Michela Cerruti (born 18 February 1987) is an Italian former racing driver.

Career

Born 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, ...

, Cerruti attended the

Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, colloquially the Catholic University of Milan () or simply the Cattolica, is an Italian private research university founded in 1921. Its main campus is located in Milan, Italy, with satellite campuses in B ...

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, studying Psychology. Cerruti's racing career began after her father Aldo 'Baronio' Cerruti, also a racing driver, decided to enrol her in a safe driving course with Mario Ferraris, son of

Romeo Ferraris Romeo Ferraris is an Italian tuning and auto racing team based in Milan, Italy. The team has raced in the TCR International Series, since 2016, and in the FIA ETCR – eTouring Car World Cup, since 2021. Previously the team had raced in the Supe ...

, a race-car tuner and constructor. Impressed by Michela's 'speed and instinctive car control', Ferraris convinced Cerruti's father to let her race. Michela Cerruti alla guida della sua Formula 3

Michela Cerruti alla guida della sua Formula 3

She debuted in the Italian Touring Endurance Championship (CITE) in 2008, racing an

Alfa Romeo 147 The Alfa Romeo 147 (Type 937) is a small family car produced by the Italian automaker Alfa Romeo from 2000 to 2010. The 147 was voted European Car of the Year in 2001. The 147 was launched at the Turin Motor Show#2000, Turin Motor Show in June 20 ...

, sharing the drive with Mario Ferraris, finishing third in the class standings. She remained in CITE in 2009, racing an Abarth 500. For 2010 she stepped up to the

Superstars Series The Superstars International Series was a production-based touring car racing championship held between 2004 and 2013. It was managed by the "Superstars World of Racing SpA", SWR, a company of FG Group with headquarters in Rome and sanctioned by ...

, racing a Mercedes C63 AMG for the Romeo Ferraris team. She also competed in the

Italian GT Championship The Italian GT Championship (''Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo'') is an Italian sports car series founded in 2003 and organized by the Automobile Club d'Italia (ACI) and the Commissione Sportiva Automobilistica Italiana (CSAI). It replaced a ...

for the team in a

Ferrari F430 The Ferrari F430 (Type F131) is a sports car produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari from 2004 until 2009 as a successor to the Ferrari 360. The car is an update to the 360 with exterior and performance changes. It was unveiled a ...

. Remaining in the Superstars Series for a second season in 2011, Cerruti impressed at the opening weekend of the season 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 ...

, topping the two free practice sessions. She then went on to finish the first race in second position, before winning the second race and taking the championship lead. In 2014, it was announced that Cerruti would drive for

Trulli GP Trulli GP (officially Trulli Formula E Team) was a Swiss motor racing team founded by former Formula One driver and Monaco Grand Prix winner Jarno Trulli to compete in the inaugural FIA Formula E Championship for electric cars. History On 18 Jun ...

in the inaugural season of

Formula E Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is an open-wheel single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The racing series is the highest class of competition for electrically powered single-seater racing cars ...

. She competed in four races with a best finish of twelfth before she was replaced by

Vitantonio Liuzzi Vitantonio "Tonio" Liuzzi (born 6 August 1980) is an Italian former racing driver who competed in Formula One from to . Born and raised in Bari, Liuzzi began competitive kart racing aged nine. After a successful karting career—culminating in ...

for the remainder of the season. Following a few years racing TCR, Cerruti retired from driving in 2017 to start a family. In 2022 she was appointed as team principal at

Racing record

Complete International Superstars Series results

( key)

Complete FIA Formula 3 European Championship results

( key)

Complete Auto GP results

( key)

Complete Formula E results

( key)

Complete TCR International Series results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as she completed over 90% of the race distance.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cerruti, Michela 1987 births Living people Racing drivers from Rome Italian racing drivers Italian female racing drivers Toyota Racing Series drivers Euroformula Open Championship drivers Superstars Series drivers German Formula Three Championship drivers FIA Formula 3 European Championship drivers GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup drivers Eurocup Mégane Trophy drivers Auto GP drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers Formula E drivers TCR International Series drivers Super Nova Racing drivers NASCAR drivers RP Motorsport drivers EuroInternational drivers Nürburgring 24 Hours drivers 21st-century Italian sportswomen