Davide Valsecchi

Davide Valsecchi
Born	(1987-01-24) January 24, 1987 Italy
Occupation(s)	Racing driver, commentator
Years active	2003–2016 (racing)
Known for	2012 GP2 Series champion, Formula One test driver for Lotus F1 Team

Davide Valsecchi (born 24 January 1987) is a retired Italian racing driver who claimed the 2012 GP2 Series championship.

Formula Renault

From 2003 through 2007, Valsecchi participated in various Renault-powered competitions, advancing from the Italian Formula Renault and Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 categories to the World Series by Renault in 2006, where he achieved a single victory during the 2007 season.

Formula Three

Between 2003 and 2005, he took part in selected events within the Italian and German Formula Three championships, securing one podium finish.

Formula 3000

In 2005, Valsecchi made a single appearance in the 3000 Pro Series, which utilized older International Formula 3000 machinery.

Sports car racing

During 2006, he competed in three Le Mans Series races with Barazi-Epsilon in the LMP2 division, attaining podium results in every event he entered.

GP2 Series

In 2008, Valsecchi drove for Durango in both the GP2 Series and GP2 Asia Series alongside teammate Alberto Valerio. A significant qualifying accident at Istanbul Park resulted in a mild concussion and spinal injury, forcing him to miss two rounds. Upon recovery, he returned to score points at Silverstone and secured his maiden GP2 sprint race victory at Monza.

He remained with Durango for the 2008–09 GP2 Asia campaign and the early portion of the 2009 GP2 season before transferring to Barwa Addax in August 2009 to replace Romain Grosjean. That year, he finished seventeenth overall while also being part of the Renault Driver Development programme.

For the 2009–10 seasons in both GP2 Asia and the main series, Valsecchi joined iSport International. He clinched the Asian title early by winning three races and finishing second twice but concluded eighth in the overall main series standings despite a late-season resurgence that included his first pole position and race win.

In 2011, he signed with Team AirAsia alongside Luiz Razia as part of Lotus F1 test driver agreements. He ended seventh in the GP2 Asia Series and captured Team AirAsia’s inaugural main series victory at Monaco but dropped to eighth overall after a points drought in the season's latter stages.

Valsecchi switched to DAMS for 2012, partnering Felipe Nasr. He started strongly with three wins at Bahrain, briefly fell behind Razia mid-season but regained form with a victory on home soil at Monza. Ultimately, he secured the GP2 drivers' championship by accumulating 247 points compared to Razia’s 222.

Formula One

Valsecchi’s initial Formula One test took place on 17 November 2010 during the season-ending "young drivers" test in Abu Dhabi with Hispania Racing. He recorded a fastest lap of 1:43.013, notably two seconds quicker than regular driver Bruno Senna’s qualifying time for that Grand Prix, although improved track conditions were a factor. Hispania also evaluated GP2 competitors Pastor Maldonado and Josef Král. Valsecchi was rumored to assume a reserve role at Team Lotus for the 2011 season and was officially appointed as their test driver in March 2011. He participated in Friday practice sessions at the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix, substituting for Heikki Kovalainen during morning running.

Following his triumph in the 2012 GP2 Series, Valsecchi aimed to advance into Formula One. In 2013, he served as test and reserve driver for Lotus F1 Team while engaging in promotional activities. When Lotus driver Kimi Räikkönen required urgent back surgery before the US Grand Prix that year, Valsecchi was widely anticipated to fill in; however, Lotus opted instead for former Caterham and McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen to maximize experienced support for their constructors' championship campaign. Valsecchi publicly described this choice as a "huge blow." Kovalainen completed the final two races without scoring points. Factors such as Valsecchi’s criticism of team decisions, limited sponsorship backing, and desire to compete contributed to his replacement by Caterham's Charles Pic as reserve driver for the 2014 season.

In 2014, Valsecchi competed in the GT Open series behind the wheel of a Lamborghini.

Television

Since 2016, Valsecchi has served as an analyst for Sky Sport Formula Two and as a commentator for Sky Sports F1, in addition to hosting Top Gear Italia. His commentary is recognized for its energetic and passionate delivery. In 2023, Sky Italia imposed a temporary suspension on Valsecchi and Matteo Bobbi following sexist comments made during the post-race review of the Spanish Grand Prix.

