When a journeyman driver's F1 career lasted just 800m

Nikita Mazepin’s Formula 1 debut at the Bahrain Grand Prix lasted mere corners before he wiped himself out in a shunt, but his financial backing affords him a full season. Back in 1993 though, Marco Apicella was an F1 driver for just 800m before a first corner fracas ended his career. Here’s the story of his very short time at motorsport’s pinnacle.

Jake Boxall-Legge Apr 4, 2021, 12:25 PM

Upd: Apr 5, 2021, 11:42 AM

All racing drivers dream of making it to Formula 1. They dream of a once-in-a-lifetime invitation to motorsport’s most exclusive table and, once there, emulating the greats in their quest for champagne, championships and commendations.

What they don’t dream of is finding their way to F1, crashing out of the race metres before the first corner, and never dining at the motorsporting equivalent of the Ritz ever again. Alas, it was the fate that befell Marco Apicella, who had barely put the odometer at 800 metres before his time in F1 came to an anti-climactic end.

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Author Jake Boxall-Legge

Jake Boxall-Legge Autosport’s Technical Editor. Having studied Automotive Engineering with Motorsport at the University of Hertfordshire, West Country-born Jake's original ambition was to design racing cars. During a year between studies in which he accidentally rekindled a love of writing, he took up a Master's in Motorsport Engineering at Oxford Brookes. Halfway through his master's year, he was offered a place on the Autosport Academy, conducting occasional freelance duties before becoming the press officer for Formula 2 and GP3 in 2018. Autosport offered him a return to the fold later that year to serve as its Technical Editor. His voice appears on a number of videos and podcasts, and can often be found writing about terrible Formula 1 cars in excruciating detail. In his spare time, Jake enjoys baking and blames his failure to make it past the Great British Bake-Off interviews on his tenuous grasp on choux pastry. His dream is to open a brunch cafe - and his willingness to make outrageous puns in inappropriate situations has earned him the contempt of his colleagues.