Davide Valsecchi (born 24 January 1987) is an Italian former racing driver and the
2012 GP2 Series champion.
Career
Formula Renault
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
From 2003 to 2005, Valsecchi also competed in selected
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
and
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
Formula Three
Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers.
History
Formula Three (adop ...
races, scoring one podium finish in these three years.
Formula 3000
In 2005, Valsecchi drove one race in the
3000 Pro Series, a championship for old
International Formula 3000 cars.
Sports car racing
In 2006, Valsecchi competed in three races of the
Le Mans Series
The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the ...
for the
Barazi-Epsilon team in the LMP2 class of the championship, taking a podium finish in each race.
GP2 Series

For 2008, Valsecchi competed in both the
GP2 Series
The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Ecc ...
and the new
GP2 Asia Series for the
Durango
Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...
team, alongside
Alberto Valerio. In qualifying for the second round of the GP2 Series at
Istanbul
Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
, he crashed heavily at 175 mph, but escaped serious injury. However, he did not take part in the rest of the race meeting. 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. 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, and then by
Ben Hanley. He returned to racing action for the race meeting at
Silverstone
Silverstone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-southwest of Towcester and northeast of Brackley, both accessed via the A43 road, A43 main ...
, 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. At
Monza
Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...
, 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.
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
The Asia Series was an international club baseball competition, contested by the champions of all four professional leagues associated with the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC)—Australian Baseball League (ABL), Chinese Professi ...
, losing his championship to
Romain Grosjean. In the
main series, he took the team's first victory in the
Monaco
Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
feature race, and also set his first
fastest lap
In motorsports, the fastest lap is the quickest lap run during a race. In some racing series, like NASCAR, the fastest lap award championship points for a driver or team. In Formula One and MotoGP no point is awarded for the fastest lap.
Formula O ...
in the category. After another double points finish at
Valencia
Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
, 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
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, ...
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
Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...
. 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
Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...
, 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

Valsecchi tested a Formula One car for the first time on 17 November 2010, at the season-ending "young drivers" test in
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...
, with
Hispania Racing
HRT Formula 1 Team, formerly known as Campos Racing, Campos Meta 1 and Hispania Racing, was a Spanish Formula One team founded by former driver Adrián Campos. It was sold to José Ramón Carabante before its debut in 2010 Formula One season ...
. 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. He was linked to a reserve drive at
Team Lotus
Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport categories including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, American Championship Car Racing, Ind ...
for the
2011 season and was confirmed as a Lotus test driver in March of that year. He then drove in Friday practice during the
Malaysian Grand Prix weekend in April 2011, replacing
Heikki Kovalainen
Heikki Johannes Kovalainen (; born 19 October 1981) is a Finnish auto racing, racing and rally driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Kovalainen won the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix with McLaren. In sportscar racing, Kovalainen won Super GT ...
in the morning session.
Having won the 2012 GP2 Series title, Valsecchi aimed to move up into Formula One.
Valsecchi acted as testing and reserve driver for the
Lotus F1 Team in 2013 driving for the team during media events. 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. 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
Michael Schumacher (; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Schumacher won a record-setting seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, tied by Lewis Hamilton in ...
had been approached but ultimately former Caterham and McLaren driver
Heikki Kovalainen
Heikki Johannes Kovalainen (; born 19 October 1981) is a Finnish auto racing, racing and rally driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Kovalainen won the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix with McLaren. In sportscar racing, Kovalainen won Super GT ...
was chosen to fill the seat. Valsecchi was publicly critical of the decision describing it as a "huge blow". 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
Charles Maurice Marcel Pic (; born 15 February 1990) is a French former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to .
Born and raised in Montélimar, Montélimar, Drôme, Pic began kart racing, karting aged 13 wi ...
for 2014.
In 2014, Valsecchi drove in the GT Open series for
Lamborghini
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. ( , ), usually referred to as Lamborghini or colloquially Lambo, is an Italian manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its su ...
.
Television
Valsecchi is a
Sky Sport Formula Two analyst and
Sky Sports F1 commentator since 2016 and
Top Gear Italia
''Top Gear Italia'' is an Italian motoring show, which was first broadcast on 22 March 2016 on Sky Uno. It is an international version of the British BBC Two motoring show, '' Top Gear''. This version of the show is presented by Davide Valsecch ...
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.
Racing record
Career summary
Complete Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
† As Valsecchi was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points
Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete GP2 Series results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete GP2 Asia Series results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete Formula One participations
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup results
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valsecchi, Davide
1987 births
Living people
Sportspeople from the Province of Como
Italian racing drivers
Italian Formula Three Championship drivers
Italian Formula Renault 2.0 drivers
Formula Renault Eurocup drivers
German Formula Three Championship drivers
International Formula Master drivers
European Le Mans Series drivers
World Series Formula V8 3.5 drivers
GP2 Asia Series drivers
GP2 Asia Series champions
GP2 Series drivers
Auto GP drivers
GP2 Series Champions
International GT Open drivers
ISport International drivers
RP Motorsport drivers
Cram Competition drivers
Epsilon Euskadi drivers
Durango (racing team) drivers
DAMS drivers
Caterham Racing drivers