He returned to Formula One in 1990 with Life, infamously failing to qualify in each of his 12 attempts driving the F190, prior to the team's withdrawal after the Spanish Grand Prix.

In 1976, he graduated to Formula Three where he competed with March and finished runner up in his first season, to Rupert Keegan,[1] in the B.A.R.C Championship and won the B.R.D.C.

Alfa only entered their 177 and 179 cars in a handful of events that year, and Giacomelli could only achieve a best of 17th place in the 1979 French Grand Prix.

Giacomelli earned a surprise 6th place qualifying position for Alfa Romeo at Brands Hatch for the 1980 British Grand Prix.

[6] He won the pole position for the 1980 United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, New York in his Alfa Romeo.

[7] However, despite these flashes of speed Giacomelli only managed to finish three of the season's fourteen races due to crashes or mechanical breakdowns; although two of his finishes were fifth places at the season-opening 1980 Argentine Grand Prix and the 1980 German Grand Prix, thus netting him four points and placing him 16th in the Drivers' Championship.

[8] Alfa recruited Mauro Baldi to partner Andrea de Cesaris for the 1983 Formula One season and Giacomelli joined Toleman.

In 1990, Giacomelli returned to F1 with the Life outfit, taking over from Gary Brabham (who left the team two races into the season).

With money in short supply and few hopes of improving their desperately noncompetitive package the team folded before the final two races of the season, ending Giacomelli's F1 career.