NICOLA GIANNIBERTI

MY TEAMMATE ALONSO

Fernando Alonso is undoubtedly one of the top drivers in Formula 1. However, as is always the case, there was a time in which the Spaniard was not the spearhead of the team. Indeed, in Gianni Piazza’s team tent in ‘99, Alonso was a newbie, a young hopeful who looked at the “star” of the team, Nicola Gianniberti, with admiration.

“I had been in karting for a few years and had already won two world championships. Alonso came in ‘99, he shared the tent with me, but we used two different chassis: I had a Jolly Kart, while Alonso used a Wilson.

The first race that we competed in together was in Parma and, after the qualifying round, he started a few places ahead of me. During the race, I managed to climb up the standings and managed to overtake him a few laps from the end. At the time, I thought it was only normal….How things should be, in other words.