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Davide Valsecchi

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Davide Valsecchi
Valsecchi driving in 2011 with Team Lotus
NationalityItalian
Born (1987-01-24) 24 January 1987 (age 37)
Eupilio (Italy)
GP2 Series career
Debut season2008
Current teamDAMS
Car number3
Former teamsDurango
Barwa Addax Team
iSport International
Team AirAsia
Starts96
Wins7
Poles3
Fastest laps5
Best finish1st in 2012
Previous series
2008–2011
2006–07
2006
2005
2005
2003–05
2003–05
2003–05		GP2 Asia Series
Formula Renault 3.5 Series
Le Mans Series
German Formula Three
3000 Pro Series
Formula Renault 2.0 Italia
Italian Formula Three
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0
Championship titles
2012
2009–10		GP2 Series
GP2 Asia Series

Davide Valsecchi (born 24 January 1987) is an Italian former racing driver and the 2012 GP2 Series champion.

Career

[edit]

Formula Renault

[edit]

Valsecchi drove in Renault-based series from 2003 to 2007, rising from Italian Formula Renault and the Formula Renault Eurocup to the more powerful cars of the World Series by Renault in 2006. He won one race in the categories during this period, in the WSR during the 2007 season.

Formula Three

[edit]

From 2003 to 2005, Valsecchi also competed in selected Italian and German Formula Three races, scoring one podium finish in these three years.

Formula 3000

[edit]

In 2005, Valsecchi drove one race in the 3000 Pro Series, a championship for old International Formula 3000 cars.

Sports car racing

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In 2006, Valsecchi competed in three races of the Le Mans Series for the Barazi-Epsilon team in the LMP2 class of the championship, taking a podium finish in each race.

GP2 Series

[edit]
Valsecchi driving for Durango at the Silverstone round of the 2008 GP2 Series season.
Valsecchi pursues Adrian Zaugg at the Spa-Francorchamps round of the 2010 GP2 Series season.

For 2008, Valsecchi competed in both the GP2 Series and the new GP2 Asia Series for the Durango team, alongside Alberto Valerio. In qualifying for the second round of the GP2 Series at Istanbul, he crashed heavily at 175 mph, but escaped serious injury. However, he did not take part in the rest of the race meeting.[1] Although the car was badly damaged in the crash, GP2 technical director Didier Perrin suspected a braking problem. Valsecchi's evacuation from the wreckage was also hampered by his crotch strap becoming wedged between the foam seat and the chassis, resulting in a technical bulletin being circulated amongst the GP2 teams with instructions on how to fit the strap correctly.[2] Valsecchi suffered mild concussion and a spinal injury, and subsequently missed the next two rounds of the championship. His seat was taken first by compatriot Marcello Puglisi,[3] and then by Ben Hanley.[4] He returned to racing action for the race meeting at Silverstone,[5] where he scored a point in the sprint race. He later crashed his car heavily during the feature race at Spa-Francorchamps, necessitating another visit to hospital, but this time he was uninjured and scored a point in the sprint race the next day.[6][7] At Monza, Valsecchi won the sprint race, his first GP2 victory.

Valsecchi remained with Durango for the 2008–09 GP2 Asia Series season and the start of the 2009 GP2 Series season, where he was partnered by Carlos Iaconelli/Michael Dalle Stelle and Nelson Panciatici respectively.[8] He also took part in the Renault Driver Development programme. In August 2009 he moved to the Barwa Addax team to replace Formula One-bound Romain Grosjean, alongside Vitaly Petrov. He finished the season in 17th place.

Valsecchi joined iSport International for the 2009–10 GP2 Asia Series season and for the 2010 GP2 Series season, where he was partnered by Oliver Turvey. Valsecchi won the Asian title, with three races to spare, after taking three wins and two second places in the first five races of the season. In the main series, he dropped behind Turvey, but scored his first pole position and won the final race of the season to take eighth in the drivers' championship, his best performance so far.

For 2011, Valsecchi signed for the new Team AirAsia alongside Luiz Razia, as part of both drivers' test drive deals with the Lotus Formula One team. He finished seventh in the Asia series, losing his championship to Romain Grosjean. In the main series, he took the team's first victory in the Monaco feature race, and also set his first fastest lap in the category. After another double points finish at Valencia, however, he failed to score in the remaining ten races, slipping back to eighth in the championship and equalling his previous year's result.

