The late Michele Alboreto was one of the most popular and universally well-liked of all modern-era Formula 1 drivers. Born in Milan, Italy, on December 23, 1956, Michele studied technical design and started racing in 1976 with a Formula Monza car named the CMR which he had built together with a few similar enthusiastic friends. It was not very successful but by 1978 he had begun to show promise and was winning minor club-level races in more conventional machinery. Using an elderly March chassis he aspired to Formula 3 racing and in 1979 finished second in the Italian Formula 3 Championship.

He then entered the European Formula 3 Championship in 1980 and was given a Lancia endurance team drive in major FIA events. He drove for the well-backed Euroracing Formula 3 team, winning rounds at the Osterreichring in Austria, La Chatre in France, Monza on his home soil and at Kassel-Calden in German. He emerged as European Champion, which earned him a place in the Minardi Formula 2