Luca Filippi

Luca Filippi ( born August 9, 1985 in Savigliano ) is an Italian race car driver. In 2005 he won the championship of the Italian Formula 3000th Filippi started from 2006 to 2012 in the GP2 series. His best overall placement in the GP2 series was the second rank in 2011. Between 2010 and 2011, he appeared again in the Auto GP and in 2011 was runner-up. 2013 he took part in several races of the IndyCar Series.

Career

Filippi began his motorsport career in 1994 in karting, where he was active until 2002. In 2003, he competed in several races of the British Formula Renault and Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup and ran the full season in the Italian Formula Renault, in which he was ranked 18 in the overall standings. A year later, Filippi drove two races in the Superfund Euro Formula 3000 for the euro Nova team. He also drove a half of the season in the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup, where he was 24th in the overall standings. His main focus this year was, however, on the Italian Formula Renault, in which he finished third overall. 2005 moved Filippi in the Euro Series 3000, which was now renamed Italian Formula Renault. He started for the Formula 1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella, Fisichella Motorsport team. Filippi won half of the race and won the first championship of his career.

Filippi was launched in 2006 for the first time in the GP2 series. He drove the first six races again for Fisichella Motor Sport. He was then replaced by Giorgio Pantano. After he paused two race weekends, he started for the rest of the season for BCN Competición. Filippi drove in season twice in the points: He was fifth in the sprint race at Imola and fourth in the feature race at Monza. Overall, Filippi took 7 points and thus was ranked 19 in the overall standings.

2007 Filippi moved to Supernova Racing, the team of David Sears, which celebrated 3000 great success in the formula. His teammate became the British Formula 3 champion Mike Conway. Filippi picked up directly in the first race in Bahrain his first GP2 victory. In the other races he did not won, but he was second four times and third once. In the overall classification, he finished finally the fourth. Thanks to its good results in the GP2 Series Honda signed him as one of their Formula 1 test driver. In November and December 2007, he took part in testing for the Honda and the Super Aguri team.

In the GP2 Asia Series newly founded Filippi started team for the Malaysian Meritus. The GP2 Asia Series season 2008 was disappointing for him, because he only drove in the first race in Dubai, where he was fifth in the points. In the overall standings, he was thus only 17 in the European variant Filippi was launched in 2008 for ART Grand Prix. His teammate was Romain Grosjean, the sovereign winner of the GP2 Asia Series was made ​​in 2008. Some experts he has been touted as one of the favorites for the 2008 GP2 season, but the season was different than imagined: He took on the first five race weekends only five points and was placed by his strong teammates Grosjean in the shade. For half of the season Filippi was dismissed from the team due to absence of ART success and replaced by former Formula 1 driver Sakon Yamamoto. Filippi was very quickly a new team and was presented two days after his release at Arden International, succeeding Yelmer Buurman. His teammate at Arden was the Swiss Sebastien Buemi, who was just as Filippi a former ART- pilot. For Arden he took only one point. In the overall classification, he finished with six points to 19th place. His successor ART- Yamamoto scored fewer points than he did.

Also in the second season of the GP2 Asia Series Filippi was launched and returned to his former team BCN Competición. After the team has been sold to a race weekend and he was not retained by the new team Ocean Racing Technology, his commitment in the GP2 Asia Series was over. For the 2009 season GP2 Filippi returned to Super Nova Racing. As a team-mate Javier Villa, he was three times runner-up and won the last race of the season in Portimao. At the end of the season, he finished fifth overall.

For the 2009/2010 GP2 Asia Series season Filippi returned to Meritus. Having already scored two second places, he secured with a win at the last major race the runner-up title behind his compatriot Davide Valsecchi. Because he had initially received no cockpit after four years in the GP2 Series, Filippi moved in 2010 to EUR Nova Racing in the Auto GP whose championship title he had in 2005 when the series was still Italian Formula 3000, won. With a win in the season opener, he had a good start into the new season. After he had left out a race weekend, he moved to Super Nova Racing and ruled also the season finale for themselves. At the end of the season, he finished fifth overall. After GP2 pilot Josef Král was sidelined due to injury after an accident in Valencia, Filippi jumped as a substitute driver in Super Nova Racing for a five race weekends, and returned to the GP2 series. With his participation, he became the GP2 drivers with the most starts. At the end of the 2010 season, he finished 20th overall.

In 2011, Filippi first part of the Scuderia Coloni at the season finale of the GP2 Asia Series. For the team it was last in 2006, when it was still called Fisichella Motor Sport International, started. With a tenth place as the best result, he finished 20th in the driver standings. Then he denied his sixth GP2 season and returned first to Supernova Racing. After he spent the first four races without points, he scored the feature race in Monte Carlo as a third party its first points of the season. For the sixth race weekend, he moved within the GP2 Series for Scuderia Coloni. He managed to equal his first race for Coloni, whose best result was previously a sixth place to decide for themselves. It was Filippis third victory in his 100th GP2 race. In the rest of the season victories followed in the sprint race at Spa- Francorchamps, as well as in the feature race at Monza. In the race for Coloni he only scored in a race no points us a total of four podium finishes. This he succeeded in the runner-up title behind Grosjean to decide for themselves. In addition, Filippi joined 2011 for supernova in the Auto GP. In the main race in Brno, he scored his only win of the season. For an auto -GP event he entered not in because of scheduling conflicts with the GP2 series. With a total of six podium finishes, he was also in the Auto GP runner-up. With 127 to 130 points he lost to Kevin Ceccon.

2012 wanted to leave and go Filippi Europe to North America in the IndyCar Series. He should get a cockpit at Rahal Letterman Lanigan and not only participate in the first four races to enter the Indianapolis 500 to the season. However, his team Michel Jourdain Jr. gave the preference for this race and Filippi came not to the rest of the season to his IndyCar debut. Instead, Filippi returned in 2012 for two events to Coloni in the GP2 series back. He succeeded to win the feature race at Monza after almost a year without racing practice right away. It was Colonis only win of the season. At the following race weekend Filippi drove to the pole position.

2013 worked Filippis entry in the IndyCar Series. In the second half of the season he received a cockpit for four races at Bryan Herta Autosport. Filippi scored a tenth place as best result and once set the fastest race lap. He was 30th in the driver standings.

Statistics

Career stations

• 2006: Eurocup Mégane Trophy ( 18th place)
• 2007: GP2 Series (4th place )
• 2007: Formula 1 ( test driver )
• 2008: GP2 Asia Series (No. 17)
• 2008: GP2 Series ( No. 19 )
• 2008: International GT Open
• 2008: Formula 1 ( test driver )
• 2009: GP2 Asia Series
• 2009: GP2 Series ( 5th place)
• 2009: International GT Open ( No. 41 )

• 2010: GP2 Asia Series (2nd place)
• 2010: Auto GP ( 5th place)
• 2010: GP2 Series (No. 20)
• 2011: GP2 Asia Series (No. 20)
• 2011: GP2 Series (2nd place)
• 2011: Auto GP (2nd place)
• 2012: GP2 Series (No. 16)
• 2013: IndyCar Series (No. 30)

Individual results in the GP2 Series

Individual results in the IndyCar Series

( Legend)