Age | 68 |
Occupation | Founder, Media & Sport Management |
Nationality | Italian |
Position Last Year | 97 |
Enrico Zanarini is recognised as a specialist in driver management and sponsorship acquisition and motorsports marketing.
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He started his career in driver management in the early 1970s when he was a Marketing Director for Alfa Romeo in Australia. He then began managing some of the drivers in its touring car team, among them F1 World Champion Alan Jones, Colin Bond and Tim Schenken. After relocating to Europe in 1986, Zanarini decided to pursue sponsorship and driver management full time, managing drivers in F3 and F3000.
In 1994 Zanarini began his nine-year relationship with Eddie Irvine, consolidating his full-time driver management role in 1996 and supporting Irvine’s career with Ferrari.
In 2003, Enrico Zanarini signed Giancarlo Fisichella, steering him into seats at Sauber and Renault, where Fisichella was instrumental in leading the French team to two F1 constructors’ championships in 2005 and 2006. Zanarini did much the same for Fisichella as he did for Irvine, orchestrating his celebrated move to Ferrari in 2009.
In 2005, Enrico expanded into team management and developing new Italian driver talent by setting up the F3000 team Fisichella Motor Sport (FMS) in partnership with Giancarlo Fisichella. The pair then took the venture further by joining forces with the Coloni family in 2006 to form Fisichella Motor Sports International (FMSI). During this period FMS scored three championship victories in F3000, with FMSI also winning races and scoring podiums in GP2 Series.
At the end of 2010, Enrico Zanarini secured the management of Tonio Liuzzi in Formula 1, thus becoming the most experienced drivers’ manager in the sport.
In 2012 and 2013, Enrico focused on the new development of his agency Media & Sport Management Ltd, opening branches around the world, Moscow, Abu Dhabi, Mumbai, Hong Kong. The agency has been credited as the “Official Sponsorship Agency” of Scuderia Ferrari.
Current formula drivers managed by Zanarini include Ferrari’s Antonio Giovinazzi and Antonio Fuoco.
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