Alexander Rossi (racing driver)

Alexander Rossi

Rossi at the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed
Nationality American
Born September 25, 1991
Auburn, California, United States
GP2 Series career
Current team Racing Engineering
Car no. 8
Former teams Caterham Racing, Campos Racing
Starts 34
Championships 0
Wins 1
Poles 1
Fastest laps 0
Best finish 9th in 2013
Previous series
2010–12
2010
2009–10
2009
2008
2007–08
2006
2006
2005–06		 Formula Renault 3.5 Series
GP3 Series
GP2 Asia Series
International Formula Master
Formula BMW Europe
Formula BMW USA/Americas
Skip Barber Race Series
Formula TR 2000 Pro Series
S. Barber Western Regional
Championship titles
2008
2008
2006		 Formula BMW World Final
Formula BMW Americas
S. Barber Western Regional

Alexander Rossi (born September 25, 1991) is an American professional racing driver who competes in single seater formulae.

Career

Skip Barber

In 2005, after becoming IKF Grand National Champion in the 100cc Yamaha class, in Auburn-born Rossi was semi-finalist in the Red Bull Formula One American Drivers search with a top 5 finish overall out of over 2,000 nationwide candidates.

In 2006 he was awarded the Skip Barber National Scholarship from Skip Barber Racing School to compete in the 2006 Skip Barber National Championship, where he finished third overall and became the youngest winner in Skip Barber National Championship history, at age 14.

Formula BMW

Rossi competed in the Formula BMW USA series in 2007, finishing third overall in the championship, with three wins and five podiums while driving for Team Apex Racing, USA.

For 2008, Rossi returned for a sophomore year with the two-time Formula BMW championship winning team EuroInternational. He won the overall championship, becoming the first American Formula BMW Champion in the Americas Championship, with ten wins from the fifteen races run.

Rossi completed the season as World Champion, winning the 2008 Formula BMW World Final at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez circuit in Mexico City, beating the rookie Michael Christensen. Rossi was awarded a Formula One test with BMW Sauber F1 Team,[1][2] along with European champion Esteban Gutiérrez.

International Formula Master

Rossi decided to move to compete in Europe in 2009. He chose to compete in the International Formula Master with Hitech Racing.[3] After two rounds, Rossi moved over to ISR Racing for the remainder of the season. Rossi won three races over the course of the season, all coming during reverse-grid races. The wins at Brno, Spa and Imola gave Rossi the second-highest tally of victories during the 2009 season, with Fabio Leimer (seven) winning more. Coupled with Pål Varhaug's sixth place in the final race at Imola, Rossi moved up to fourth overall in the championship, and the highest-placed rookie driver.

GP3 Series

In 2010, Rossi made the move to the new GP3 Series, competing for multiple championship winning team ART Grand Prix. He joined Pedro Nunes and Esteban Gutiérrez at the team, winning twice and finishing fourth in the series.[4]

World Series by Renault

After a season in GP3, Rossi moved on to compete in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series with Fortec Motorsport. He was joined at the team by Brazilian driver and Italian Formula Three Champion César Ramos. He won the opening race of the season in Aragón and the second race at Le Castellet, and eventually finished third in the championship– and top rookie driver– behind Carlin drivers Robert Wickens and Jean-Éric Vergne.

Rossi stayed in the series for the 2012 season, but switched to newcomers Arden Caterham Motorsport, partnering Red Bull backed driver Lewis Williamson.[5]

Alexander Rossi at the 2011 Nürburgring World series by Renault round

GP2 Series

Rossi competed in the 2009–10 GP2 Asia Series. Having competed for Ocean Racing Technology at the first Abu Dhabi round, Rossi moved to Team Meritus for the remaining rounds.[6] Rossi made a strong impression immediately finishing fourth in his début race, from thirteenth on the grid. Rossi was only the second American to compete at GP2 level, preceded by Scott Speed who raced in Formula One with Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2006 and 2007. Rossi finished ninth in the championship standings. He made his GP2 Series debut in the Bahrain round in 2013 after replacing Chinese driver Ma Qinghua, he finished 3rd in his debut race. On July 16, 2014, Rossi announced he had departed Caterham's GP2 team, and later joined Campos Racing at the Hockenheimring, replacing Kimiya Sato.[7] He will join Racing Engineering for the 2015 season opposite British rookie Jordan King.

