Francesco Pizzi

Francesco Pizzi
Francesco Pizzi
	Pizzi driving the Dallara F3 2019 during the 2022 Spielberg Formula 3 round.
Nationality	Italian
Born	12 November 2004 (age 20); Rome, Italy
Indy Nxt career
Debut season	2023 USF Pro 2000 Championship
Current team	TJ Speed Motorsports
Racing licence	FIA Silver
Car number	55
Starts	13
Wins	0
Podiums	1
Poles	1
Fastest laps	2
Best finish	TBA 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 2023 Indy NXT with Abel 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

Karting

In 2013 aged 8 Francesco 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

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]

The Italian 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

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] The Italian 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 20th 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

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-10 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

2023

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 4th and a 5th place. He went on to qualify in the top 3 again in Sebring earning is first podium in race 1 and after a chaotic race 2 he managed to scramble to a 7th 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 11th. 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-5 to drop back to around 10th place, he still managed to recover to 7th before the checkered. He later went on to finish in 4th on his debut oval race and grabbed another top 5 finish in road america at the half way mark of the championship earning him 2nd place in the standings despite an underachieving start.

2024

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

In the coverage from Peacock on the 8th 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.

Endurance racing

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 16 thousands of a second on his debut becoming the 3rd youngest ever class winner in the race. The win came after an impressive comeback from him and his team mates 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 3 laps down with 4 hours to go, thanks to FCY procedures they made it back to the lead lap with the Italian on the car who then left the car in the hand of his team mate James Allen for the last hour.

Karting record

Karting career summary

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	Giugliano Kart	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	Lennox Racing Team	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

Year	Team	Car	Quali Heats	Main race
2017	Fusion Motorsport	OKJ	24th	26th

Racing record

Racing career summary

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	Van Amersfoort Racing	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

(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

(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 Formula Regional European Championship results

(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

(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

(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

USF Pro 2000 Championship

(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 11	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

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	MDO	IOW	NSH 19	IMS 16	GMP	POR	LAG 12	LAG 18	24th	55

References

^ ^a ^b Wood, Ida (5 January 2023). "Francesco Pizzi leaves FIA F3 for USF Pro 2000 move with TJ Speed". Formula Scout. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
^ "Francesco Pizzi steps up to Indy NXT with Abel Motorsports". 26 July 2023.
^ "Allen 'wasn't breathing' in Rolex 24 LMP2 photo finish". 30 January 2023.
^ "WSK: Four podiums for Energy at Castelletto". Retrieved 26 April 2021.
^ Agrifoglio, Andrea (27 December 2019). "Pizzi pronto per l'esordio a Dubai "Nuova avventura, non vedo l'ora" (Pizzi ready for the debut in Dubai "New adventure, I can't wait")". Gazetta Regionale. Archived from the original on 27 December 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
^ "Francesco Pizzi wins F4 UAE title in Dubai finale". 7 March 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
^ "VAR SIGNS FRESH UAE F4 CHAMPION FRANCESCO PIZZI FOR EUROPEAN F4 CAMPAIGN". 12 March 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
^ "Francesco Pizzi holds off Mini at Misano to take Italian F4 lead". 2 August 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
^ "Pizzi wins again ahead of Mini in Monza Italian F4 race two". 18 October 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
^ "Gabriele Mini crowned Italian F4 champion at Imola with second place to Crawford". 22 November 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
^ "Mini, Pizzi and Saucy to drive for ART GP in 'FREC' rookie test". 7 December 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
^ Wood, Elliot (19 December 2020). "Montoya and Beganovic star in Euroformula and FREC test at Barcelona". FormulaScout. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
^ "Francesco Pizzi chooses Van Amersfoort Racing for FREC graduation". 12 February 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
^ "Charouz Racing System add Italian rookie Pizzi to their team for 2022". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. 28 January 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
^ "'It's going to be tough but that's why we race' – Pizzi preparing for a difficult debut season". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
^ "Charouz Racing System scores first point at Imola in Round 2 of the 2022 FIA Formula 3 Championship". Charouz Racing System. 25 April 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
^ "2022 Round 7 post-Qualifying press conference". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 26 August 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
^ "FEATURE RACE: Maloney bounces back to bring home first win in Trident 1-2". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 28 August 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
^ "Driver Standings for the FIA Formula 3 2022 Championship". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
^ "Campos Racing to test new talents in FIA Formula 3 collective testing". Campos Racing. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
^ "Largest Field Entered for USF Pro Fall Combine Open Test". www.usfpro2000.com. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
^ Wood, Ida (22 May 2024). "Indy Nxt's Bryce Aron steps down to USFP2000 to get oval experience". Formula Scout. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
^ "IMSA, Francesco Pizzi con Proton Competition a Daytona". pellemotorsport.com (in Italian). 19 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.

