| Davide Valsecchi | |
|---|---|
 Valsecchi driving in 2011 withTeam Lotus | |
| Nationality |  Italian |
| Born | (1987-01-24)24 January 1987 (age 38) |
| GP2 Series career | |
| Debut season | 2008 |
| Current team | DAMS |
| Car number | 3 |
| Former teams | Durango Barwa Addax Team iSport International Team AirAsia |
| Starts | 96 |
| Wins | 7 |
| Poles | 3 |
| Fastest laps | 5 |
| Best finish | 1st in2012 |
| 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 commentator and analyst forF1 TV and FX Pro Series and Lotus Cup Italia. He is the2012 GP2 Series champion.
Valsecchi drove in Renault-based series from 2003 to 2007, rising fromItalian Formula Renault and theFormula Renault Eurocup to the more powerful cars of theWorld Series by Renault in 2006. He won one race in the categories during this period, in the WSR during the2007 season.
From 2003 to 2005, Valsecchi also competed in selectedItalian andGermanFormula Three races, scoring one podium finish in these three years.
In 2005, Valsecchi drove one race in the3000 Pro Series, a championship for oldInternational Formula 3000 cars.
In 2006, Valsecchi competed in three races of theLe Mans Series for theBarazi-Epsilon team in the LMP2 class of the championship, taking a podium finish in each race.
For 2008, Valsecchi competed in both theGP2 Series and the newGP2 Asia Series for theDurango team, alongsideAlberto Valerio. In qualifying for the second round of the GP2 Series atIstanbul, 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 directorDidier 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 compatriotMarcello Puglisi,[3] and then byBen Hanley.[4] He returned to racing action for the race meeting atSilverstone,[5] where he scored a point in the sprint race. He later crashed his car heavily during the feature race atSpa-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] AtMonza, Valsecchi won the sprint race, his first GP2 victory.
Valsecchi remained with Durango for the2008–09 GP2 Asia Series season and the start of the2009 GP2 Series season, where he was partnered byCarlos Iaconelli/Michael Dalle Stelle andNelson Panciatici respectively.[8] He also took part in theRenault Driver Development programme. In August 2009 he moved to theBarwa Addax team to replace Formula One-boundRomain Grosjean, alongsideVitaly Petrov. He finished the season in 17th place.
Valsecchi joinediSport International for the2009–10 GP2 Asia Series season and for the2010 GP2 Series season, where he was partnered byOliver 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 newTeam AirAsia alongsideLuiz Razia, as part of both drivers' test drive deals with theLotus Formula One team. He finished seventh in theAsia series, losing his championship toRomain Grosjean. In themain series, he took the team's first victory in theMonaco feature race, and also set his firstfastest lap in the category. After another double points finish atValencia, 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 theDAMS team—which had won the drivers' championship in 2011 with Grosjean—for the2012 season, where he partneredFelipe Nasr. A strong performer from the start of the year, he established a championship lead by winning three out of the four races held inBahrain. 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 atMonza, saw him retake the lead in the standings and ultimately win the drivers' championship with 247 points to Razia's total of 222.
Valsecchi tested a Formula One car for the first time on 17 November 2010, at the2010 season-ending "young drivers" test inAbu Dhabi, withHispania Racing.[9] He set a best time of 1:43.013, two seconds faster than regular driverBruno Senna's qualifying time for theAbu Dhabi Grand Prix set on the previous Saturday, although the track conditions had improved in the meantime. Hispania also tested fellow GP2 driversPastor Maldonado andJosef Král.[10] He was linked to a reserve drive atTeam Lotus for the2011 season[11] and was confirmed as a Lotus test driver in March of that year.[12] He then drove in Friday practice during theMalaysian Grand Prix weekend in April 2011, replacingHeikki 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 theLotus 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 asMichael Schumacher had been approached but ultimately former Caterham and McLaren driverHeikki 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 driverCharles Pic for 2014.
In 2014, Valsecchi drove in the GT Open series forLamborghini.[18]
Valsecchi is aSky Sport Formula Two analyst andSky Sports F1 commentator since 2016 andTop Gear Italia presenter since 2016. Valsecchi has become known for his extremely excitable commentary style. Valsecchi andMatteo Bobbi were temporarily suspended by Sky Italia for making sexist remarks during an on-air post-race analysis of the2023 Spanish Grand Prix.[19]
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | RP Motorsport | ZOL 1 | ZOL 2 | VAL 1 | VAL 2 | LMS 1 | LMS 2 | BIL 1 | BIL 2 | OSC 1 | OSC 2 | DON 1 | DON 2 | EST 1 | EST 2 | MNZ 1 14 | MNZ 2 8 | NC† | 0 |
| Source:[21] | |||||||||||||||||||
† As Valsecchi was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics 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] | ||||||||||||||||||||
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics 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] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics 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] | |||||||||||||||
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics 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 2.4V8 | AUS | MAL TD | CHN | TUR | ESP | MON | CAN | EUR | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | SIN | JPN | KOR | IND | ABU | BRA | – | – |
| Sources:[22][23] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | GP2 Asia Series champion 2009–10 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | GP2 Series Champion 2012 | Succeeded by |
| FIA Formula 2 Championship |
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|---|---|
| FIA Formula 3 Championship |
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| Vehicles |
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