Stefano Coletti facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Stefano Coletti
Nationality	Monégasque
Born	(1989-04-06) 6 April 1989 (age 36) 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 April 6, 1989) is a racing driver from Monaco. He used to race professionally for SMP Racing in the European Le Mans Series. His sister, Alexandra Coletti, is an alpine skier. Stefano is special because he was the first driver from Monaco since Louis Chiron (in 1931) to win a race in Monaco.

Stefano Coletti's Racing Journey

Starting in Karting

Born in La Colle, Monaco, Stefano Coletti began his racing career in karting. He was very successful! In 2003, he finished second in a big Italian karting competition. The next year, 2004, he won two important titles: the Andrea Margutti Trophy and the European Championship in the ICA–Junior category.

Formula BMW Races

In 2005, Coletti moved up to Formula racing, which uses open-wheel cars. He joined Eifelland Racing for the Formula BMW ADAC championship. He finished eighteenth in the standings that year. He also raced in the Formula BMW World Final in Bahrain, finishing twenty-fifth.

He continued in Formula BMW in 2006. He earned four podium finishes, including one victory, and ended up seventh overall. He also competed in four Formula BMW USA races, winning three of them! This helped him finish fifth in that championship, even though he missed many races. Coletti also raced in the Formula BMW World Final again, where he finished third.

Formula Renault Races

In August 2006, Coletti 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, winning one race in Hungaroring and getting two other podiums. In the Italian series, he won two races, both at Misano, and finished tenth.

Formula Three Racing

Coletti racing at the start of the 2008 Formula 3 Euro Series in Hockenheim.

Coletti moved to the Formula 3 Euro Series for the 2008 season. He started with the Signature-Plus team but left after four races. This happened because he was no longer part of the Red Bull Junior Team. Coletti then joined Prema Powerteam for the rest of the season. His best finish was fourth place, and he ended the year in twentieth. He also raced in two special non-championship races but had to retire from both.

In 2009, Prema announced that Coletti would stay with them for the 2009 season. He started strong, winning the first race of the season at Hockenheim. The next month, he finished third in the Masters of Formula 3 event.

Coletti had a difficult moment at the Norisring race. After finishing third, he had an argument with the race winner, Jules Bianchi. Coletti was upset and hit Bianchi. Because of this, Coletti lost his third-place finish and was not allowed to race for the rest of that weekend. He didn't score many points after that and finished tenth in the championship.

Formula Renault 3.5 Series

In November 2008, Coletti tried out a Formula Renault 3.5 Series car for the first time. In May 2009, he raced for Prema Powerteam in the Monaco round of the 2009 Formula Renault 3.5 Series. He finished tenth, earning his first point in the series.

Coletti returned for a full season in 2010 with Comtec Racing. He achieved five podium finishes and ended up in sixth place in the championship.

GP3 Series Racing

Coletti also competed in fourteen races of the first-ever GP3 Series season in 2010. He joined the Tech 1 Racing team. He finished ninth in the championship, which was the best result for any Tech 1 driver that year.

GP2 Series Racing

Coletti during a 2014 GP2 Series race at Silverstone.

Coletti made his GP2 debut in 2009 at Valencia. It was a tough start for him, as he received three penalties in his first race. In his third GP2 race, at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, he had a big crash. He was okay but had some injuries to his back, which made him miss the next races.

Coletti came back to GP2 in 2011, racing for Trident Racing. He started the Asia series well, winning a race in Yas Marina. He also had a strong start in the main series, winning a race in Istanbul Park. After winning another race in Hungary, he had another serious crash at Spa-Francorchamps. This crash caused more back injuries, and he had to miss the rest of the season.

Coletti practicing at Sonoma Raceway in 2015.

Coletti at the 2015 Indianapolis 500

After his injuries healed, Coletti returned to GP2 for the 2012 season with Scuderia Coloni. He later moved to the Rapax team for the final races. He finished in the points in three of those last four races, ending the season in thirteenth place.

Racing Summary

Career Summary

See also

In Spanish: Stefano Coletti para niños