Federico Leo (born August 27, 1988, in

Varese Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559. It is the c ...

) is an Italian racing driver.

Career

Formula Junior

Leo began his single–seater career in late 2005 in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Formula Junior 1600 Winter series, scoring nine points to finish 13th in the standings. The following year he took part in a full season in the category, recording one podium finish to be classified in 12th place.

Formula Renault 2.0

At the end of the 2006 season, Leo took part in the Italian Formula Renault 2.0 Winter series for

RP Motorsport RP Motorsport was an auto racing team based in Italy in Piacenza. The Italian team won many times the EuroFormula Open Championship, becoming one of the most successful outfit in the series. In February 2022 the team assets were sold to Irish ra ...

, finishing in 15th place. In 2007, he continued with the team into the main championship, although he failed to score a point in the fourteen races he contested.

Formula Three

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, Leo stepped up to the German Formula Three Championship with the Italian Ombra Racing team. He finished ninth in the standings after taking a single podium place in the opening round at

Hockenheim Hockenheim () is a town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 20 km south of Mannheim and 10 km west of Walldorf. It is located in the Upper Rhine valley on the tourist theme routes "Baden Asparagus Route" () and Bertha Benz M ...

. He also made a one–off appearance in the

British Formula 3 Championship The British Formula Three Championship was an international motor racing series that took place primarily in the United Kingdom with a small number of events in mainland Europe. It was a junior-level feeder formula that used small single seat ...

round at Monza in May. After starting both races from the back of the grid, he finished 14th in race one before retiring from the second race.

Formula Renault 3.5 Series

At the end of 2008, Leo took part in Formula Renault 3.5 Series collective testing at

Paul Ricard Paul Louis Marius Ricard (; July 9, 1909 – November 7, 1997) was a French industrialist and creator of an eponymous pastis brand which merged in 1975 with its competitor Pernod to create Pernod Ricard. Ricard was also an environmentalist and t ...

and

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

. After testing for both

RC Motorsport RC Motorsport was an auto racing team based in Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territ ...

and

Pons Racing Pons Racing is a motorcycle and auto racing team owned by the British company Pons Racing UK Limited. The team principal is former 250 cc world champion, Sito Pons. In motorcycle road racing world championships, Pons has fielded riders su ...

, Leo signed with the latter to contest the 2009 season, alongside

Spaniard Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both i ...

Marcos Martínez. He scored eight points over the course of the 17–race season, with those points coming at the final round of the campaign at the new

Motorland Aragón MotorLand Aragón (alternative Spanish name: Circuito de Alcañiz) is a race track used for motorsports located in Alcañiz, Spain. The circuit was designed by German architect Hermann Tilke in conjunction with the British architectural bus ...

circuit with a pair of seventh-place finishes. During the off–season Leo tested with several different teams, including

Fortec Motorsport Fortec Motorsport Ltd. is a motor-racing team that races in the GB3 Championship. The team was bought in 1995 by current owner Richard Dutton. Past drivers for the team include Juan Pablo Montoya, Gianmaria Bruni, Danny Watts, Jamie Green, ...

and

Draco Racing International Draco Racing was a motorsport team. It was most well known for operating in the World Series by Renault, but had also taken part in Formula Opel Lotus, International Formula 3000 and Euro Formula 3000. Career Formula Opel Lotus E ...

, but remained with Pons Racing for a second season in 2010. After scoring a fifth place in the opening round at Motorland Aragón, Leo took just three more points finishes and was classified in 17th place, tied on 16 points with both Walter Grubmüller and

Jan Charouz Jan Charouz (born 17 July 1987) is a Czech motor racing driver. He won the 2009 Le Mans Series season and 2006 F3000 International Masters season, as well as taking fourth place in the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 2010 he was the Renault Formula ...

Auto GP

In May 2010, Leo made his debut in the new

Auto GP Auto GP, sometimes referred to as the Auto GP World Series and formerly known as both Euro Formula 3000 and the Euroseries 3000, was a European formula racing series. The series' roots can be traced back to 1999 and the Italian Formula 3000 serie ...

championship at

Imola Imola (; rgn, Jômla or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical ...

, replacing Adrian Zaugg at the

Trident Racing Trident Racing is a motor racing team that competes in single-seater formula racing. It was founded in 2006 in order to compete in the GP2 championship, which was Europe's second highest-ranking single-seater formula below Formula One. Trident is ...

team. After finishing in ninth place in the feature race, Leo took fifth place in the sprint event after surviving a startline accident that eliminated six cars. In October 2010, Leo rejoined the team for the final round of the season at Monza, finishing the two races in fifth and seventh places respectively to be classified 16th in the final standings.

Sportscars

In April 2010, Leo tested a Lola B08/80 LMP2 car at Vallelunga for the Italian Racing Box team, and in August 2010 it was announced that he would join the team for the

Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

round at the

Hungaroring The Hungaroring is a motorsport racetrack in Mogyoród, Pest County, Hungary where the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix is held. In 1986, it became the location of the first Formula One Grand Prix behind the Iron Curtain. Bernie Ecclestone w ...

, the penultimate round of the season. He stayed with the team for the final round of the year at Silverstone, where he and teammates

Fabio Babini Fabio Babini (born 3 November 1969) is an Italian professional racing driver. Born in Faenza, Babini competed in the FIA GT Championship from 2000 until 2004 and in one race of the American Le Mans Series each year from 2001 to 2003. From 1990 ...

and Ferdinando Geri finished 13th overall and 5th in the LMP2 class. He was classified 17th in the final LMP2 standings. For 2011, Leo raced in the

FIA GT3 European Championship The FIA GT3 European Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) and regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It was a championship derived from the international FIA ...

with AF Corse, sharing a

Ferrari 458 The Ferrari 458 Italia (Type F142) is a mid-engine sports car produced by Ferrari. The F458 is the successor of the F430, and was first officially unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. It was succeeded by the 488 GTB (Gran Turismo Berl ...

with fellow Italian driver

Francesco Castellacci Francesco Castellacci (born 4 April 1987 in Rome) is a professional racing driver from Italy. Francesco studied at Marymount International School, Rome and Universita' Bocconi before starting his career as a racing driver. Together with Federico ...

. The duo won the drivers' title at the final round of the season in

Zandvoort Zandvoort () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands; it has a long sandy beach. It is bordered by coastal dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park and the Amsterdam ...

, finishing nine points clear of the

Graff Racing Graff Racing is an auto racing team based in France. Graff Racing
Translation from fr, February 20, 2021,The team was founded in 1 ...

entry of Mike Parisy.

GP2 Series

Leo made his

GP2 Series The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Eccles ...

début at the final round of the 2010 season in Abu Dhabi, replacing Edoardo Piscopo at the Trident Racing team. He finished the feature race in 19th place, but retired from the sprint event.

Racing record

Career summary

† – As Leo was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.

Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results

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

24 Hours of Le Mans results

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leo, Federico 1988 births Living people Sportspeople from Varese Italian racing drivers European Le Mans Series drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Auto GP drivers German Formula Three Championship drivers British Formula Three Championship drivers Italian Formula Renault 2.0 drivers World Series Formula V8 3.5 drivers GP2 Series drivers International GT Open drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers Italian Formula Renault 1.6 drivers Pons Racing drivers AF Corse drivers Trident Racing drivers RP Motorsport drivers Team Lazarus drivers Ombra Racing drivers Euronova Racing drivers