Claudio Lombardi (born 1942, in

Alessandria Alessandria (; ) is a city and commune in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. It is also the largest municipality of the region. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, ...

) is a former

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

engineer, best known for his work as team-manager at the

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

team during the early-1990s.

Career

Lombardi studied mechanical engineering at the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna (, abbreviated Unibo) is a Public university, public research university in Bologna, Italy. Teaching began around 1088, with the university becoming organised as guilds of students () by the late 12th century. It is the ...

. He was soon recruited by the

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...

research center, before designing engines for

Lancia Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe, which is the European subsidiary of Stellantis. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganise ...

, which helped them in the

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is an international rallying series owned and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. Inaugurated in 1973, it is the oldest FIA world championship after Formula One. E ...

and in

sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing that uses sports cars with two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be either purpose-built Sports prototype, sports prototypes, which are the highest level in sports car racing; or grand to ...

. Lombardi became head of department for engineering at Lancia when Cesare Fiorio moved to

. In 1989 Fiorio invited Lombardi to join him at Ferrari. When Fiorio left the company in 1991, Luca di Montezemolo promoted Lombardi from engineer to team-manager to caretake the team until the arrival of Jean Todt in 1993. In 1993 Lombardi designed the Ferrari 12 cylinder engine. It would score the two final victories for an engine with such configuration at the 1994 German Grand Prix with Gerhard Berger and at the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix with Jean Alesi. In 1994 Lombardi was moved to the Ferrari GT programme. From 2000 to 2010 he acted as technical consultant for

Aprilia Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle and Scooter (motorcycle), scooter manufacturer in Noale, Italy, founded by Alberto Beggio. History Early days Aprilia, named after the Pre-war automobile, pre-war Lancia Aprilia, was founded after the Seco ...

, designing the Aprilia RSV4 engine that would give

Max Biaggi Massimiliano "Max" Biaggi (; born 26 June 1971) is an Italian former professional Grand Prix motorcycle racing, Grand Prix motorcycle road racer who achieved six World Championships. With four 250 cc road race titles and two in Superbike Wor ...

the Superbike World title in 2010.

References

Formula One engineers Formula One designers Formula One team principals Ferrari people Italian motorsport people Living people 1942 births {{f1-stub