Stefano Coletti facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Stefano Coletti |
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| Nationality |  Monégasque |
| Born | 6 April 1989 La Colle, Monaco |
| European Le Mans Series – LMP2 career | |
| Debut season | 2016 |
| Racing licence |  FIA Gold |
| Former teams | SMP Racing |
| Starts | 6 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Best finish | 3rd in 2016 |
| Previous series | |
| 2015 2011 2010 2009, 2011–14 2009–10 2008–09 2007 2006–07 2006 2005–06 |
IndyCar Series GP2 Asia Series GP3 Series GP2 Series Formula Renault 3.5 Series Formula 3 Euro Series Italian Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Formula BMW USA Formula BMW ADAC |
Stefano Coletti (born 6 April 1989) is a former professional racing driver from Monaco. He used to race for SMP Racing in the European Le Mans Series. His sister, Alexandra Coletti, is an alpine skier. Stefano is famous for being the first driver from Monaco since Louis Chiron (in 1931) to win a race in Monaco.
Contents
Stefano Coletti's Racing Journey
Starting with Karting Success
Stefano Coletti was born in La Colle, Monaco. Before he started racing in faster, open-wheel cars, he had a very successful career in karting. In 2003, he finished second in a big karting competition called the Italian Open Masters. The next year, in 2004, he won two important titles: the Andrea Margutti Trophy and the European Championship in the ICA–Junior category.
Moving to Formula BMW Racing
In 2005, Stefano moved up to Formula racing, which uses special open-wheel cars. He joined a team called Eifelland Racing to compete in the Formula BMW ADAC championship. He finished 18th overall that year. He also took part in the Formula BMW World Final in Bahrain, finishing 25th.
He continued racing in Formula BMW in 2006. He earned four podium finishes, which means he finished in the top three, and even won one race. This helped him finish seventh in the championship standings. He also raced in four Formula BMW USA races, winning three of them! Even though he missed many races, he finished fifth in that series. Stefano also competed in the Formula BMW World Final again, where he finished in third place.
Racing in Formula Renault
In August 2006, Stefano started racing in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 series. He didn't score any points in the six races he entered that year.
In 2007, he joined the Epsilon Euskadi team from Spain. He raced in both the Eurocup and Italian Formula Renault 2.0 championships. In the Eurocup, he finished fourth overall. He won a race in Hungary and got two more podium finishes. In the Italian series, he won two races, both at Misano, and finished tenth in the standings.
Competing in Formula Three
Stefano moved up to the Formula 3 Euro Series for the 2008 season. He joined the Signature-Plus team from France. However, he left the team after only four races because he was no longer part of the Red Bull Driver Development program. Stefano missed the next race but then joined Prema Powerteam, where he stayed for the rest of the season. His best finish was fourth place, and he ended the year in 20th position. He also raced in two special non-championship races, the Masters of Formula 3 and the Macau Grand Prix, but he had to stop early in both.
In January 2009, Prema announced that Stefano would stay with their team for the 2009 season. At the first race in Hockenheim, Stefano started near the front and went on to win the opening race! The next month, he raced in the Masters of Formula 3 event. He started in fourth place and finished the race in third.
Stefano was involved in a difficult situation after a race at the Norisring. He had finished third, which put him in third place in the championship. But after the race, he had an argument with the race winner, Jules Bianchi. Stefano felt that Bianchi had said "bad words" to him, and he hit Bianchi. Because of this, Stefano lost his third-place finish and was not allowed to race for the rest of that event. After this, Stefano didn't score any more points and finished tenth in the championship.
Racing in Formula Renault 3.5 Series
In November 2008, Stefano tried out a Formula Renault 3.5 Series car for the first time. On May 15, 2009, it was announced that Stefano would race for Prema Powerteam in the Monaco round of the 2009 Formula Renault 3.5 Series. He finished 11th, but after another driver got a penalty, Stefano was moved up to 10th place, earning him a point.
Stefano returned to the series for a full season in 2010. He finished on the podium five times and ended up in sixth place in the championship.
Competing in GP3 Series
Stefano also raced in 14 races of the first-ever GP3 Series season in 2010 for the Tech 1 Racing team. He finished ninth in the championship, which was the best result for any Tech 1 driver that year.
Racing in GP2 Series
Stefano made his GP2 debut in 2009. His first race was tough, as he received three penalties. In one race, he crashed heavily, causing the race to end under safety car conditions. He got some injuries to his spine and had to miss the next day's race and other events.
Stefano returned to GP2 in 2011. In the Asia series, he won a race and finished fourth in the standings. He also started the main series strongly, winning a race in Turkey. However, he crashed heavily again in Belgium and injured his spine, similar to his previous injury. He had to miss the rest of the season.
After recovering from his injury, Stefano returned to GP2 for the 2012 season. He later joined the Rapax team for the final races of the championship. He finished in the points in three of the last four races, moving him up to 13th in the championship.
Images for kids
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Stefano Coletti
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FIA Gold Driver license icon
See also
In Spanish: Stefano Coletti para niños
