Luca Filippi
Luca Filippi | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 9, 1985 Savigliano, Italy |
| Occupation | Racing driver |
| Years active | 2003–2018 |
| Known for | GP2 Series competitor, IndyCar Series driver, Formula E driver, Honda Racing F1 test driver |
Luca Filippi (born 9 August 1985 in Savigliano, Italy) is a retired Italian racing driver who participated in the GP2 Series from 2006 through 2012 and competed in the IndyCar Series between 2013 and 2016. In 2008, he held the position of official test driver for Honda Racing F1.
Formula Renault
After beginning his career in karting, Filippi moved up to Formula Renault 2.0 Italia in 2003. He concluded the 2004 season in third place, trailing behind Pastor Maldonado and Kohei Hirate.
Formula 3000
Filippi progressed to the Italian Formula 3000 championship in 2005, driving for Fisichella Motorsport, the team owned by Giancarlo Fisichella. That same year, he made his first appearance as a Formula One test driver with the Minardi team.
GP2 Series
In 2006, Filippi entered the GP2 Series initially with Coloni Motorsport, before transferring mid-season to BCN Competición. His performance improved significantly in 2007 when he raced for Super Nova Racing, finishing fourth overall. During that year, he also undertook testing duties for both Honda Racing F1 and later for Super Aguri F1, where he notably outpaced race driver Takuma Sato.
For the inaugural 2008 season of the GP2 Asia Series, Filippi competed with Malaysian outfit Team Meritus, accumulating four points and ending up 17th in the standings. In the primary 2008 GP2 championship, he began with ART Grand Prix but was replaced mid-season by Sakon Yamamoto. Subsequently, he joined Arden International, taking over from Yelmer Buurman, though his results remained modest, concluding the year in 19th place overall.
Filippi briefly returned to BCN Competición during the 2008–09 GP2 Asia Series but was replaced after just one round due to team restructuring. In 2009, rejoining Super Nova, he clinched a victory at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve and secured fifth place in the championship standings. Additionally, he finished as runner-up in the 2009–10 GP2 Asia Series with Team Meritus, achieving their inaugural win at Bahrain.
After starting the 2010 GP2 season without a seat, Filippi rejoined Super Nova mid-season as a substitute driver, earning five points and becoming the most seasoned competitor in GP2 history with over 82 race starts.
At the outset of 2011, Filippi signed with Scuderia Coloni for the GP2 Asia Series after their regular driver James Jakes departed for IndyCar. He commenced the main 2011 GP2 campaign with Super Nova alongside Fairuz Fauzy but returned to Coloni midway through the season, replacing Kevin Ceccon. This switch revitalized his form, resulting in victories at Nürburgring (marking his 100th GP2 race), Spa-Francorchamps, and Monza, ultimately leading to his highest career finish of second place in the drivers' championship.
Following nearly a year away from GP2 competition, Filippi made a comeback in 2012 as a stand-in for Stefano Coletti at Coloni during his home event at Monza. Despite limited participation, he won the feature race. He also earned pole position at the final round in Singapore but suffered a severe crash during the feature race that prevented him from starting the sprint race. Although he only contested four of twenty-four races that season, he managed to finish sixteenth overall.
Auto GP
Filippi took part in the 2010 Auto GP season, securing fifth place overall with two wins at Brno and Monza. He returned for the 2011 campaign, achieving one pole position, three fastest laps, one victory, and five podium finishes. Despite missing two events, he narrowly missed out on the championship by three points, finishing second behind Kevin Ceccon.
IndyCar
On 6 March 2012, Filippi became part of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in the IndyCar series starting from the Indy 500, teaming up with former Formula 1 competitor Takuma Sato. Nevertheless, he did not take part in the Indy 500 or any following events that year. In 2013, he participated in four races representing Bryan Herta Autosport, achieving a top result of 15th place.
For the 2015 IndyCar campaign, Filippi was signed by CFH Racing, focusing on road and street circuits. The next year, he secured a full-season drive with Dale Coyne Racing, which included oval tracks; he made his oval debut at Phoenix, finishing in 20th position. However, just before the Indianapolis Grand Prix, Coyne replaced him with Gabby Chaves for both IndyCar events at Indianapolis.
Formula E
In 2017, Filippi joined the all-electric racing series by signing with Nio in the FIA Formula E Championship, alongside teammate Oliver Turvey. He earned a single point by finishing tenth at the 2017 Hong Kong ePrix, but did not score additional points throughout that season. Filippi missed the 2018 Paris ePrix due to NIO's contractual agreement that allowed Ma Qinghua to race, and was subsequently dropped for the 2018/19 season after accumulating only one point, compared to Turvey’s 46.
Career summary
!- !-Complete GP2 Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | DC | Points |
|---|
See detailed results below.
Year || Entrant || Results || DC || Points | 2007 || Super Nova Racing || See detailed results ||4th||59| 2008 || Various || See detailed results ||19th||6| 2009 || Super Nova Racing || See detailed results ||5th||40| 2010 || Super Nova Racing || See detailed results ||20th||5| 2011 || Various || See detailed results ||2nd||54| 2012 || Scuderia Coloni || See detailed results ||16th||29|Complete GP2 Asia Series results
(Template:Motorsport driver results legend#key) (Pole positions in bold, fastest laps in italics)
| Year | Entrant | Races | DC | Points |
|---|
Complete Auto GP results
(Template:Motorsport driver results legend#key) (Pole positions shown in bold, fastest laps in italics)
| Year | Entrant | Races | Pos |
|---|
IndyCar Series results
(Template:Motorsport driver results legend#key) (Pole positions in bold, fastest laps in italics)
| Year | Team | Chassis | No. | Engine | Race Results | Rank |
|---|
Full Formula E Results
(key) (Events highlighted in bold denote pole position; those in italics represent fastest lap)
| Season | Team | Chassis | Power Unit | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final Position | Points Scored |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–18 | Nio Formula E Team | Spark SRT01-e | NextEV Nio Sport 003 | HKG 10 |
HKG Ret |
MRK 16 |
SCL 12 |
MEX 14 |
PDE 13 |
RME 13 |
PAR | BER 17 |
ZUR Ret |
NYC 15 |
NYC Ret |
21st | 1 |
Complete TCR Europe Touring Car Series Results
(key) (Pole positions are shown in bold; fastest laps appear in italics)
| Year | Team | Vehicle | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Championship Rank | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | BRC Racing Team | Hyundai i30 N TCR | HUN 1 11 |
HUN 2 Ret |
HOC 1 Ret |
HOC 2 12 |
SPA 1 15 |
SPA 2 8 |
RBR 1 2 |
RBR 2 21† |
OSC 1 7 |
OSC 2 11 |
CAT < br >1 < br > 28 † | CAT < br >2 < br > 25 | MNZ < br >1 < br > Ret | MNZ < br >2 < br > 11 | 16th | 99 |
† Although the driver did not complete the race, classification was granted for covering more than 90% of the total distance.
Full World Touring Car Cup results
(legend) (Races shown in bold denote pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Vehicle | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Team Mulsanne | Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR | BEL 1 18 |
BEL 2 16 |
GER 1 |
GER 2 |
SVK 1 12 |
SVK 2 Ret |
SVK 3 Ret |
HUN 1 13 |
HUN 2 13 |
HUN 3 15 |
ESP 1 |
ESP 2 |
ESP 3 |
ARA 1 Ret |
ARA 2 9 |
ARA 3 12 |
NC‡ | 0‡ |
‡ Since Filippi participated as a Wildcard entrant, he was not eligible to earn championship points.