At the age of 86, ex-Formula 1 team owner and racer Enzo Osella passed away on Saturday. A national-level rally and hillclimb driver in his own right, Osella started working for Carlo Abarth – founder of the eponymous performance and racing car brand – in the early 1960s as a test driver, soon taking on other responsibilities within the company. When Abarth sold the brand to Fiat in 1971, Osella took over the racing division and spun it off into his own business.
Building on what Abarth had already put in place, Osella enjoyed success with Abarth-designed sports prototypes, winning the 1972 European Sportscar Championship with Arturo Merzario. As the company expanded, Osella was soon developing cars for Formula 2 and Formula 3, albeit on an on-off basis throughout the second half of the 1970s.