Francesco Simonazzi

Francesco Simonazzi (born 8 March 2004) is an Italian racing driver who last raced in the Euroformula Open Championship with BVM Racing. He previously competed in the FIA Formula 3 Championship with Rodin Carlin, and has also competed in the Italian F4 Championship with the same team.

Francesco Simonazzi
Simonazzi racing in the 2023 Euroformula Open at the Red Bull Ring.
NationalityItaly Italian
Born (2004-03-08) 8 March 2004 (age 20)
Reggio Emilia, Italy
Euroformula Open Championship career
Debut season2021
Current teamBVM Racing
Car number84
Starts55 (55 entries)
Wins3
Podiums12
Poles0
Fastest laps3
Best finish3rd in 2023
Previous series
20192021
2020
Italian F4 Championship
F4 Spanish Championship

Career

Lower formulae

2019

In 2019, Simonazzi made his car racing debut, competing in the Italian F4 Championship with Cram Motorsport.[1] He experienced a challenging rookie year, scoring points on just one occasion, with an eighth place coming at Imola. The Italian missed the final two rounds of the season, which meant that he ended up 22nd in the standings.

2020

Simonazzi returned to Italian F4 for 2020, contesting the first round for DRZ Benelli.[2] Having scored two points in a pair of appearances for Jenzer Motorsport,[3] which also included a one-off start in Spanish F4,[4] where he took the first podium of his career, Simonazzi drove for BVM Racing in the remaining half of the Italian F4 campaign. More points finishes followed, as the Italian finished 18th in the championship with a best result of sixth at the season finale at Vallelunga.

2021

Simonazzi at the Red Bull Ring in 2021

The following year, Simonazzi once again raced in the Italian F4 Championship.[5] He remained with BVM and scored 28 points, having competed in merely four of the seven rounds, which left him 14th at season's end.

He also made an appearance in the F2000 Italian Formula Trophy during 2021, scoring his first two victories in car racing.

Euroformula Open

2021

In 2021, Simonazzi spearheaded BVM's return to the Euroformula Open Championship, racing in the final two rounds at Monza and Barcelona.[6] With the former event yielding a triple of points finishes, Simonazzi was classified 18th in the standings.

2022

Simonazzi racing in the 2022 Euroformula Open at the Red Bull Ring.

He returned to the series for the 2022 season, being the sole driver for BVM Racing once more.[7] Despite low grid numbers, the Italian struggled in the opening rounds, having to wait until the middle of the season for his first podium, which he scored at the Hungaroring.[8] The biggest success of his season would follow just two rounds later, as, after finishing second in Race 2, Simonazzi scored his first win in the category at the Red Bull Ring, inheriting victory after original race winner Vladislav Lomko was awarded a five-second penalty for colliding with Frederick Lubin.[9][10] A less successful weekend in Monza followed, which included Simonazzi causing a collision with Christian Mansell, which sent the Australian's car flipping upside down,[11] before Simonazzi capped off his season by taking second place in Race 1 at Barcelona.[12] This result meant that the Italian finished sixth in the standings, being the second-lowest full-time competitor in the standings, only ahead of Alex García.

2023

Simonazzi returned to the Euroformula Open in 2023, remaining with BVM Racing once more.[13]

2024

Simonazzi was retained by BVM Racing for a third season of Euroformula Open in 2024.[14]

FIA Formula 3 Championship

Simonazzi was announced to race in the 2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship with Rodin Carlin for the final two rounds, replacing Max Esterson who returned to the GB3 Championship.[15]

Karting record

Karting career summary

SeasonSeriesTeamPosition
2015WSK Final Cup — 60 MiniEvokart SrlNC
2018Trofeo Andrea Margutti — X30 Senior14th
2019Italian Karting Championship — KZN Under32nd
Source:[16][17]

Racing record

Racing career summary

SeasonSeriesTeamRacesWinsPolesF/LapsPodiumsPointsPosition
2019Italian F4 ChampionshipCram Motorsport120000422nd
2020Italian F4 ChampionshipDRZ Benelli300001818th
Jenzer Motorsport60000
BVM Racing110000
F4 Spanish ChampionshipJenzer Motorsport300012314th
2021Italian F4 ChampionshipBVM Racing1200002814th
Euroformula Open Championship600001518th
F2000 Italian Formula Trophy - FX2222220NC†
FIA Central European Zone Formula 420??2304th
2022Euroformula Open ChampionshipBVM Racing2610141976th
2023Euroformula Open ChampionshipBVM Racing2320282893rd
F2000 Italian Formula Trophy222220NC†
FIA Formula 3 ChampionshipRodin Carlin40000027th
2024Euroformula Open ChampionshipBVM Racing82215133*2nd*

As Simonazzi was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
* Season still in progress.

