[indycar] GP2 champ Davide Valsecchi could move to IndyCar?

GP2 champion Davide Valsecchi could move to IndyCar in 2015




Reported in January 2014...



Schmidt Peterson Motorsports will test the Italian next month at Sebring.

Davide Valsecchi is one of multiple GP2 champions who just never got a shot in the big leagues of Formula One. He became a test driver for Lotus in 2013, but that never amounted to anything more.

The 27-year-old has been in limbo as of late, looking for his next break and doing very little racing in 2014. However, he may have just found his next ride in the form of an IndyCar.

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports will test with Valsecchi next month at Sebring as they look to replace an outgoing Simon Pagenaud and find a suitable teammate for James Hinchcliffe.

He's won seven races at the GP2 level and beat five F1 drivers to be  when he captured the championship title in 2012. Luca Filippi was the only Italian racer who competed in IndyCar this past season and he too came from the GP2 ranks.






Valsecchi, 27, has raced in the International GT Open with Lamborghini this year.

He was projected to make his Grand Prix debut ahead of the 2013 United States Grand Prix in place of Kimi Raikkonen, but the team opted to install Heikki Kovalainen instead.

This makes him the second Italian seeking to come to IndyCar full-time in 2015; Luca Filippi talked of his prospects at Austin earlier this month, although he doesn’t have a deal publicly identified.

SPM’s second car alongside new team leader James Hinchcliffe is yet to be confirmed. Mikhail Aleshin is recovering from injuries sustained in August’s season finale at Auto Club Speedway; Valsecchi joins Gabby Chaves, Rocky Moran Jr. and Rodolfo Gonzalez in having tested for the team this fall.