Francesco Pizzi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Francesco Pizzi
Pizzi driving the Dallara F3 2019 during the 2022 Spielberg Formula 3 round.
NationalityItaly Italian
Born (2004-11-12) 12 November 2004 (age 21)
Rome, Italy
USF Pro 2000 Championship career
Debut season2023 USF Pro 2000 Championship
Current teamTJ Speed Motorsports
Racing licence FIA Silver
Car number27
Starts19
Wins0
Podiums1
Poles1
Fastest laps2
Best finish5th in 2023
Previous series
2022
2021
2020
2020		FIA Formula 3 Championship
Formula Regional European Championship
Italian F4 Championship
Formula 4 UAE Championship
Championship titles
2023
2020		24 Hours of Daytona LMP2 class
Formula 4 UAE Championship

Francesco Raffaele Pizzi (Italian pronunciation: [franˈt͡ʃe.sko raf.faˈɛ.le ˈpit.t͡si]; born 12 November 2004) is an Italian racing driver who last raced in the 2024 USF Pro 2000 Championship with TJ Speed Motorsports.[1][2]

He was the runner-up of the 2020 Italian F4 Championship behind Gabriele Mini and raced in the 2022 FIA Formula 3 Championship for Charouz Racing System. Pizzi is also the third youngest class winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona, winning in the LMP2 class with team Proton Competition in 2023.[3]

Career

[edit | edit source]

Karting

[edit | edit source]

In 2013, at the age of eight, Pizzi claimed his maiden win under the rain in the race 2 in Lonato of formula 60 Italian championship. Pizzi made his international karting debut in the Mini ROK International Final in 2014, where he finished ninth. He raced in the 60 Mini class for three years, winning the South Garda Winter Cup in 2016 and becoming vice-champion in the WSK Super Master Series and WSK Champions Cup respectively that same year.[4] The Italian then moved up to drive in the OKJ-category, placing third in the Italian Championship in 2017. He competed in karts until 2019.

Lower formulae

[edit | edit source]

In January 2020, Pizzi made his single-seater debut with Xcel Motorsport in the Formula 4 UAE Championship.[5] He had a perfect opening round, winning all three races at the first weekend in Dubai. He scored five more victories and won the championship, 26 points ahead of his nearest competitor Lorenzo Fluxá.[6]

Pizzi then signed with Van Amersfoort Racing to compete in the Italian F4 Championship, as the team's sole full-time entrant.[7] He started the campaign strongly, taking three podiums, including a win, at the first round in Misano,[8] however, his next win would only come at the fifth round in Monza.[9] Despite two wins at that weekend Pizzi had already lost too much ground to his title rival Gabriele Minì, and in the end finished second, with seven podiums and 208 points to his name.[10]

Formula Regional European Championship

[edit | edit source]
Pizzi racing in the 2021 Formula Regional European Championship at the Red Bull Ring

In December 2020, Pizzi took part in the post-season rookie test for the Formula Regional European Championship for ART Grand Prix alongside his F4 title rival Gabriele Minì and Grégoire Saucy.[11] After a second test later that month, where Pizzi returned to Van Amersfoort Racing and set the third-fastest laptime of the day, the Dutch team confirmed Pizzi to be one of their drivers for the 2021 season.[12][13] He scored his first points of the season at the Circuit Zandvoort, finishing fifth in the second race. Another points finish at the Red Bull Ring helped Pizzi to finish twentieth in the standings. Following the conclusion to the season Pizzi announced his departure from VAR and took part in winter testing with Arden in Barcelona , R-ace GP in Paul Ricard and Monza, MP Motorsport in the second Barcelona test and FA Racing in Mugello.

FIA Formula 3 Championship

[edit | edit source]

For 2022, Pizzi progressed to the FIA Formula 3 Championship, partnering László Tóth and Ayrton Simmons at Charouz Racing System.[14] Talking about his sudden move to F3 after just two years of car racing, Pizzi stated that "it's going to be tough, but that's why we race".[15] Pizzi scored his first and only points of the year, having finished in tenth place during the Imola sprint race.[16] In Spa-Francorchamps, Pizzi qualified an astonishing third.[17] During the feature race, Pizzi was pushed wide at the side, and later Kush Maini spun him round which dropped him to the back and left Pizzi to finish 21st.[18] Overall, Pizzi was the only driver in Charouz to score a point for the team that year, having scored his only top-ten finish at Imola, having finished 27th in the standings, the last placed driver to have scored points.[19]

At the end of the 2022 season, Pizzi partook in the post-season testing with Campos Racing during the first and last day respectively.[20]

USF Pro Championship

[edit | edit source]

2023

[edit | edit source]