Formula One

Rossi was one of three drivers linked to US-based Formula One team US F1 along with José María López and James Rossiter. Rossi was contracted to be the reserve and test driver before the team folded. He has also tested the 2009-spec BMW Sauber F1.09 Formula One car as part of Formula One's young driver test in Jerez. This was earned for winning the Formula BMW World Final. This test earned Rossi his FIA Super License and is currently the only American to hold one. On March 9, 2012 he was announced as a test driver for the Caterham F1 team, alongside reserve driver Giedo van der Garde.[5] At the Spanish round he drove Heikki Kovalainen's car in the first practice session, becoming the first American to drive in a Formula One session (during a race weekend) since Scott Speed at the 2007 European Grand Prix. In 2013 he drove the Caterham in the first practice session of the Canadian Grand Prix and at Silverstone in July for the young driver test.[8][9] In 2014 he drove the Caterham in the first practice session of the Canadian Grand Prix.[10] On July 16, 2014, Rossi announced that he had left Caterham following the departure of Tony Fernandes and the entrance of new Swiss and Middle Eastern investors.[7] On July 24, Marussia F1 announced that Rossi would join the team as reserve driver for the remainder of the season.[11]

On August 21, 2014, Marussia announced that Rossi would make his Formula One debut at that weekend's Belgian Grand Prix, replacing British driver Max Chilton.[12] However on August 22, 2014, that decision was reversed.[13]

Marussia entered Rossi to replace the injured Jules Bianchi at the Russian Grand Prix.[14] but later decided to only run a single car for Chilton.[15]

Rossi is also in negotiations with Gene Haas to join the Haas F1 Team for 2016.[16]

Racing record

Career summary

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles FLaps Podium Points Position
2005 Skip Barber Western Regional Skip Barber Racing School 2 0 0 60 29th
2006 Skip Barber National Skip Barber Racing School 14 3 2 2 4 613 3rd
Skip Barber Western Regional Skip Barber Racing School 10 8 11 10 538 1st
Formula TR 1600 Pro Series Odyssey Motorsports 11 4 5 6 409 7th
2007 Formula BMW Americas Team Apex Racing 14 3 1 2 5 410 3rd
Formula BMW World Final EuroInternational 1 0 0 0 0 N/A NC
2008 Formula BMW Americas EuroInternational 15 10 10 9 11 249 1st
Formula BMW Europe 2 0 0 0 0 N/A† N/A†
Formula BMW World Final 1 1 0 1 1 N/A 1st
2009 International Formula Master Hitech Racing 16 3 0 1 5 52 4th
ISR Racing
2009–10 GP2 Asia Series Ocean Racing Technology 8 0 0 0 0 12 9th
MalaysiaQi-Meritus.com
2010 GP3 Series ART Grand Prix 14 2 2 1 5 38 4th
Formula Renault 3.5 Series ISR Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2011 Formula Renault 3.5 Series Fortec Motorsport 17 2 0 1 5 156 3rd
2012 Formula One Caterham F1 Team Test driver
Formula Renault 3.5 Series Arden Caterham 17 0 0 4 1 63 11th
2013 Formula One Caterham F1 Team Test driver
GP2 Series EQ8 Caterham Racing 20 1 1 0 4 92 9th
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 Greaves Motorsport 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 10th
World Endurance Championship - LMP2 Greaves Motorsport 1 0 0 0 0 20 19th
2014 Formula One Caterham F1 Team Test driver
Marussia F1 Team Test driver
GP2 Series EQ8 Caterham Racing 10 0 0 0 0 12 21st
Campos Racing 2 0 0 0 0
2015 GP2 Series Racing Engineering 2 0 0 0 1 23 3rd*

† – As Rossi was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
* Season in progress.

