Fabi returned to the series in 1980 for the ICI Roloil Racing Team in a March 802-BMW. He scored three wins, at the Jim Clark Rennen at Hockenheimring, the Eifelrennen at Nürburgring and the Preis Baden-Württemberg at Hockenheimring. He qualified on pole at the Grote Prijs van België Formel 2 at Circuit Zolder and the Preis Baden-Württemberg at Hockenheimring, and set fastest lap in the latter on the way to a victory. Fabi ended the season third in points, with 38 points.
Formula One
Fabi moved to Formula One in 1982, driving the No. 36 CandyTolemanTG181C-Hart 415T. The team had only qualified twice the previous year, and the season got off to a difficult start when the season-opening South African Grand Prix was disrupted by a drivers' strike. Under pressure from Toleman manager Alex Hawkridge, Fabi was the only driver to break the strike (Jochen Mass took no part from the start). His place was then jeopardised when Candy switched support to Tyrrell, but he saw out the season. The TG181C was uncompetitive and the team largely focused on lead driver Derek Warwick. This resulted in Fabi only qualifying for six races out of a possible 14. He qualified for the San Marino Grand Prix, due to the FISA–FOCA war which meant that only 14 cars attempted to qualify for the race. In the race Fabi finished seventh, eight laps down. Fabi qualified for the Belgian Grand Prix, starting and finishing twenty-first. He then failed to qualify at the Monaco Grand Prix before skipping both the Detroit Grand Prix and the Canadian Grand Prix. He failed to qualify at the German Grand Prix and the Caesars Palace Grand Prix. His best finish in the remaining races was twentieth at the Austrian Grand Prix, and he left Formula One at the end of the season.
Fabi's Indy car season in 1983 rekindled Formula One teams' interest. With help from Italian dairy company Parmalat, which insisted on having an Italian driver in the team, he joined MRD International in 1984 to drive the No. 2 BrabhamBT53-BMW M12 as the number two driver to reigning World Champion Nelson Piquet. He also continued to drive in the CART/PPG World Series for Forsythe Racing and missed three Grands Prix. In those races his younger brother, Corrado Fabi, drove in his place. The mixed approach led to disappointing results in both categories and mid-season saw Fabi decide to concentrate solely on Formula One. Prior to the change, Fabi's best finish was ninth at the 1984 French Grand Prix and his best start was a sixth at the South African Grand Prix. His performances improved, including a strong run at Italian Grand Prix where he ran second behind Piquet in the first half of the race before retiring with engine failure, the major problem for Brabham during the year. Fabi scored points on three occasions, with a best finish of third at the Detroit Grand Prix and was twelfth in points with nine.
Brabham dropped Fabi for 1985 and he initially struggled to find a team. His profile in Italy allowed him to rejoin Toleman (now heavily sponsored by the Benetton Group) when they belatedly joined the championship at the Monaco Grand Prix. Fabi drove the No. 19 Toleman Motorsports GroupToleman TG185-Hart 415T. The season got off to a late start because Toleman had lost their supply of tyres when Michelin pulled out of F1 at the end of 1984. They could not access Goodyear tyres and Pirelli would not supply them as they had broken a contract with the Italian company in mid-1984 and gone with Michelin. Benetton bought both Toleman and the Spirit team and transferred Spirit's Pirelli contract to Toleman. The late start meant the TG185 was never truly reliable, but Fabi's speed lead to the marque's only pole position, at the German Grand Prix, at the new Nürburgring. Fabi's race was ruined when a slipping clutch meant he was well down the order at the end of the first lap. The team failed to score any points and Fabi only finished twice (even these races were disrupted by mechanical problems). 1980 World Champion Alan Jones (who also used a Hart engine in his Haas Lola) described it late in the season as "sending a boy to do a man's job" in F1 against the likes of Renault, Ferrari, BMW, Honda and TAG-Porsche. Fabi's best finish was twelfth at the Italian Grand Prix and he would again go unranked due to not scoring points.
Fabi drove for Benetton Formula in the No. 19 Benetton B186-BMW M12 after Toleman were fully taken over before the 1986 season to become Benetton, with powerful (1,400 bhp (1,044 kW; 1,419 PS) qualifying) engines, and talented young Austrian Gerhard Berger joining. The Benetton was fast but fragile with difficult Pirelli tyres and Fabi often qualified better than he raced. He managed pole position at the Austrian Grand Prix and the Italian Grand Prix but his best finish was fifth at the Spanish Grand Prix. He gain a reputation for being most competitive on faster circuits and struggling on slower, more technical courses. Both pole positions were at the two fastest circuits on the 1986 calendar, the Österreichring and the Autodromo Nazionale Monza. He ended the season fifteenth in points.