Valsecchi moved to the DAMS team—which had won the drivers' championship in 2011 with Grosjean—for the 2012 season, where he partnered Felipe Nasr. A strong performer from the start of the year, he established a championship lead by winning three out of the four races held in Bahrain. He lost ground mid-season to former team-mate and title rival Razia, who briefly took the championship initiative, but a strong end to the season, including a win at his home round of the championship at Monza, saw him retake the lead in the standings and ultimately win the drivers' championship with 247 points to Razia's total of 222.

Formula One

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Valsecchi as Team Lotus' third driver at the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix.

Valsecchi tested a Formula One car for the first time on 17 November 2010, at the 2010 season-ending "young drivers" test in Abu Dhabi, with Hispania Racing.[9] He set a best time of 1:43.013, two seconds faster than regular driver Bruno Senna's qualifying time for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix set on the previous Saturday, although the track conditions had improved in the meantime. Hispania also tested fellow GP2 drivers Pastor Maldonado and Josef Král.[10] He was linked to a reserve drive at Team Lotus for the 2011 season[11] and was confirmed as a Lotus test driver in March of that year.[12] He then drove in Friday practice during the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend in April 2011, replacing Heikki Kovalainen in the morning session.[13]

Having won the 2012 GP2 Series title, Valsecchi aimed to move up into Formula One.[14]

Valsecchi acted as testing and reserve driver for the Lotus F1 Team in 2013 driving for the team during media events.[15] Prior to the 2013 US Grand Prix Lotus driver Kimi Räikkönen announced he would miss the final two races of the season needing emergency back surgery due to an old injury.[16] As reserve driver Valsecchi was expected by many to take the drive. However, with its lucrative place in the constructors' championship on the line, Lotus opted to choose a more experienced driver to fill the position. Wild rumors circulated that drivers such as Michael Schumacher had been approached but ultimately former Caterham and McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen was chosen to fill the seat. Valsecchi was publicly critical of the decision describing it as a "huge blow".[17] Kovalainen finished the final two races in 14th place, failing to score any points for the Lotus F1 team. Valsecchi's public criticism of the team's decision, lack of large personal sponsorship and a desire to return to a racing position have been cited as reasons for his replacement as reserve driver with Caterham driver Charles Pic for 2014.

In 2014, Valsecchi drove in the GT Open series for Lamborghini.[18]

Television

[edit]

Valsecchi is a Sky Sport Formula Two analyst and Sky Sports F1 commentator since 2016 and Top Gear Italia presenter since 2016. Valsecchi has become known for his extremely excitable commentary style. Valsecchi and Matteo Bobbi were temporarily suspended by Sky Italia for making sexist remarks during an on-air post-race analysis of the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix.[19]

Racing record

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Career summary

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Season Series Team Name Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2003 Formula Renault 2000 Italia RP Motorsport 12 0 0 0 0 24 15th
Formula Renault 2000 Masters 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Italian Formula 3 Championship 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2004 Formula Renault 2000 Italia Cram Competition 15 0 0 0 0 31 14th
Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup 11 0 0 0 0 2 31st
Italian Formula 3 Championship Corbetta 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2005 Formula Renault 2.0 Italia RP Motorsport 17 0 1 1 2 104 7th
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Italian Formula 3 Championship Corbetta 3 0 0 0 1 35 7th
German Formula 3 Championship 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
F3000 International Masters ADM Motorsport 1 0 0 0 0 3 14th
2006 Formula Renault 3.5 Series Epsilon Euskadi 15 0 1 0 2 43 10th
Le Mans Series - LMP2 Barazi-Epsilon 3 0 0 0 0 6 15th
2007 Formula Renault 3.5 Series Epsilon Euskadi 17 1 0 0 2 37 16th
2008 GP2 Series Durango 14 1 0 0 1 11 15th
GP2 Asia Series 10 0 0 0 0 17 8th
2008–09 GP2 Asia Series Durango 11 1 0 0 4 34 4th
2009 GP2 Series Durango 12 0 0 0 1 12 17th
Barwa Addax 8 0 0 0 0
2009–10 GP2 Asia Series iSport International 8 3 1 2 6 56 1st
2010 GP2 Series iSport International 20 1 1 0 3 31 8th
Auto GP RP Motorsport 2 0 0 0 0 0 23rd
2011 GP2 Series Team AirAsia/Caterham Team AirAsia 18 1 0 1 2 30 8th
GP2 Asia Series 4 0 0 0 1 9 7th
Formula One Team Lotus Test driver
2012 GP2 Series DAMS 24 4 2 5 10 247 1st
2013 Formula One Lotus F1 Team Test driver
2014 International GT Open Eurotech Engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2016 Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup Attempto Racing 3 0 0 0 0 0 NC
GRT Grasser Racing Team 2 0 0 0 0
Source:[20]

Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results

[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 DC Points
2006 Epsilon Euskadi ZOL
1
DNS 		ZOL
2
15 		MON
1
DNQ 		IST
1
5 		IST
2
3 		MIS
1
Ret 		MIS
2
3 		SPA
1
8 		SPA
2
Ret 		NÜR
1
8 		NÜR
2
12 		DON
1
16 		DON
2
7 		LMS
1
17 		LMS
2
5 		CAT
1
15 		CAT
2
Ret 		10th 43
2007 Epsilon Euskadi MNZ
1
Ret 		MNZ
2
Ret 		NÜR
1
8 		NÜR
2
1 		MON
1
8 		HUN
1
Ret 		HUN
2
Ret 		SPA
1
10 		SPA
2
13 		DON
1
21 		DON
2
2 		MAG
1
8 		MAG
2
13 		EST
1
13 		EST
2
11 		CAT
1
11 		CAT
2
9 		16th 37
Sources:[21][22]

Complete GP2 Series results

[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 D.C. Points
2008 Durango CAT
FEA
10 		CAT
SPR
5 		IST
FEA
DNS 		IST
SPR
DNS 		MON
FEA 		MON
SPR 		MAG
FEA 		MAG
SPR 		SIL
FEA
19 		SIL
SPR
6 		HOC
FEA
Ret 		HOC
SPR
13 		HUN
FEA
Ret 		HUN
SPR
13 		VAL
FEA
NC 		VAL
SPR
7 		SPA
FEA
Ret 		SPA
SPR
6 		MNZ
FEA
8 		MNZ
SPR
1 		15th 11
2009 Durango CAT
FEA
Ret 		CAT
SPR
16 		MON
FEA
15† 		MON
SPR
18 		IST
FEA
3 		IST
SPR
Ret 		SIL
FEA
10 		SIL
SPR
14 		NÜR
FEA
13 		NÜR
SPR
10 		HUN
FEA
5 		HUN
SPR
9 		17th 12
Barwa Addax Team VAL
FEA
11 		VAL
SPR
Ret 		SPA
FEA
Ret 		SPA
SPR
8 		MNZ
FEA
14 		MNZ
SPR
9 		ALG
FEA
7 		ALG
SPR
14
2010 iSport International CAT
FEA
10 		CAT
SPR
11 		MON
FEA
Ret 		MON
SPR
16 		IST
FEA
2 		IST
SPR
4 		VAL
FEA
10 		VAL
SPR
6 		SIL
FEA
7 		SIL
SPR
6 		HOC
FEA
17 		HOC
SPR
18 		HUN
FEA
9 		HUN
SPR
3 		SPA
FEA
18 		SPA
SPR
8 		MNZ
FEA
9 		MNZ
SPR
16 		YMC
FEA
5 		YMC
SPR
1 		8th 31
2011 Caterham Team AirAsia IST
FEA
16 		IST
SPR
16 		CAT
FEA
4 		CAT
SPR
4 		MON
FEA
1 		MON
SPR
5 		VAL
FEA
3 		VAL
SPR
4 		SIL
FEA
14 		SIL
SPR
17 		NÜR
FEA
13 		NÜR
SPR
Ret 		HUN
FEA
16 		HUN
SPR
14 		SPA
FEA
10 		SPA
SPR
10 		MNZ
FEA
20 		MNZ
SPR
Ret 		8th 30
2012 DAMS SEP
FEA
2 		SEP
SPR
Ret 		BHR1
FEA
1 		BHR1
SPR
1 		BHR2
FEA
1 		BHR2
SPR
3 		CAT
FEA
4 		CAT
SPR
3 		MON
FEA
4 		MON
SPR
Ret 		VAL
FEA
18 		VAL
SPR
10 		SIL
FEA
7 		SIL
SPR
2 		HOC
FEA
13 		HOC
SPR
7 		HUN
FEA
2 		HUN
SPR
4 		SPA
FEA
3 		SPA
SPR
Ret 		MNZ
FEA
6 		MNZ
SPR
1 		MRN
FEA
4 		MRN
SPR
5 		1st 247
Sources:[21][22]