Complete GP3 Series results

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

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 DC Points
2010 ART Grand Prix ESP
FEA
8		 ESP
SPR
1		 TUR
FEA
4		 TUR
SPR
3		 VAL
FEA
Ret		 VAL
SPR
Ret		 GBR
FEA
5		 GBR
SPR
2		 GER
FEA
Ret		 GER
SPR
8		 HUN
FEA
8		 HUN
SPR
1		 BEL
FEA
13		 BEL
SPR
2		 ITA
FEA
Ret		 ITA
SPR
15		 4th 38

Complete GP2 Series results

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

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 D.C. Points
2013 EQ8 Caterham Racing MYS
FEA		 MYS
SPR		 BHR
FEA
3		 BHR
SPR
20		 ESP
FEA
6		 ESP
SPR
6		 MON
FEA
Ret		 MON
SPR
19		 GBR
FEA
10		 GBR
SPR
9		 GER
FEA
11		 GER
SPR
6		 HUN
FEA
13		 HUN
SPR
16		 BEL
FEA
3		 BEL
SPR
22		 ITA
FEA
8		 ITA
SPR
2		 SGP
FEA
Ret		 SGP
SPR
23		 ABU
FEA
1		 ABU
SPR
Ret		 9th 92
2014 EQ8 Caterham Racing BHR
FEA
22		 BHR
SPR
25		 ESP
FEA
Ret		 ESP
SPR
14		 MON
FEA
16		 MON
SPR
11		 AUT
FEA
8		 AUT
SPR
5		 GBR
FEA
12		 GBR
SPR
21		 21st 12
Campos Racing GER
FEA
Ret		 GER
SPR
7		 HUN
FEA		 HUN
SPR		 BEL
FEA		 BEL
SPR		 ITA
FEA		 ITA
SPR		 RUS
FEA		 RUS
SPR		 ABU
FEA		 ABU
SPR
2015 Racing Engineering BHR
FEA
3		 BHR
SPR
4		 ESP
FEA
 ESP
SPR
 MON
FEA
 MON
SPR
 AUT
FEA
 AUT
SPR
 GBR
FEA
 GBR
SPR
 HUN
FEA
 HUN
SPR
 BEL
FEA
 BEL
SPR
 ITA
FEA
 ITA
SPR
 RUS
FEA
 RUS
SPR
 ABU
FEA
 ABU
SPR
 3rd* 23*

* Season in progress.

Complete GP2 Asia Series results

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

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 DC Points
2009–10 Ocean Racing Technology ABU1
FEA
4		 ABU1
SPR
5		 9th 12
MalaysiaQi-Meritus.com ABU2
FEA
6		 ABU2
SPR
9		 BHR1
FEA
Ret		 BHR1
SPR
Ret		 BHR2
FEA
11		 BHR2
SPR
5

Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series 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 Pos Points
2010 ISR Racing ALC
1		 ALC
2		 SPA
1		 SPA
2		 MON
1
Ret		 BRN
1		 BRN
2		 MAG
1		 MAG
2		 HUN
1		 HUN
2		 HOC
1		 HOC
2		 SIL
1		 SIL
2		 CAT
1		 CAT
2		 NC 0
2011 Fortec Motorsport ALC
1
1		 ALC
2
2		 SPA
1
7		 SPA
2
7		 MNZ
1
17		 MNZ
2
2		 MON
1
Ret		 NÜR
1
Ret		 NÜR
2
Ret		 HUN
1
2		 HUN
2
5		 SIL
1
3		 SIL
2
DSQ		 LEC
1
16		 LEC
2
1		 CAT
1
4		 CAT
2
7		 3rd 156
2012 Arden Caterham ALC
1
Ret		 ALC
2
5		 MON
1
3		 SPA
1
11		 SPA
2
Ret		 NÜR
1
18		 NÜR
2
9		 MSC
1
17†		 MSC
2
5		 SIL
1
Ret		 SIL
2
5		 HUN
1
9		 HUN
2
8		 LEC
1
22		 LEC
2
16		 CAT
1
19		 CAT
2
5		 11th 63

† Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.