Fabi continued at Benetton Formula in 1987, driving the No. 19 B187-FordCosworthGBA V6 and was joined by Thierry Boutsen. While the package was not as fast, it was more consistent, allowing him to score points on five occasions. The Ford V6 suffered from unreliability early in the season due to the use of higher turbo boost in an effort to keep up with the Honda-powered cars from Williams and Lotus and the TAG-engined McLarens. When the boost was reduced from around mid-year, reliability returned but speed was sacrificed. Fabi had a best finish of third, at the Austrian Grand Prix, held at one of Fabi's favourite tracks, the Österreichring. During the season Benetton signed young Italian charger Alessandro Nannini, for the 1988 season to partner Boutsen. In Fabi's final Formula One race, at the Australian Grand Prix, he took his frustration of not being able to find a drive for 1988 out on Boutsen, spending many laps deliberately blocking his teammate and not letting himself be lapped despite the blue flags and orders from the team to move over. When Boutsen confronted Fabi after the race, the Italian angrily told him to "come back and see me when you have a pole position". (Boutsen was third in this race, and ended his career following the 1993 season with three wins and one pole position). Fabi ended the season ranked a career-best ninth.
Fabi competed in 71 Formula One Grands Prix. He scored three pole positions, two fastest laps and two thirds in his career, scoring a total of 23 points.
In 1984 Fabi returned with Forsythe Racing in their No. 33 Skoal Bandit March 84C-Cosworth DFX. He qualified third at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and was second at the Dana Jimmy Bryan 150 at Phoenix International Raceway. He was eighteenth and nineteenth due to a crash at Long Beach and a blown engine at Phoenix. At the Indianapolis 500 Fabi qualified fourteenth and retired in twenty-fourth place due to a fuel system failure after 104 laps and leading for 14 laps. His best finish was third at the Stroh's/G.I. Joe's 200 at Portland International Raceway. Following the Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix Fabi left Indy car racing to concentrate on the Formula One season. Fabi ended his partial season twenty-fifth in points.
In 1989 Fabi drove the No. 8 Quaker State March 89P-Porsche Indy V8. The engine and team began to compete regularly for wins with Fabi qualifying on pole at the Budweiser/G.I. Joe's 200 at Portland International Raceway and the Red Roof Inns 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course where he led for 71 of 84 laps to get what would be his last Indy car victory. The engine also began to be competitive on the ovals, as highlighted by a second at the Marlboro 500 at Michigan International Speedway. At the Indianapolis 500 Fabi qualified thirteenth and again finished thirtieth after retiring due to ignition problems after 23 laps. After his Mid-Ohio victory Fabi moved into third place in points. At the final two races of the season, the Firestone Indy 225 at Pennsylvania International Raceway and the Champion Spark Plug 300K at Laguna Seca Raceway, Fabi retired due to handling issues at Nazareth and a crash at Laguna Seca. At the end of the season he was fourth with 141 points.
Fabi returned with Porsche Motorsports in 1990 to drive their No. 4 Foster's-Quaker State March 90P-Porsche Indy V8. Prior to the start of the season Porsche was going to build an all carbon fibre chassis with their constructor, March Engineering. In January, Porsche's competitors voted against the use of the car and as a result Porsche had to use the year-old March 89P chassis.[2] Fabi qualified seventh at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on the but finished tenth. A new March 90P was used at the Indianapolis 500 and Fabi started twenty-third and retired in eighteenth due to transmission problems after 162 laps. Fabi later qualified on pole position for the Texaco/Havoline Grand Prix of Denver.He led one lap but crashed after seven laps and finished twenty-seventh. Fabi achieved a best finish of third, at the Marlboro Grand Prix at the Meadowlands, at Meadowlands Sports Complex, and ended the season fourteenth in points. At the end of the season Porsche withdrew from Indy car racing so Fabi moved to the World Sportscar Championship in 1991 and won the championship.
Fabi moved to Hall VDS Racing for 1993 in the No. 8 PennzoilLola T93/00-Ilmor-Chevrolet Indy V8 265C, achieving a best finish of fourth at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. After the race Fabi was third in points, 10 points out of the lead behind Nigel Mansell and Mario Andretti. At the Indianapolis 500 Fabi started seventeenth and finished ninth. After Long Beach his best finish was sixth, at the Marlboro 500, at Michigan International Speedway. Fabi ended up eleventh with 64 points.
For 1994 Fabi drove for the re-organized Hall Racing (VDS Racing withdrew from the team following 1993) in the No. 11 PennzoilReynard 94i-Ilmor Indy V8. During the season Fabi's best finishes were a trio of thirds, at the ITT Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit, the Marlboro 500 at Michigan International Speedway and the Texaco/Havoline 200 at Road America. Fabi qualified twenty-fourth for the Indianapolis 500 and finished seventh, his best result in the race. He was ninth in points with 79.
In 1995 Fabi returned with Forsythe Racing in the No. 33 Combustion Engineering/Indeck Reynard 95i-Ford Cosworth XB. He had a best finish of third, at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. At the Indianapolis 500 Fabi started fifteenth and finished eighth. Fabi won pole at the Miller Genuine Draft 200 at the Milwaukee Mile, led for 27 laps but finished fourth, two laps down. At the New England 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Fabi qualified second and led for 42 laps, only to finish twelfth, four laps down. He also started second at the Marlboro 500 at Michigan International Speedway, and finished fourth. He ended the season ninth with 83 points.
^Small, Steve (2000). "Teo Fabi". Grand Prix Who's Who (Third ed.). Reading, Berkshire: Travel Publishing. pp. 186–187. ISBN978-1-902007-46-5. Retrieved 7 August 2023 – via Internet Archive.
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