External links

Official website
Francesco Pizzi career summary at DriverDB.com

Sporting positions
Preceded by Matteo Nannini	Formula 4 UAE Championship Champion 2020	Succeeded by Enzo Trulli

[:0-1] Wood, Ida (5 January 2023). "Francesco Pizzi leaves FIA F3 for USF Pro 2000 move with TJ Speed". Formula Scout. Retrieved 6 January 2023.

[2] "Francesco Pizzi steps up to Indy NXT with Abel Motorsports". 26 July 2023.

[3] "Allen 'wasn't breathing' in Rolex 24 LMP2 photo finish". 30 January 2023.

[4] "WSK: Four podiums for Energy at Castelletto". Retrieved 26 April 2021.

[5] Agrifoglio, Andrea (27 December 2019). "Pizzi pronto per l'esordio a Dubai "Nuova avventura, non vedo l'ora" (Pizzi ready for the debut in Dubai "New adventure, I can't wait")". Gazetta Regionale. Archived from the original on 27 December 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.

[6] "Francesco Pizzi wins F4 UAE title in Dubai finale". 7 March 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2021.

[7] "VAR SIGNS FRESH UAE F4 CHAMPION FRANCESCO PIZZI FOR EUROPEAN F4 CAMPAIGN". 12 March 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2020.

[8] "Francesco Pizzi holds off Mini at Misano to take Italian F4 lead". 2 August 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2021.

[9] "Pizzi wins again ahead of Mini in Monza Italian F4 race two". 18 October 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2021.

[10] "Gabriele Mini crowned Italian F4 champion at Imola with second place to Crawford". 22 November 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.

[11] "Mini, Pizzi and Saucy to drive for ART GP in 'FREC' rookie test". 7 December 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.

[12] Wood, Elliot (19 December 2020). "Montoya and Beganovic star in Euroformula and FREC test at Barcelona". FormulaScout. Retrieved 21 January 2021.

[13] "Francesco Pizzi chooses Van Amersfoort Racing for FREC graduation". 12 February 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.

[14] "Charouz Racing System add Italian rookie Pizzi to their team for 2022". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. 28 January 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.

[15] "'It's going to be tough but that's why we race' – Pizzi preparing for a difficult debut season". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.

[16] "Charouz Racing System scores first point at Imola in Round 2 of the 2022 FIA Formula 3 Championship". Charouz Racing System. 25 April 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2022.

[17] "2022 Round 7 post-Qualifying press conference". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 26 August 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2022.

[18] "FEATURE RACE: Maloney bounces back to bring home first win in Trident 1-2". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 28 August 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2022.

[19] "Driver Standings for the FIA Formula 3 2022 Championship". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. Retrieved 8 October 2022.

[20] "Campos Racing to test new talents in FIA Formula 3 collective testing". Campos Racing. Retrieved 6 January 2023.

[21] "Largest Field Entered for USF Pro Fall Combine Open Test". www.usfpro2000.com. Retrieved 20 October 2022.

[22] Wood, Ida (22 May 2024). "Indy Nxt's Bryce Aron steps down to USFP2000 to get oval experience". Formula Scout. Retrieved 23 May 2024.

[23] "IMSA, Francesco Pizzi con Proton Competition a Daytona". pellemotorsport.com (in Italian). 19 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.

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Francesco Pizzi

Career

Karting

Lower formulae

Formula Regional European Championship

FIA Formula 3 Championship

USF Pro Championship

2023

2024

Indy Nxt by Firestone

Endurance racing

Karting record

Karting career summary

Complete Karting World Championship results

Racing record

Racing career summary

Complete Formula 4 UAE Championship results

Complete Italian F4 Championship results

Complete Formula Regional European Championship results

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

American open-wheel racing results

USF Pro 2000 Championship

Indy NXT

References

External links

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