At the end of October 2022, Pizzi took part in a USF Pro 2000 Championship test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with Jay Howard Driver Development.[21] At the start of January the following year, Pizzi confirmed that he would leave Formula 3 and join the 2023 USF Pro 2000 Championship with TJ Speed Motorsports.[1] He debuted in St. Petersburg claiming two front row starts, a pole position and a fastest lap on his first time driving the tricky street circuit, he couldn't finish on the podium in any of the races claiming a fourth and a fifth place. He went on to qualify in the top-three again in Sebring earning is first podium in race 1 and after a chaotic race 2 he managed to scramble to a seventh place finish. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway weekend was led by controversy after race direction called out a red flag in race 1 for track conditions when the Italian and championship contender Myles Rowe were setting the fastest lap of the race. This forced everyone to put rain tyres on a dry track and the Italian dropped back to eleventh. More controversy would lead into race 2 after Pizzi took the lead on lap 1 and led until lap 5, at the end of a FCY procedure he waited to pick the pace back up and the race direction in a for sure debatable situation threw the green causing him and the current top-five to drop back to around tenth place, he still managed to recover to seventh before the checkered. He later went on to finish in fourth on his debut oval race and grabbed another top-five finish in Road America at the half way mark of the championship earning him second place in the standings despite an underachieving start.

2024

[edit | edit source]

Pizzi returned in a cameo appearance with TJ Speed Motorsports at the Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, deputising for Hunter Yeany who was hit with budget issues.[22]

Indy NXT by Firestone

[edit | edit source]

In the coverage from Peacock on the eighth round of the 2023 Indy NXT at Iowa Speedway, it was rumoured that Pizzi would join Abel Motorsports at Nashville, but neither team neither the driver had confirmed it by then.[citation needed]

Endurance racing

[edit | edit source]

Pizzi made his endurance racing debut at the 2023 24 Hours of Daytona, teaming up with Proton Competition in the LMP2 category.[23] He ended up winning the race by sixteen thousands of a second on his debut becoming the third youngest ever class winner in the race. The win came after an impressive comeback from him and his teammates after qualifying in last following a wreck, they were able to claim the race lead after a quarter of the race had been gone but found themselves three laps down with four hours to go, thanks to FCY procedures they made it back to the lead lap with Pizzi on the car who then left the car in the hand of his teammate James Allen for the last hour.

Karting record

[edit | edit source]

Karting career summary

[edit | edit source]
Season Series Team Position
2014 Mini ROK International Final — Bridgestone Final 9th
Trofeo Andrea Margutti — 60 Mini 19th
WSK Final Cup — 60 Mini Lenzokart 31st
2015 WSK Champions Cup — 60 Mini Lenzokart 15th
Trofeo Andrea Margutti — 60 Mini 13th
Italian Championship — 60 Mini 15th
Trofeo delle Industrie — 60 Mini 12th
WSK Night Edition — 60 Mini Noviello Engine 25th
ROK Cup International Final — Mini ROK 7th
WSK Super Master Series — 60 Mini Novalux Srl 14th
WSK Final Cup — 60 Mini Giugliano Kart 9th
2016 South Garda Winter Cup — Mini ROK Energy Corse 1st
WSK Champions Cup — 60 Mini Giugliano Kart 2nd
WSK Super Master Series — 60 Mini 2nd
Trofeo Andrea Margutti — 60 Mini 16th
Italian Championship — 60 Mini 19th
Trofeo delle Industrie — 60 Mini 10th
WSK Night Edition — 60 Mini AB Motorsport 11th
ROK Cup International Final — Mini ROK Baby Race Srl 17th
WSK Final Cup — 60 Mini Birel ART Racing 33rd
2017 WSK Champions Cup — OKJ Novalux Srl 10th
Italian Championship — OKJ Lenzokart 3rd
South Garda Winter Cup — OKJ 21st
CIK-FIA European Championship — OKJ Novalux Srl 29th
ROK Cup International Final — Junior ROK Fusion Motorsport 4th
CIK-FIA World Championship — OKJ 26th
WSK Final Cup — OKJ 10th
2018 WSK Champions Cup — OKJ Birel ART Racing 5th
South Garda Winter Cup — OKJ 5th
WSK Super Master Series — OKJ 28th
German Karting Championship — OKJ 26th
CIK-FIA European Championship — OKJ Lennox Racing Team 62nd
WSK Final Cup — OK 42nd
2019 South Garda Winter Cup — KZ2 Manetti Motorsport DNF
Trofeo Andrea Margutti — KZ2 DNF
WSK Euro Series — OK 33rd
WSK Euro Series — KZ2 NC
WSK Super Master Series — KZ2 37th

Complete Karting World Championship results

[edit | edit source]
Year Team Car Quali Heats Main race
2017 United Kingdom Fusion Motorsport OKJ 24th 26th

Racing record

[edit | edit source]

Racing career summary

[edit | edit source]
Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2020 Formula 4 UAE Championship Xcel Motorsport 19 8 3 5 10 300 1st
Italian F4 Championship Van Amersfoort Racing 20 3 1 2 7 208 2nd
ADAC Formula 4 Championship 9 0 0 0 0 54 11th
2021 Formula Regional European Championship Van Amersfoort Racing 20 0 0 0 0 12 20th
2022 FIA Formula 3 Championship Charouz Racing System 18 0 0 0 0 1 27th
2023 USF Pro 2000 Championship TJ Speed Motorsports 18 0 1 2 1 259 5th
IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP2 Proton Competition 1 1 0 0 1 0 NC
Indy NXT Abel Motorsports 4 0 0 0 0 55 24th
2024 USF Pro 2000 Championship TJ Speed Motorsports 1 0 0 0 0 5 32nd