Complete GP2 Asia Series results

[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 D.C. Points
2008 Durango DUB1
FEA
17 		DUB1
SPR
6 		SEN
FEA
Ret 		SEN
SPR
19 		SEP
FEA
4 		SEP
SPR
4 		BHR
FEA
6 		BHR
SPR
6 		DUB2
FEA
14 		DUB2
SPR
4 		8th 17
2008–09 Durango SHI
FEA
8 		SHI
SPR
1 		DUB
FEA
2 		DUB
SPR
C 		BHR1
FEA
5 		BHR1
SPR
2 		LSL
FEA
6 		LSL
SPR
5 		SEP
FEA
8 		SEP
SPR
3 		BHR2
FEA
16 		BHR2
SPR
Ret 		4th 34
2009–10 iSport International YMC1
FEA
1 		YMC1
SPR
2 		YMC2
FEA
2 		YMC2
SPR
1 		BHR1
FEA
1 		BHR1
SPR
20 		BHR2
FEA
2 		BHR2
SPR
4 		1st 56
2011 Team AirAsia YMC
FEA
3 		YMC
SPR
4 		IMO
FEA
DSQ 		IMO
SPR
17 		7th 9
Source:[22]

Complete Formula One participations

[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 WDC Points
2011 Team Lotus Lotus T128 Renault RS27 2.4 V8 AUS MAL
TD 		CHN TUR ESP MON CAN EUR GBR GER HUN BEL ITA SIN JPN KOR IND ABU BRA  –  –
Sources:[22][23]

Complete Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup results

[edit]
Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pos. Points Ref
2016 Attempto Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Pro MIS
QR
22 		MIS
CR
DNS 		BRH
QR
28 		BRH
CR
28 		NC 0 [24]
GRT Grasser Racing Team NÜR
QR
17 		NÜR
CR
24 		HUN
QR 		HUN
CR 		CAT
QR 		CAT
CR

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Valsecchi escapes serious injury". autosport.com. 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
  2. ^ "Valsecchi begins recovery from crash". autosport.com. 2008-05-10. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
  3. ^ "Puglisi to stand in for Valsecchi". autosport.com. 2008-05-15. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
  4. ^ "Hanley grabs last-gasp Durango drive". autosport.com. 2008-06-20. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
  5. ^ "Valsecchi returns to Durango seat". autosport.com. 2008-07-01. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
  6. ^ "Kobayashi stripped of Spa point". autosport.com. 2008-09-07. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
  7. ^ "Valsecchi to stay in hospital overnight". autosport.com. 2008-09-06. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
  8. ^ "Valsecchi to remain with Durango in 2009". crash.net. 2008-09-22. Archived from the original on 2008-09-24. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
  9. ^ English, Steven (15 November 2010). "Valsecchi, Kral to test for Hispania". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  10. ^ Straw, Edd (2010-11-17). "Ricciardo dominates rookie testing". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
  11. ^ http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=398724&FS=F1[permanent dead link‍]
  12. ^ "2011 Test Driver Line-up". teamlotus.co.uk. Team Lotus. 11 March 2011. Archived from the original on 13 March 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  13. ^ "Malaysian GP – Friday report". teamlotus.co.uk. Team Lotus. 8 April 2011. Archived from the original on 10 April 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  14. ^ Freeman, Glenn (2012-09-24). "GP2 champion Davide Valsecchi thinks he deserves an F1 shot". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 2012-10-03.
  15. ^ "Davide Valsecchi third Driver". Archived from the original on 2013-11-18.
  16. ^ "Kimi Raikkonen will miss the Austin and Brazilian GPs in order to have back surgery".
  17. ^ "Lotus slammed over Heikki Kovalainen decision by reserve driver Davide Valsecchi". Daily Mirror. 2013-11-16.
  18. ^ "GT Open debut". Archived from the original on 2014-12-20.
  19. ^ Tondo, Lorenzo (2023-06-07). "Sky Italia suspends F1 commentators after sexist remarks on air". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  20. ^ "Davide Valsecchi". Driver Database. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  21. ^ a b "Davide Valsecchi Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  22. ^ a b c d "Davide Valsecchi". Motor Sport. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  23. ^ "Davide Valsecchi – Involvement". StatsF1. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  24. ^ "Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup - Season 2016: Results". Speedsport Magazine. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
[edit]
Sporting positions
Preceded by GP2 Asia Series champion
2009–10 		Succeeded by
Preceded by GP2 Series
Champion
2012 		Succeeded by
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