He was initially given an 18-month ban by FIM and WADA which, after a failed appeal, was extended to four years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

After the arrival of triple MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo to Ducati Iannone made the move to Suzuki for 2017.

Born in Vasto, Province of Chieti, Iannone started his career on pocket bikes and soon became a championship front runner.

Prior to the victory, he had never finished higher than ninth, at the Turkish and French Grands Prix in 2007, although he had previously qualified as high as seventh.

[10] Iannone remained in the class for the 2012 season, finishing second in the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix, having led the race out of the final corner and losing out to the straight line speed of Marc Márquez's bike.

[15] At Phillip Island, Iannone was involved in a lengthy four-way battle for first with three former world champions, Lorenzo, Marc Márquez, and Valentino Rossi.

Ducati kept their line up for 2016 and he began the season well, leading at Losail for 6 laps before low-siding, allowing his teammate to overtake.

The following Grand Prix in Argentina saw Iannone in 3rd before attempting a last lap overtake of his teammate Dovizioso, resulting in both riders falling.

He raced aggressively at Catalunya, and eliminated Lorenzo who was running in 5th place, giving winner Marquez a 10-point championship lead.

[17] At the San Marino Grand Prix, Iannone had a low-side crash at the fast turn 15, he appeared unharmed but checks revealed he had fractured his T3 vertebrae which ruled him out of the rest of the weekend.

In 2018, Iannone nearly doubled his points tally to 133 with 4 podium finishes, however it was only sufficient for 10th place in the championship in a tight mid-field battle.

In 2018, ahead of his home Italian Grand Prix, Iannone announced that he and Suzuki would part ways at the end of the season.

[22] Iannone finished his debut season with Aprilia with 43 points in 16th place in the riders' championship, outscored by teammate Espargaró.

He will replace Fabio Di Giannantonio who is sidelined due to undergoing surgery on an injured left shoulder.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) handed the Italian a four-year suspension after being found guilty of violating World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) regulations on the prohibited substance Drostanolone.

[28][2] Iannone has officially joined Team GoEleven to compete in the 2024 Superbike World Championship, riding a Ducati Panigale V4 R. He will return to competition after a four-year absence, following a ban dating from 2019, due to a doping violation.

[29] He completed his first official test, allowed whilst still technically under the ban, at Jerez in late October/early November, stating that his arms were out-of-condition.

At Mugello, Iannone used the colour scheme of a nearby fire station and for that race alone gained the nickname "Joe the Firefighter".