Leonardo Pulcini (born 25 June 1998, in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
) is an
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 ...
racing driver and the
2016 Euroformula Open champion.
Career
Karting
Born in Rome, Pulcini began karting professionally in 2012, and came 7th in the
KF3 category in the Italian ACI Karting Championship, won the ROK Cup International Final in the Junior ROK class. He rounded off the season participating in the 23° Trofeo Andrea Margutti - KF3 category, coming in 22nd.
In 2013, he came runner-up to the Italian Championship in the KF3 category, and made his
WSK debut, competing in the
WSK Super Master Series
The WSK Super Master Series is a kart racing competition organised by the WSK. Its inaugural season took place in 2010. Today, the series holds championships in four karting categories: KZ2, OK, OKJ and 60 Mini. Notable champions have been Fo ...
and the
WSK Euro Series
The WSK Euro Series is a European open kart racing competition organised by the WSK. Its inaugural season took place in 2010. Today, the series holds championships in four karting categories: KF2, OK, OKJ and 60 Mini. Notable champions have ...
in the
KF Junior, coming in 9th and 6th.
He came 6th in the
CIK-FIA Karting European Championship
The FIA Karting European Championship, officially known as the Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a kart racing competition organised by the CIK-FIA. Alongside the Karting World Championship, it is one ...
and runner-up to the
CIK-FIA World Championship. Pulcini made his
KF debut in 2014, during his first year in
single-seaters
An open-wheel car is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have their wheels below the body or inside fend ...
, coming 29th in the CIK-FIA Karting European Championship. He also made his
WSK Champions Cup
The WSK Champions Cup is a European kart racing competition organised by the WSK. Its inaugural season took place in 2014. Today, the series holds championships in four: karting categories: KZ2
KZ2 is a kart racing class using 125 cc water-cool ...
debut, coming in 10th, Pulcini also came 18th in the WSK Super Master Series.
Lower Formulae
In 2014, Pulcini graduated to single-seaters, competing with DAV Racing in the
inaugural season of the
Italian F4 Championship
Italian Formula 4 Championship is the first formula racing series regulated according to Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA Formula 4 regulations. The inaugural season was the 2014 Italian F4 Championship, effectively replacing the F ...
, where he finished fourth. He also partook in two rounds of
that year's
Euroformula Open Championship
The Euroformula Open Championship (formerly the Spanish Formula Three Championship, European F3 Open Championship) is a junior formula racing series based in Spain. It was one of six national and international Formula Three championships in Europe ...
with the same team.
In 2015, Pulcini switched to Euroformula Open full-time with DAV Racing, scoring his maiden victory at the first race at the
Red Bull Ring
The Red Bull Ring is a motorsport race track in Spielberg, Austria, Spielberg, Styria, Austria. The race circuit was founded as Österreichring (translation: Austrian Circuit) and hosted the Austrian Grand Prix for 18 consecutive years, from t ...
and finished ninth in the standings. He also partook in the first round of the
2015 Auto GP Series.
The following year he switched to
Campos Racing
Campos Racing (formerly Adrián Campos Motorsport and Campos Grand Prix) is a Spanish motor racing team based in Alzira, Valencia, founded by former Formula One driver Adrián Campos in 1997. The team has been successful in Formula Three, GP2 S ...
. With them, he took seven victories, three pole positions and eight fastest laps to secure the Euroformula Open title.
GP3 Series
In November 2016, it was announced that Pulcini would reunite with Campos for
GP3 Series
The GP3 Series, or GP3 for short, was a single-seater motor racing series launched in 2010 as a feeder series for the GP2 Series, introduced by GP2 organiser Bruno Michel. GP3 followed the entire European leg of the Formula One series and the ...
post-season testing at
Yas Marina. In January 2017, Pulcini signed to race with
Arden International
Arden International, competing as Arden Motorsport, is a multiple formula racing team created and run by Christian Horner and Garry Horner. It currently competes in the GB4 Championship, and formerly ran in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, Formula ...
. A second place in the first round at
Catalunya
Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
would end up being his only points-scoring finish and the Italian ended up 14th in the championship.
For 2018 Pulcini moved to
Campos Racing
Campos Racing (formerly Adrián Campos Motorsport and Campos Grand Prix) is a Spanish motor racing team based in Alzira, Valencia, founded by former Formula One driver Adrián Campos in 1997. The team has been successful in Formula Three, GP2 S ...
in what would be the
final season of the GP3 Series. His results were much better, and after two race wins and three further podiums Pulcini finished fourth in the drivers' standings.
Sports car racing
Ahead of the 2023 season, Pulcini was named a
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 ...
factory driver. His first assignment was a customer racing drive in the
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup
The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, formerly for sponsorship reasons the Blancpain Endurance Series from 2011 to 2015 and Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup from 2016 to 2019, is a sports car racing series developed by Stéphane Ratel Or ...
with
Iron Lynx. His co-drivers in the Gold Cup class were
Rolf Ineichen and
Michele Beretta.
Karting record
Karting career summary
Racing record
Racing career summary
‡ Position when season was cancelled.
† As Pulcini was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
Complete Italian F4 Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete Euroformula Open Championship results
Complete Auto GP Series results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete GP3 Series/FIA Formula 3 Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete Macau Grand Prix results
Complete International GT Open results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup
Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
* Season still in progress.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pulcini, Leonardo
1998 births
Living people
Racing drivers from Rome
Italian racing drivers
Italian F4 Championship drivers
Auto GP drivers
Italian GP3 Series drivers
FIA Formula 3 Championship drivers
Carlin racing drivers
Arden International drivers
Euroformula Open Championship drivers
International GT Open drivers
Campos Racing drivers
Hitech Grand Prix drivers
Euronova Racing drivers
Karting World Championship drivers
Fortec Motorsport drivers
Lamborghini Super Trofeo drivers
Iron Lynx drivers
24 Hours of Spa drivers
Lamborghini Squadra Corse drivers
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup drivers