Ghinzani debuted in Formula One on 17 May at the 1981 Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder, when Enzo Osella asked him to replace the injured Miguel Angel Guerra.

His Osella hit the wall and with almost a full fuel load of 220 litres, went up in flames and he suffered burns to his hands and face that kept him out of the race.

He recovered to score his first and only career points when he finished fifth at the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix in a race marked by high attrition, crumbling tarmac and oppressive heat.

After beginning 1985 with Osella, halfway through the season Ghinzani was hired by the Toleman team to partner fellow Italian Teo Fabi.

Although the car at times displayed flashes of competitiveness (Fabi managed to qualify on pole in Germany), it was marred by unreliability problems, and both drivers were forced to retire for the rest of the season.

His mechanics jumped the pit wall, refuelled him on the track and then push-started him, a clear violation of the rules leading to Ghinzani's exclusion from the remainder of the event.

Despite being one of the few teams to use turbo powered engines in 1988, Ghinzani and his teammate, young German Bernd Schneider, struggled to qualify for races and were often slower than the atmospheric cars.

[3] In 1982 Ghinzani drove for the Lancia Sports car racing team, winning a Group C World Championship event with Michele Alboreto at Mugello in 1982.