Complete Formula One participations

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

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 WDC Points
2012 Caterham F1 Team Caterham CT01 Renault RS27-2012 2.4 V8 AUS MAL CHN BHR ESP
TD		 MON CAN EUR GBR GER HUN BEL ITA SIN JPN KOR IND ABU USA BRA  –  –
2013 Caterham F1 Team Caterham CT03 Renault RS27-2013 2.4 V8 AUS MAL CHN BHR ESP MON CAN
TD		 GBR GER HUN BEL ITA SIN JPN KOR IND ABU USA
TD		 BRA  –  –
2014 Caterham F1 Team Caterham CT05 Renault Energy F1‑2014 1.6 V6 t AUS MAL BHR CHN ESP MON CAN
TD		 AUT GBR GER HUN  –  –
Marussia F1 Team Marussia MR03 Ferrari 059/3 1.6 V6 t BEL
PO		 ITA SIN JPN RUS USA BRA ABU

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2013 United Kingdom Greaves Motorsport United Kingdom Tom Kimber-Smith
United States Eric Lux		 Zytek Z11SN LMP2 307 23rd 10th

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

Year Entrant Class Car Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rank Points
2013 Greaves Motorsport LMP2 Zytek Z11SN Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 SIL SPA LMS
5		 SÃO COA FUJ SHA BHR 19th 20

References

  1. ↑ Elizalde, Pablo (2009-07-31). "Rossi, Gutierrez get BMW F1 test". autosport.com (Haymarket Publications). Retrieved 2009-08-02.
  2. ↑ "Rossi wins BMW Sauber F1 test". gpupdate.net (GPUpdate). 2008-12-08. Retrieved 2011-01-30.
  3. ↑ "Rossi, American World Champion Signs with Hi Tech Junior Team". alexanderrossi.com (Alexander Rossi). 2009-05-13. Retrieved 2011-01-30.
  4. ↑ "ART Grand Prix announces complete GP3 Series 2010 Line-up". gp2series.com (GP2 Series). 2010-01-13. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Alexander Rossi confirmed as Caterham F1 Team Test Driver". Caterham F1 (Caterham F1 Team). March 9, 2012. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
  6. ↑ English, Steven (2010-01-27). "Rossi switches to Meritus for GP2 Asia". autosport.com (Haymarket Publications). Retrieved 2010-01-27.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Cooper, Adam (July 16, 2014). "AMERICA’S". Foxsports.com. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Di Resta quickest in opening session in Montreal". Pitpass.com. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  9. ↑ "Rossi, Stevens to drive for Caterham at young driver test". Formula1.com. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  10. ↑ "Alonso beats Mercedes duo in Canada FP1". Racer. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  11. ↑ "Rossi joins Marussia as reserve driver". Formula1.com. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  12. ↑ "Rossi to race in Spa". Marussia. 21 August 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  13. ↑ "Chilton to race as Marussia make Belgian U-turn". Formula1.com. 22 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  14. ↑ "FIA Stewards Decision — Document No. 6" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. October 9, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Chilton to be Marussia's sole entrant in Russia". formula1.com. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  16. ↑ "Rossi confirms Haas talks". August 10, 2014. Retrieved February 14, 2015.

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Tim Traver		 Skip Barber Western Regional
Champion
2006 		Succeeded by
Tom Roberts
Preceded by
Daniel Morad
(Formula BMW Americas)		 Formula BMW Americas
Champion
2008 		Succeeded by
Gabriel Chaves
Preceded by
Philipp Eng		 Formula BMW World Final
Winner
2008 		Succeeded by
None