning to accumulate titles in abundance. Between 1993 and 1999,
he lifted two world and Italian junior titles, a European junior title and
two Formula A senior world crowns, as well as finishing third in both FA and
Formula Super A at world level.

Having indicated that he was ready to switch to cars, the then 20-year old
was immediately offered a test by the Astromega F3000 team, which he
completed comfortably before starting his racing career in the UK-based
Formula Palmer Audi winter series, running at the front of the 1999 field
despite a lack of familiarity with the British circuits.

Buoyed by his instant pace, Pantano decided to begin his ascent of the
racing ladder in Formula Three, running with Opel Team KMS in the German
championship. He got off to a flying start by winning on his debut and,
after adding three further victories and seven podiums, took the 2000 title
in his first season at F3 level.

His performance elevated him to hot property status, and the Italian was not
only offered another outing with Astromega, but also landed his maiden F1
test with Benetton.

Despite the interest from the top flight, the step was not one Pantano
wanted to bridge at the stage in his career, and he opted for a year in the
FIA F3000 series with Astromega in 2001. The year wasn't a good one for
either driver or team, but Pantano elevated himself to ninth in the final
standings with a victory in the final round at Monza. His potential hadn't
been forgotten either, and a second F1 team, McLaren, offered him a test, in
which he proved competitive.

With a year of F3000 experience under his belt, Pantano was tipped as
favourite to win the 2002 title, particularly as it appeared likely that he
would be driving for the crack Super Nova team. That promise faded, however,
when the team opted for two other drivers on the basis of funding, leaving
Pantano to hunt for both a lawyer and an alternative ride. He eventually
landed a seat at Coloni Motorsport, and even gave the Italian team its first
F3000 victory, in Barcelona, but, despite adding further wins at Hockenheim
and Spa, he had to settle for second place in the final standings to Super
Nova's Sebastien Bourdais.

That winter, he was offered F1 tests by two more teams - Williams and
Minardi - and was thought to stand a good chance of finally graduating to
the top flight. However, Williams, with whom he was tipped to sign, thought
again after a lacklustre performance, leaving Pantano to again contemplate
alternative employment.

His initial thought was to head to the United States for a season in Champ
Cars, but the ambitious project with which he was linked fell apart
pre-season, and he instead turned his attention back to F3000. Fortunate to
land a last-gasp deal with the midfield Durango team, the Italian again
produced impressive performances, taking the team to two victories en route
to an eventual third overall behind eventual champion Bjorn Wirdheim.

The call from Formula One eventually arrived shortly before the start of the
2004 campaign, when the Jordan team signed Pantano to a full race seat
alongside Nick Heidfeld. Despite the German putting in some impressive
performances, however, the EJ14-Ford was not a good car, and Pantano
struggled to make an impact.

On top of that, wrangles over sponsorship continued to cause unrest, and he
was stood down for the Canadian Grand Prix, allowing replacement Timo Glock
to pick up a couple of points. Pantano returned to the fray next time out,
but continued retirements - some of his own making - prevented him from
improving on the 13th place he had achieved at Sepang and the Nurburgring.
It was no surprise when Pantano lost his drive at Jordan with three rounds
of the season remaining.

Despite hoping that he might be able to attract attention from other teams
in both F1 and Champ Cars for 2005, Pantano decided to take a step towards
revitalising his career by joining the brand new GP2 Series, which had
replaced F3000 as primary F1 feeder. Initially tipped to line up with former
employer Coloni, the Italian eventually signed a late deal with Super Nova.
The switch did not provide Giorgio with the career boost he envisaged. Early
season performances where mostly lacklustre but by mid-season he managed to
put together a number of top three finishes and eventually placed sixth
overall in the final rankings.

Already the Italian was eyeing another career move, this time to the United
States and he picked a couple of road course rides with Ganassi Racing.
Fourth place at Watkins Glen did his hopes of ride in 2006 no arm and he is
targeting a seat in the Champ Car series.