Enzo Ozella: August 26, 1939 – September 27, 2025

      Sad news from Italy — Enzo Osella, a former racing driver and founder of the Osella Squadra Corse team that competed in Formula 1 from 1980 to 1990, has passed away. He was 86 years old.

      His father was an amateur driver who competed in rallies, so already in the late 1950s Enzo began his motorsport career as a co-driver in the family crew. He then took the wheel of a Fiat 600 himself and entered his first rally, and later purchased a Lotus 11 sports car, modified it and began taking part in hillclimb events.

      In 1963 he was invited to the famous company Abarth, which later became a division of the Fiat group. But in 1971 Enzo Osella bought from Abarth all of its motorsport assets and founded his company Osella Corse.

      The company built cars in various classes that competed in series such as Can-Am, Formula 3 and Formula 2, and in 1980 the Osella team made its debut in Formula 1. Its cars were far from the best, so it did not achieve much success: over those 11 seasons its drivers scored only five points. However, early in their careers drivers such as Eddie Cheever, Nicola Larini and Gabriele Tarquini drove for the team and later became well known, including in other categories of motorsport.

      In 1990, due to financial difficulties, the Osella team ceased competing in Formula 1, but for many years afterwards it continued to produce cars for endurance racing.