Giovanna Amati

Giovanna Amati (born 20th July, 1959 in Rome, Italy) is an Italian former racing driver best known for her appearances in Formula One.

The daughter of a cinema magnate, Amati grew up in rather opulent surroundings which eventually saw her being kidnapped outside her family's villa by a French mobster at the age of 18. Amati remained in custody of the kidnappers for over two months in a wooden cage and was eventually released when her father paid the near $1 million ransom using the box office receipts from the first Star Wars film.

After a number of unremarkable appearances in Formula 3000, Amati made her F1 debut in 1990 when she signed for the Coloni team. Unfortunately for her and teammate Paolo Barilla, Coloni were woefully uncompetitive and struggled to pre-qualify all season.

Following her F1 career she began racing in Sportscars and eventually becoming a motorsport reporter for various Italian publications.