Complete Formula 4 UAE Championship results

[edit | edit source]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 DC Points
2020 Xcel Motorsport DUB1
1
1 		DUB1
2
1 		DUB1
3
1 		DUB1
4
C 		YMC1
1
1 		YMC1
2
4 		YMC1
3
1 		YMC1
4
11† 		YMC2
1
Ret 		YMC2
2
5 		YMC2
3
2 		YMC2
4
1 		DUB2
1
4 		DUB2
2
1 		DUB2
3
1 		DUB2
4
6 		DUB3
1
4 		DUB3
2
5 		DUB3
3
2 		DUB3
4
Ret 		1st 300

Complete Italian F4 Championship results

[edit | edit source]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Pos Points
2020 Van Amersfoort Racing MIS
1
2 		MIS
2
3 		MIS
3
1 		IMO1
1
6 		IMO1
2
10 		IMO1
3
2 		RBR
1
6 		RBR
2
8 		RBR
3
6 		MUG
1
9 		MUG
2
Ret 		MUG
3
5 		MNZ
1
1 		MNZ
2
1 		MNZ
3
4 		IMO2
1
9 		IMO2
2
25† 		IMO2
3
5 		VLL
1
2 		VLL
2
C 		VLL
3
Ret 		2nd 208

Complete ADAC Formula 4 Championship results

[edit | edit source]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Pos Points
2020 Van Amersfoort Racing LAU1
1 		LAU1
2 		LAU1
3 		NÜR1
1
5 		NÜR1
2
14 		NÜR1
3
9 		HOC
1
5 		HOC
2
7 		HOC
3
6 		NÜR2
1
5 		NÜR2
2
6 		NÜR2
3
Ret 		RBR
1 		RBR
2 		RBR
3 		LAU2
1 		LAU2
2 		LAU2
3 		OSC
1 		OSC
2 		OSC
3 		11th 54

Complete Formula Regional European Championship results

[edit | edit source]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 DC Points
2021 Van Amersfoort Racing IMO
1
18 		IMO
2
17 		CAT
1
21 		CAT
2
15 		MCO
1
15 		MCO
2
12 		LEC
1
20 		LEC
2
32† 		ZAN
1
13 		ZAN
2
5 		SPA
1
13 		SPA
2
16 		RBR
1
22 		RBR
2
9 		VAL
1
18 		VAL
2
16 		MUG
1
18 		MUG
2
17 		MNZ
1
12 		MNZ
2
16 		20th 12

† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as they completed more than 90% of the race distance.

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

[edit | edit source]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 DC Points
2022 Charouz Racing System BHR
SPR
19 		BHR
FEA
Ret 		IMO
SPR
10 		IMO
FEA
Ret 		CAT
SPR
24 		CAT
FEA
17 		SIL
SPR
24 		SIL
FEA
14 		RBR
SPR
15 		RBR
FEA
24 		HUN
SPR
21 		HUN
FEA
27 		SPA
SPR
19 		SPA
FEA
21 		ZAN
SPR
16 		ZAN
FEA
18 		MNZ
SPR
17 		MNZ
FEA
16 		27th 1

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

[edit | edit source]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Class Make Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pos. Points
2023 Proton Competition LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 V8 DAY
1† 		SEB LGS WGL ELK IMS PET NC† 0†

† Points only counted towards the Michelin Endurance Cup, and not the overall LMP2 Championship.

American open-wheel racing results

[edit | edit source]

USF Pro 2000 Championship

[edit | edit source]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) (Races with * indicate most race laps led)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Rank Points
2023 TJ Speed Motorsports STP
1
4 		STP
2
5 		SEB
1
3 		SEB
2
7 		IMS
1
10 		IMS
2
7 		IRP
4 		ROA
1
6 		ROA
2
5 		MOH
1
15 		MOH
2
17 		TOR
1
6 		TOR
2
6 		COTA
1
16 		COTA
1
9 		POR
1
6 		POR
2
10 		POR
3
6 		5th 259
2024 TJ Speed Motorsports STP
1 		STP
2 		LOU
1 		LOU
2 		LOU
3 		IMS
1 		IMS
2 		IMS
3 		IRP
18 		ROA
1 		ROA
2 		ROA
3 		MOH
1 		MOH
2 		TOR
1 		TOR
2 		POR
1 		POR
2 		32nd 5

Indy NXT

[edit | edit source]
Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Rank Points
2023 Abel Motorsports STP BAR IMS DET DET RDA MOH IOW NSH
19 		IMS
16 		GMP POR LAG
12 		LAG
18 		24th 55

References

[edit | edit source]
  1. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  4. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  7. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  8. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  9. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  10. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  11. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  12. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  13. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  14. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  15. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  16. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  17. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  18. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  19. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  20. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  21. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  22. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  23. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
[edit | edit source]
  • Official website
  • Francesco Pizzi career summary at DriverDB.comLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Retrieved from "http://70.231.62.181/index.php?title=Francesco_Pizzi&oldid=4470718"