Complete Italian F4 Championship results

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

YearTeam12345678910111213141516171819202122PosPoints
2019Cram MotorsportVLL
1

13
VLL
2

Ret
VLL
3

15
MIS
1

13
MIS
2

14
MIS
3

C
HUN
1

17
HUN
2

30
HUN
3

22
RBR
1

WD
RBR
2

WD
RBR
3

WD
IMO
1

8
IMO
2

12
IMO
3

27
IMO
4

13
MUG
1
MUG
2
MUG
3
MNZ
1
MNZ
2
MNZ
3
22nd4
2020DRZ BenelliMIS
1

11
MIS
2

12
MIS
3

Ret
18th18
Jenzer MotorsportIMO1
1

13
IMO1
2

16
IMO1
3

Ret
RBR
1

17
RBR
2

21
RBR
3

9
BVM RacingMUG
1

12
MUG
2

7
MUG
3

9
MNZ
1

11
MNZ
2

14
MNZ
3

21
IMO2
1

16
IMO2
2

23
IMO2
3

15
VLL
1

6
VLL
2

C
VLL
3

15
2021BVM RacingLEC
1

14
LEC
2

9
LEC
3

9
MIS
1
MIS
2
MIS
3
VLL
1
VLL
2
VLL
3
IMO
1
IMO
2
IMO
3
RBR
1

7
RBR
2

7
RBR
3

4
MUG
1

16
MUG
2

18
MUG
3

15
MNZ
1

26†
MNZ
2

11
MNZ
3

27
14th28

Complete Euroformula Open Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

YearEntrant1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526DCPoints
2021BVM RacingPOR
1
POR
2
POR
3
LEC
1
LEC
2
LEC
3
SPA
1
SPA
2
SPA
3
HUN
1
HUN
2
HUN
3
IMO
1
IMO
2
IMO
3
RBR
1
RBR
2
RBR
3
MNZ
1

9
MNZ
2

10
MNZ
3

6*
CAT
1

16
CAT
2

12*
CAT
3

15
18th15
2022BVM RacingEST
1

9
EST
2

6
EST
3

9
PAU
1

8*
PAU
2

Ret
LEC
1

9
LEC
2

11
LEC
3

10
SPA
1

9
SPA
2

10
SPA
3

8
HUN
1

7
HUN
2

7
HUN
3

2*
IMO
1

4
IMO
2

4
IMO
3

6
RBR
1

7
RBR
2

2*
RBR
3

1
MNZ
1

4
MNZ
2

7
MNZ
3

7
CAT
1

2
CAT
2

8
CAT
3

6
6th197
2023BVM RacingPRT
1

4
PRT
2

1
PRT
3

3
SPA
1

5
SPA
2

3
SPA
3

2
HUN
1

4
HUN
2

5
HUN
3

5
LEC
1

Ret
LEC
2

3*
LEC
3

5
RBR
1

4*
RBR
2

2
RBR
3

5
MNZ
1

4*
MNZ
2

5
MNZ
3

4
MUG
1

2
MUG
2

5
CAT
1

4
CAT
2

5
CAT
3

1
3rd289
2024BVM RacingPRT
1

1
PRT
2

3
PRT
3

3*
HOC
1

6
HOC
2

1
HOC
3

2
SPA
1

4
SPA
2

5
SPA
3

DNS
HUN
1

HUN
2

HUN
3

LEC
1

LEC
2

LEC
3

RBR
1

RBR
2

RBR
3

CAT
1

CAT
2

CAT
3

MNZ
1

MNZ
2

MNZ
3

2nd*133*

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

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

YearEntrant123456789101112131415161718DCPoints
2023Rodin CarlinBHR
SPR
BHR
FEA
MEL
SPR
MEL
FEA
MON
SPR
MON
FEA
CAT
SPR
CAT
FEA
RBR
SPR
RBR
FEA
SIL
SPR
SIL
FEA
HUN
SPR
HUN
FEA
SPA
SPR

14
SPA
FEA

24
MNZ
SPR

18
MNZ
FEA

11
26th0

* Season still in progress.

References