I was three and a half years old when in 1995 I first sat in a kart. It was in Greece, on the island of Rhodes, my mother’s homeland. My dad held the kart tethered to a yachting line, worried that I might spin off the track and because I wasn’t yet too sure which was the brake and which was the throttle. The rope broke after two laps of the track. That was when my karting adventure really began.
I’ve moved up in the karting categories until I started to drive as an official driver for Swiss Hutless first and PCR after. From 2004 to 2008 I collected the win in the 4-Stroke Junior World Final in Dubai, Swiss Kart Championship KF3, Bridgestone-Cup KF2, and a Runner-Up in the Italian Open Masters.
Before I had even turned 16, in July 2008, I had the opportunity to drive my first single-seater car, a Formula BMW, in testing at Valencia in Spain.
In 2009, I made my competitive single-seater debut in the Italian Formula Azzurra Championship with the MG Motorsport team. I won my first race in the month of August (at Varano), repeating the feat in the next race on the historic Imola track.
The Corbetta Competizioni team showed great faith in me by firstly calling me up for a number of test sessions at the wheel of their Formula 3 car and then by signing me for the 2010 season, during which I raced in the Italian championship. The 2010 season was an apprenticeship that permitted me to get to know the Formula 3 car and to prepare myself properly for the following season in which together with Corbetta, I moved into the European Formula 3 Open category (now Euroformula).
2011 was a triumphant year. We conquered the title, achieving two victories, one at Spa-Francorchamps and the other at Monza in front of my own people, along with a total of nine podium finishes.
Mid-way through the season came an unexpected call from Jenzer Motorsport which allowed me to debut in the GP3 Series at Spa. Driving a car I had never even seen before, I immediately finished in the points (6th), to the great satisfaction of both myself and the team. At the end of the season, I also had an opportunity to test the Mercedes DTM, thanks to the interest of HWA.
In 2012, I competed in the FIA Formula 2 Championship. The high point came with victory at the Hungaroring, and a further two podium finishes at Silverstone. In mid-season, I received another call from Jenzer Motorsport. Once again things went very well, and I finished in a respectable 4th place, again at Spa and again in GP3. Thanks to these results, I was officially invited to join the Lotus F1 Junior Team.
The experience at Enstone, in direct contact with the Formula 1 team, was without a doubt one of the most gratifying of my career. I was advised on all those physical and mental aspects that go to make up the training and career of a driver. In parallel, I joined the GP3 Series on a full-time basis and have disputed three consecutive seasons, firstly with Jenzer Motorsport, then with ART Grand Prix, and finally with Status GP.
Taking a step back, at the end of the 2013 season, on the 30th of September to be precise, I reached what is to date the pinnacle of my career, or at least realized the dream of every driver. Driving a Formula 1 car. Thanks to the Lotus F1 Team, I was given the opportunity to undertake a test day at Le Castellet in France.
In 2015, together with my commitment to Status GP in the GP3 Series, I had a number of other great experiences: in official pre-season testing I drove the Lotus Charouz 3.5 WSR (setting the second fastest time at Jerez), I was called by Team Pons, thanks to Emilio De Villota, for the WSR 3.5 race at Monte Carlo (finishing in the points with 9th place on the difficult Monaco street circuit) and finally I had the opportunity to debut in Formula E in the final two races in London with Trulli Formula E Team.
In 2016 I was signed to the McLaren GT Academy to race one of their two works GT3 cars in the Blancpain Endurance Series and in the Spa 24 Hours. At the same time I was an ambassador of McLaren GT worldwide. I was also involved in coaching a young driver in the Italian and German Formula 4 championships.
At the end of the season I was contacted by KIA Motors to develop, in a series of private test sessions in China, the new KIA K3 2.0 Turbo Super Production that will be raced in the CTCC (China Touring Car Championship).
I then debuted in CTCC with this car in the last two races of the 2016 season in China, driving it on the front row of the grid for the first race and in Pole Position in the second, enjoying a podium finish in that first race.
In season 2017 I was confirmed in the ranks of KIA Motors to compete in the maximum amount of rounds allowed to foreign drivers of China Touring Car Championship with their ultimate weapon, the KIA K3 Turbocharged 2.0 (two wins in four rounds). Alongside this I raced with a Mercedes AMG GT3 of the factory-supported team AKKA-ASP in the Blancpain GT Endurance Cup with the famous Chupa-Chups livery in PRO-AM class.
Meanwhile, I began to work as a commentator for national TV RSI during Formula 1 weekends, while being available for charity as a testimonial in the Swiss Red Cross Lugano. End of 2017 I was called by Emil Frey Jaguar Racing to compete in the Blancpain Endurance Cup final race with their Jaguar G3 GT3 in PRO class. My 2017 ended with some days as a head coach for the Chinese Motorsport Federation and their young talents in Formula 4.
My 2018 started at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where for a month I was coaching for Dream Racing. I was then confirmed by Emil Frey Jaguar Racing to compete in a number of selected races of the Blancpain GT Series, winning the Endurance Silver Cup Championship, while being a frontrunner in the overall standings.
