A former Formula 1 driver has returned as an official partner of the sport at this weekend’s Bahrain GP at Sakhir. Can you guess who it is?

It’s none other than Paolo Barilla, former Minardi driver turned deputy chairman of the Barilla Group, the world’s largest pasta producer.

F1 introduces official pasta sponsor at Bahrain GP

Carbohydrate fans, rejoice, for there’s a new way you can celebrate your love of Formula 1: With a big bowl of pasta manufactured by the series’ newest official partner, Barilla.

Barilla is the largest pasta producer in the world, and its latest union with the F1 universe will mean plenty of Barilla signage at the race tracks — plus Pasta Bars in the Paddock for those lucky enough to take a sample.

“We are thrilled to welcome Barilla into the Formula 1 family, a collaboration flavoured with passion and heritage,” Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of F1 said in the press release announcing this collaboration.

“Two stories that share the same values of excellence, authenticity, and the pleasure of living extraordinary moments together. We cannot wait to start this incredible adventure with our new partner, certain that they will add an elevated taste to the emotions of F1.”

But did you know Barilla already has ties to Formula 1?

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To find them, you’ll need to turn the clocks back to 1989 and 1990, then cast your gaze to Minardi. There, for 15 Grands Prix, a young talent named Paolo Barilla tried his hand at the top tier of international motorsport competition.

The young Barilla began racing in 1975, winning the Italian 100cc karting championship when he was 16 years old. From there, it was a quick ascension up the ranks through Formula 3, Formula 2, and into endurance racing where, in 1985, he was part of the New-Man Joest Racing team that took victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans driving a Porsche 956B.

Determined to make it to F1, Barilla returned to open-wheel racing in 1987 with the Formula 3000 Championship until Minardi — his F2 team — offered him a test behind the wheel of an F1 car. He impressed the team to such an extent that he was offered Pierluigi Martini’s seat at the Japanese Grand Prix and, from there, was signed for the 1990 season.

Unfortunately, Minardi wasn’t exactly the most stellar organization at the time, and Barilla struggled to adapt. In the 14 Grands Prix he entered in 1990, he only qualified for eight and took home a best finish of 11th. He was replaced by Gianni Morbidelli after the Spanish Grand Prix.

Barilla thankfully had an entirely different career waiting for him courtesy of his family name. Back in 1877, one of his ancestors founded a bakery in Parma, Italy that soon evolved into the most important bread and pasta maker in Emilia-Romagna — and then, ultimately, to its fourth generation of family ownership.

Today, Paolo Barilla is the Deputy Chairman of the Barilla Group, alongside his brothers Luca and Guido, and this second foray into the world of Formula 1 certainly promises to be more fruitful than the first.

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