At Formula 1, Everyone Is Welcome at the Table

In Formula 1 and at this year’s Grand Prix in particular, you don’t stop for anyone—unless it’s Barilla®. Since its founding nearly 150 years ago, Barilla has been the pinnacle of pasta-making in the Italian tradition. Like Formula 1, it’s dedicated to tradition and innovation, community and family, making it the perfect sponsor.

Barilla became the official pasta partner of Formula 1 this year, but pasta has always been part of its racing history. It all started with an affable pastry chef from Modena, Italy, named Luigi Montanini, affectionately known as Pasticcino (meaning “little pastry” in Italian). Before he stepped foot into the paddock in the 1970s, the mood at Formula 1 was tense. Each team kept to themselves, without much opportunity to chat. If they ate anything, it was a cold sandwich. Then came Pasticcino, with just two burners, a few pots, and a box of Barilla pasta.

He cooked hearty pastas on the hood of cars and dished them out to everyone from mechanics to racing legends. With this small act of generosity, magic happened. Pasticcino and his warm hospitality melted the competitive atmosphere. Soon he became a legend in his own right. Even competitors who didn’t speak Italian sought him out to fuel up before literally fueling up, and fierce rivals sat down at makeshift tables to break bread before they hit the road. Pasticcino seamlessly erased barriers and brought a familial ease to Formula 1 through cooking a meal so delicious that it brought everyone together.

Now you’re invited to bring the spirit of the paddock to your own kitchen through Barilla’s new brand platform— Tastes Like Family. Here you’ll learn more about Pasticcino, and you can cook like him with delicious recipes from Traditional Pesto Lasagna to Lasagne alla Bolognese. They capture his spirit: simple, welcoming, and best enjoyed with others.

Lasagne alla Bolognese

Pasta has always brought people together, whether it’s in the paddock among competitors or at the table with family and friends. That’s the power of Barilla—and it was on full display at the most recent Italian Grand Prix on September 6. Paolo Barilla grew up admiring famed Belgian driver Jacky Ickx, and later lived out his dream by racing in Formula 1 himself. Now the company’s Vice President, Barilla invited Ickx back to the Monza track in honor of his 80th birthday. He tracked down the famed Ferrari 312B that Ickx once drove—restored it to its former glory, and offered it to his childhood hero for two unforgettable laps at Monza, just like old times. It wasn’t this reunion of car and driver, nor of hero and admirer that made this moment so special—but the plate of pasta they shared together, in true Formula 1 spirit.

Three Michelin star Chef Massimo Bottura, Barilla’s Ambassador at F1, prepared Barilla Al Bronzo Spaghetti - bronze die-cut, with exceptional texture to capture maximum sauce on every strand. Like Pasticcino, Bottura hails from Modena and has become renowned in the culinary world for his contemporary reimagination of traditional Italian food. Together, Barilla and Ickx enjoyed his delectable pasta and did as-is tradition, extending the invitation to current Formula 1 drivers and personalities as well as Pasticcino himself.

This heartfelt reunification shows how Barilla is a force—just like the carefully engineered, lightning fast cars of Formula 1. Its pasta can turn a simple meal into an extraordinary one and make a moment with one another even more meaningful. Whether you’re at the track visiting the Barilla Lasagna Bar or making dinner at home, that same sense of connection is just a plate of pasta away.

Life goes fast, much like a Formula 1 race, but Barilla, with its quality ingredients and thoughtful production, reminds all of us to savor the moment together—to soak up the family, friends, and good food in front of us.