At the same time I was signed for the third year in a row by KIA Motors to race in China Touring Car Championship to help secure the manufacturer title, which I did by winning the season finale in Shanghai. Furthermore, I was enrolled in two races of the VLN in the famous Nordschleife circuit with Adrenalin Motorsport to achieve the Permit A license. Also, I had my debut in Korean Stock Car and in LMP3 in ELMS and VdeV (now Creventic/Ultimate Cup).
As an extra, I was signed again by Swiss Television RSI to commentate part of the 2018 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, as a TV presenter for ABB FIA Formula E Championship Zurich ePrix, plus various coaching days.
In 2019 I was signed for the fourth year in a row by KIA Motors factory team in China Touring Car Championship. As a foreigner, it is allowed to take part in only half of the season, and despite some technical issues in the first rounds, I ended up with one win, two more podiums, and many point finishes that helped the team secure once again the most important Manufacturer Title against the likes of Ford, Toyota, Volkswagen, and BAIC.
One more championship title was secured by winning the overall and Pro-Am drivers standings in the debut year (both mine and the team's) in China GT in GT4 class. Thanks to four wins and many podiums and point finishes, we secured the team championship as well.
Alongside the racing commitments and the debut in China Endurance and VLN at the Nordschleife with Nissan factory team KCMG, I had a few testing days in GT3 with Honda JAS Motorsport, Emil Frey Lamborghini Squadra Corse, and the very same Phantom Pro AMG Racing. A few coaching days in TCR and GT cars rounded up a full year that saw me become Sparco Racewear brand ambassador and once again co-commentating the Formula 1 races for Swiss TV RSI, plus helping Stopgether as an Influencer in the first Swiss social-media campaign against smoking.
In 2020, I was supposed to join once again CTCC, China GT, and GT World Challenge Asia, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I had a change of plans. On a very last-minute call, I joined the GT World Challenge Endurance Cup with the Silver Cup car of Mercedes AMG squad AKKA-ASP, rounding it off with some one-off appearances in ELMS and Porsche Sports Cup Suisse, as well as some coaching days in Ferrari Challenge for Kessel Racing and as a commentator for the Swiss TV in Formula 1. I've also started my own detailing and restoration garage in Lugano.
2021 has been a fantastic season. Returning to Emil Frey Racing, this time driving a Lamborghini, we clinched all titles in our class, Silver Cup, winning the Endurance, the Sprint, and the Overall titles, for both drivers and teams standings. We also set a record as the first-ever Silver crew to clinch an overall Endurance podium (Monza), and we collected an overall win in the Sprint Cup (Zandvoort). We collected also a number of overall and class wins/podiums to make it a very strong season overall. I also joined Konrad Motorsport in the Nürburgring 24 Hours, again on a Lamborghini. I returned to the European Le Mans Series with Virage Group on their LMP3 machinery and once again joined the Swiss TV for the F1 commentary, as well as Aida Pro eSports as a coach, plus founding a second company: Pro Coating Suppliers.
In 2022, I joined forces with Centri Porsche Ticino and general manager Ivan Jacoma to race in the highly competitive GT4 European Series. With a field of more than 50 cars and a brand new Porsche Cayman to discover, we fought for the Pro-Am championship win until the final race, finishing in 4th place very close on points but with the weight of a couple of zeros in the scoreboard due to a puncture in the last lap and a first lap accident where we got involved without a chance to avoid it.
Despite this, we managed to score one win and a handful of podiums, finishing the season as the best Porsche. In the same year, I also joined GDL Racing in GT CUP Open, winning two races and scoring two additional podiums and three pole positions. The highlight of the year was the win at the Gulf 12 Hours in GTC class, driving once more the brand new Porsche 992 GT3 Cup.
Throughout the season, I returned to the Swiss National TV to co-commentate F1 races, shared coaching between Porsche and Ferrari, and launched my AF Race Performance Academy.
In 2023, I marked the return to the GT3 class, joining once again Centri Porsche Ticino with the support of Team Car Collection on a brand new Porsche 992 GT3R. We competed in the mighty GT World Challenge Endurance and 24 Hours of Spa, as well as various one-off races.
The coaching work continued with multiple track days with the AF Race Performance Academy, supporting different drivers in the Porsche Sports Cup Suisse and GT4 European Series. I also returned to the TV booth to follow Formula 1 races for the Swiss national television RSI.
2024 continued with the Car Collection team and the Porsche GT3 R in the GT Open, where we took a Pro-Am class victory paired with a driver from my Academy. We also participated in the GT World Challenge Australia, some 24H Series endurance races, the Intercontinental GT Challenge Indianapolis 8 Hours and the Asian Le Mans series. Additionally, I returned with Centri Porsche Ticino, this time in the Porsche 992 GT3 Cup in Italian Endurance Championship: again with another AF Academy driver, we achieved several podiums and victories. Two extra races this season, with an Audi R8 GT3 in the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife and with the Kessel Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 in the GT World Challenge Endurance in Monza. The coaching continued with 19 days of the AF Academy, and with our drivers in the Porsche Swiss Cup, Porsche Southern Europe Sprint Challenge and GT4 Italy, as well as with Formula 1 co-commentaries for RSI.
