Samuele Buttarelli (born 2 May 1992 in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of t ...

) is a professional

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

from

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Career

Master Junior Formula

Buttarelli began his single–seater career in the Spanish–based Master Junior Formula in 2007. He competed in just three of the 21 races and was subsequently classified in 23rd place.

Formula Renault 2.0

The following year, Buttarelli stepped up to

Formula Renault Formula Renault are classes of formula racing popular in Europe and elsewhere. Regarded as an entry-level series to motor racing, it was founded in 1971, and was a respected series where drivers can learn advanced racecraft before moving on to hig ...

, competing in the Italian Formula Renault 2.0 and Swiss Formula Renault 2.0 series with

Cram Competition Cram Motorsport (formerly known as Cram Competition) is an auto racing team based in Italy. Cram started in 1994 out of the Tatuus Tatuus is an Italian chassis manufacturer for a series of formula racing series, being first founded in 1980. Th ...

. In the Italian series, he competed in the first ten races of the season before leaving the championship, taking a best result of 10th at Misano, whilst in the Swiss series he took part in six races, with a sixth place at Hockenheim being his best race result.

Formula Three

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, Buttarelli graduated to

Formula Three Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as 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 dr ...

, racing in the newly named European F3 Open Championship for the emiliodevillota.com team. He took part in the first six rounds of the season before leaving the series after the

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label= Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the Province of M ...

round in October, where he had just secured his best race results of the season. He was classified in 18th place in the standings. In June 2009, Buttarelli joined Carlin Motorsport to contest the Masters of Formula 3 event held at

Zandvoort Zandvoort () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands; it has a long sandy beach. It is bordered by coastal dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park and the Amsterda ...

. After qualifying on the back row of the grid, he finished as the last classified finisher in 31st position. In September 2009, he also made his debut in the

Italian Formula Three Championship The Italian Formula Three Championship was the Formula Three racing competition in Italy. History Formula Three has traditionally been regarded as the first major stepping stone for F1 hopefuls - it is typically the first point in a driver's care ...

, racing for RC Motorsport at Imola, where he finished the two races in 18th and 17th places respectively. For the 2010 season, Buttarelli joined

Prema Powerteam Prema Powerteam (competing as Prema Racing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, the FIA Formula 3 Championship and European Le Mans Series and as Prema Orlen Team in the FIA World Endurance Championship) is a motorsport team from Italy. It mainl ...

to contest the Italian Formula Three Championship. After securing three podium places and a fastest lap in the first ten races, Buttarelli split with the team after the fifth round at Varano. He did, however, secure a seat alongside Daniel Mancinelli at Team Ghinzani in time for the next round of the series at Vallelunga, where he took a podium in the second race. He eventually finished the season in eighth place.

Formula Le Mans

In July 2009, Buttarelli took part in a one–off round of the

Formula Le Mans The Le Mans Prototype Challenge (shortened to LMP Challenge or LMPC) was a spec sports prototype formula created by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), organisers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and sports car constructor Oreca. The formula is int ...

series in

Portimão Portimão () is a city and a municipality in the district of Faro, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 55,614, in an area of 182.06 km2. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão (). In 1924, it was ...

, sharing an

Oreca FLM09 The Le Mans Prototype Challenge (shortened to LMP Challenge or LMPC) was a spec sports prototype formula created by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), organisers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and sports car constructor Oreca. The formula is inte ...

with GP2 Series regular

Jérôme d'Ambrosio Jérôme D’Ambrosio (born 27 December 1985) is a Belgian former professional racing driver, motorsport executive and former Team Principal of Venturi Racing in Formula E. He has previously driven for Marussia Virgin Racing and Lotus F1 in ...

, who was using the weekend to learn the circuit as it would host the final round of the GP2 Series season. The pair dominated the event, winning both races whilst also taking a

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...

and fastest lap. However, as they were guest drivers they were ineligible for championship points.

International Formula Master

In the summer of 2009, Buttarelli took part in the International Formula Master events that supported the and , as part of series organiser N.Technology's Talent Support Program (T.S.P). In his four races in the series he took a best result of ninth in the

Hungaroring The Hungaroring is a motorsport racetrack in Mogyoród, Pest County, Hungary where the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix is held. In 1986, it became the location of the first Formula One Grand Prix behind the Iron Curtain. Bernie Ecclestone ...

sprint race.

Racing record

Career summary

† – As Buttarelli was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Buttarelli, Samuele 1992 births Living people Sportspeople from Genoa Italian racing drivers Italian Formula Three Championship drivers Euroformula Open Championship drivers International Formula Master drivers Italian Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Formula Renault 2.0 Alps drivers Auto GP drivers FIA Formula Two Championship drivers Prema Powerteam drivers De Villota Motorsport drivers Cram Competition drivers RC Motorsport drivers DAMS drivers Carlin racing drivers