He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 29 May 1994 for Simtek, replacing Roland Ratzenberger, who had been killed during qualifying for the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. Montermini himself crashed heavily in practice for the 1994 Spanish Grand Prix, breaking his left heel and his right foot. He returned to Formula One the next season, with the Pacific Grand Prix team, and drove for Forti in 1996 alongside countryman Luca Badoer until the team folded. For the 1997 season Montermini was signed as test driver for the MasterCard Lola team,[2] but it folded after one race. He scored no points in his Formula One career. As of 2024[update], he holds the record for the shortest F1 driver of all time, at a height of 1.57m (5ft 1in) tall.[3]
He competed in the American Champ Car series three different seasons: 1993-1994 and 1999. He scored a 4th place at Detroit in his first season, driving for the underfunded Euromotorsport team. In 1999 he drove a few events for Dan Gurney in Gurney's last season of team ownership. When others such as Alex Barron, Gualter Salles and Raul Boesel were replaced, he filled in and scored a best finish of 11th in Vancouver.
He raced in the 2001 24 Hours of Daytona, but has primarily raced in the FIA GT Championship, mostly in Ferrari cars. He has taken two class wins and four further class podiums. In 2006 he has occasionally raced alongside Jarek Janis and Sascha Bert in a Saleen ran by the Zakspeed team. In 2007 he won the International GT Open's GTA class, driving a Ferrari 430 for Scuderia Playteam alongside co-champion Michele Maceratesi, the duo becoming overall champions the following season. He won a second overall championship title in 2013.[4]
Racing record
Complete International Formula 3000 results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
^Small, Steve (2000). "Andrea Montermini". Grand Prix Who's Who (Third ed.). Reading, Berkshire: Travel Publishing. p. 388. ISBN978-1-902007-46-5. Retrieved 7 August 2023 – via Internet Archive.