Career summary

Season	Series	Team Name	Races	Wins	Poles		Podiums	Points	Position
2003	Formula Renault 2000 Italia	RP Motorsport	12	0	0	0	0	24	15th
	Formula Renault 2000 Masters		1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	Italian Formula 3 Championship		1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
2004	Formula Renault 2000 Italia	Cram Competition	15	0	0	0	0	31	14th
	Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup		11	0	0	0	0	2	31st
	Italian Formula 3 Championship	Corbetta	2	0	0	0	0	0	NC
2005	Formula Renault 2.0 Italia	RP Motorsport	17	0	1	1	2	104	7th
	Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0		2	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	Italian Formula Three Championship	Corbetta	3	0	0	0	1	35	7th
	German Formula Three Championship		2	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	F3000 International Masters	ADM Motorsport	1	0	0	0	0	3	14th
2006	Formula Renault 3.5 Series	Epsilon Euskadi	15	0	1	0	2	43	10th
	Le Mans Series - LMP2	align=left  Barazi-Epsilon   3   0   0   0   0   6   15th
2007   Align=leftFormula Renault 3.5 Series   Align=leftEpsilon Euskadi   17   1   0   0   2   37  16th
rowspan=2 2008                                                                                                                  Align=leftGP2 Series rowspan=2Align=leftDurango 14 1                                                                                         11 15th - Align=leftGP2 Asia Series 10                     17 8th -	2008–09 Align=leftGP2 Asia Series Align=leftDurango 11 1           4 34 4th -	rowspan=22009 rowspan=2Align=leftGP2 Series Align=leftDurango 12                1 12 17th - Align=leftBarwa Addax 8                     -	2009–10 Align=leftGP2 Asia Series Align=leftiSport International 8 3 1 2 6 56 1st -	rowspan=22010 Align=leftGP2 Series Align=field iSport International 20 1 1      3 31 8th - Align=leftAuto GP Align leftRP Motorsport 2                     0 23rd -	rowspan=32011 Align leftGP2 Series Align left rowspan = "2" Team AirAsia / Caterham Team AirAsia 18 1      1 2 30 8th - Align leftGP2 Asia Series 4                1 9 7th - Align leftFormula One Align left Team Lotus (Test driver) colspan = "7" - -	2012 Align left GP2 Series Align left DAMS 24 4 2 5 10 247 1st -	2013 Align leftFormula One Align left Lotus F1 Team (Test driver) colspan = "7" - -	2014 Align left International GT Open Align left Eurotech Engineering 0                          NC -	rowspan = "2"2016 Align left rowspan = "2" Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup Align left Attempto Racing 3                     NC - Align left GRT Grasser Racing Team 2                     NC -	Source: Driver Database|} Full Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Results (key) (Races shown in bold denote pole position; those in italics represent fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Final Position Points Scored 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 † Valsecchi participated as a guest driver and was therefore not eligible to earn points. Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series Results (key) (Pole positions are indicated in bold; fastest laps appear in italics) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Final Standing Points Total 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 < br > 16 DON < br >2 < br > 7 LMS < br >1 < br > 17 LMS < br >2 < br > 5 CAT < br >1 < br > 15 CAT < br >2 < br > Ret 10th 43 2007 Epsilon Euskadi MNZ < br >1 < br > Ret MNZ < br >2 < br > Ret NÜR < br >1 < br > 8 NÜR < br >2 < br > 1 MON < br >1 < br > 8 HUN < br >1 < br > Ret HUN < br >2 < br > Ret SPA < br >1 < br > 10 SPA < br >2 < br > 13 DON < br >1 < br > 21 16th 37 Complete GP2 Series results (key) (Races highlighted in bold denote pole position) (Races in italics signify fastest lap) 201020112012 Year Team 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 10th CAT SPR 5th IST FEA DNS IST SPR DNS MON FEA MON SPR MAG FEA MAG SPR SIL FEA 19th SIL SPR 6th HOC FEA Retired HOC SPR 13th HUN FEA Retired HUN SPR 13th VAL FEA NC VAL SPR 7th SPA FEA Retired SPA SPR 6th MNZ FEA 8th MNZ SPR '’1st’’ 15th 11 2009 Durango CAT FEA Retired CAT SPR 16th MON FEA 15† MON SPR 18th IST FEA 3rd IST SPR Retired SIL FEA 10th SIL SPR 14th ... 17th 12 Addax Team ... 8th 30 iSport International ... 8th 31 Caterham Team AirAsia ... 8th 30 DAMS ... 1st 247 Full GP2 Asia Series Outcomes (key) (Entries in bold denote pole position) (Entries in italics signify fastest lap) Year Team 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 Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 D.C. Points iSport International style="background:#FFFFBF;" | YMC1 FEA 1 style="background:#DFDFDF;" | YMC1 SPR 2 style="background:#DFDFDF;" | YMC2 FEA 2 style="background:#FFFFBF;" | YMC2 SPR 1 style="background:#FFFFBF;" | BHR1 FEA 1 style="background:#CFCFFF;" | BHR1 SPR 20 style="background:#DFDFDF;" | BHR2 FEA 2 style="background:#DFFFDF;" | BHR2 SPR 4 Year Team 1 2 D.C. Points Team AirAsia style="background:#FFDF9F;" | YMC FEA 3 style="background:#DFFFDF;" | YMC SPR 4 style="background:#000000; color:white" | DSQ 7th !! 9 Comprehensive Formula One Appearances (legend) (Races highlighted in bold denote pole positions) (Races shown in italics signify fastest laps) Year Team Car Model Power Unit 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 WDC Points Template:F1 Team Lotus Lotus T128 Renault RS27 2.4L V8 AUS MAL TD CHN TUR ESP MON CAN EUR GBR GER HUN BEL ITA SIN JPN KOR IND ABU BRA  –  – Full Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup Record Season Racing Team Vehicle Category Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Race 4 Race 5 Race 6 Race 7 Race 8 Race 9 Race 10 Final Position Accumulated Points 2016 Attempto Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Pro Class MIS Qualifying 22 MIS Race DNS BRH Qualifying 28 BRH Race 28 NC 0 External links http://www.davidevalsecchi.it DriverDB profile: davide-valsecchi