Valerio Rinicella

Valerio Rinicella
Rinicella in 2023
NationalityItaly Italian
Born (2007-01-18) 18 January 2007 (age 17)
Rome, Italy
Eurocup-3 career
Debut season2025
Current teamMP Motorsport
Racing licence FIA Silver[1]
Car numberTBA
Starts0 (0 entries)
Wins0
Podiums0
Poles0
Fastest laps0
Best finishTBD in 2025
Previous series
2024
2024
2022
2022–2023
2022–2023		FR European Championship
FR Middle East Championship
Italian F4 Championship
F4 Spanish Championship
Formula 4 UAE Championship

Valerio Rinicella (born 18 January 2007) is an Italian racing driver who is set to compete in the Eurocup-3 for MP Motorsport. He most recently raced for the team in the 2024 Formula Regional European Championship. Rinicella also placed third in the 2023 F4 Spanish Championship.

He is a protégé of Formula One race winner Giancarlo Fisichella and GT racer Marco Cioci [fr].[2][3]

Career

Formula 4

2022

Rinicella racing in the 2022 Italian F4 Championship at the Red Bull Ring.

Rinicella made his single-seater debut during the 2022 Formula 4 UAE Championship.[4] He failed to score any points and finished 26th in the standings.

For his main campaign, Rinicella signed with MP Motorsport to compete in the F4 Spanish Championship.[5] His first podium came not too far away during the third race in Jerez.[6] Rinicella had another third place in Spa-Francorchamps, those two being the only times he stood on the rostrum.[7] His consistent points scoring secured him sixth in the championship.

Rinicella also competed in the 2022 Italian F4 Championship with AKM Motorsport from Spa-Francorchamps onwards.[8] He failed to score points, finishing 33rd overall with a best finish of 12th.[9]

2023

During his pre-season, Rinicella partook in the 2023 Formula 4 UAE Championship with MP Motorsport.[10] Rinicella took a number of podiums, including a pole position.[11] This was enough for fourth place in the championship.[12]

Rinicella racing at Spa-Francorchamps during the 2023 F4 Spanish Championship.

His main campaign would again lie in the F4 Spanish Championship, where he remained with MP Motorsport.[13] He started strong with a second place during the opening Spa-Francorchamps round, initially winning before being demoted due to a track limits penalty.[14] It would not be long before he took his first win in the series in Navarra, where he also stood on the podium in all three races.[15] He would win again at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, by then he was an outside chance for the title.[16] A triple podium during the Barcelona finale meant Rinicella finished third in the standings with a total of two wins and 12 podiums.[17]

Formula Regional

Rinicella raced in the first two rounds of the pre-season Formula Regional Middle East Championship.[18] He scored points in his last two races with seventh and sixth place, placing him 17th in the overall classification.[19]

Rinicella driving at the Hungaroring during the 2024 Formula Regional European Championship

Rinicella graduated to the Formula Regional European Championship for 2024, sticking with MP Motorsport.[20] He had a difficult campaign, but opened his account and had his first points finish during the eighth round at the Red Bull Ring.[21] He scored another sixth place during the final round in Monza.[22] Rinicella ended the year 20th in the standings with 12 points. That year, he also participated in the Macau Grand Prix with the team, and finished in a respectable 11th place.[23]

Eurocup-3

In 2025, Rinicella will move to Eurocup-3, whilst sticking with MP Motorsport.[24]

Endurance racing

Rinicella is due to make his sports car racing debut in the upcoming Asian Le Mans Series, taking part in the LMP2 class for Algarve Pro Racing alongside teammates Malthe Jakobsen and Michael Jensen.[25]

Karting record

Karting career summary

Season Series Team Position
2018 Italian Championship — 60 Mini 13th
2019 WSK Champions Cup — 60 Mini Parolin Racing Kart 27th
WSK Super Master Series — 60 Mini 25th
WSK Euro Series — 60 Mini 45th
24° South Garda Winter Cup — Mini ROK Energy Corse 13th
ROK Cup Superfinal — Junior ROK AV Racing 30th
2020 WSK Super Master Series — OKJ Parolin Racing Kart 25th
WSK Euro Series — OKJ 23rd
WSK Open Cup — OKJ 32nd
2021 WSK Super Master Series — OK 26th
WSK Euro Series — OK 37th
Campionato Italiano ACI Karting — OK 2nd
Source:[26]

Racing record

Racing career summary

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2022 Formula 4 UAE Championship MP Motorsport 12 0 0 0 0 0 26th
F4 Spanish Championship 21 0 0 0 2 104 6th
Italian F4 Championship AKM Motorsport 14 0 0 0 0 0 33rd
2023 Formula 4 UAE Championship MP Motorsport 15 0 1 0 6 171 4th
F4 Spanish Championship 21 2 4 4 12 256 3rd
2024 Formula Regional Middle East Championship MP Motorsport 6 0 0 0 0 14 17th
Formula Regional European Championship 20 0 0 0 0 16 20th
Macau Grand Prix 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 11th
2024-25 Asian Le Mans Series - LMP2 Algarve Pro Racing
2025 Eurocup-3 MP Motorsport 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD

* Season still in progress.

Complete F4 UAE Championship 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 18 19 20 Pos Points
2022 MP Motorsport YMC1
1 		YMC1
2 		YMC1
3 		YMC1
4 		DUB1
1 		DUB1
2 		DUB1
3 		DUB1
4 		DUB2
1
Ret 		DUB2
2
Ret 		DUB2
3
11 		DUB2
4
18 		DUB3
1
14 		DUB3
2
15 		DUB3
3
Ret 		DUB3
4
13 		YMC2
1
15 		YMC2
2
17 		YMC2
3
Ret 		YMC2
4
17 		26th 0
2023 MP Motorsport DUB1
1
2 		DUB1
2
6 		DUB1
3
35 		KMT1
1
2 		KMT1
2
4 		KMT1
3
2 		KMT2
1
4 		KMT2
2
3 		KMT2
3
2 		DUB2
1
6 		DUB2
2
6 		DUB2
3
5 		YMC
1
33† 		YMC
2
6 		YMC
3
2 		4th 171

Complete F4 Spanish Championship 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 18 19 20 21 DC Points
2022 MP Motorsport ALG
1
25 		ALG
2
8 		ALG
3
7 		JER
1
4 		JER
2
3 		JER
3
16 		CRT
1
10 		CRT
2
13 		CRT
3
10 		SPA
1
3 		SPA
2
4 		SPA
3
21 		ARA
1
Ret 		ARA
2
6 		ARA
3
5 		NAV
1
6 		NAV
2
7 		NAV
3
4 		CAT
1
10 		CAT
2
10 		CAT
3
5 		6th 104
2023 MP Motorsport SPA
1
19 		SPA
2
2 		SPA
3
12 		ARA
1
4 		ARA
2
7 		ARA
3
7 		NAV
1
2 		NAV
2
3 		NAV
3
1 		JER
1
5 		JER
2
3 		JER
3
2 		EST
1
6 		EST
2
14 		EST
3
3 		CRT
1
1 		CRT
2
2 		CRT
3
7 		CAT
1
2 		CAT
2
3 		CAT
3
3 		3rd 256

* Season still in progress.

Complete Italian F4 Championship 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 18 19 20 21 22 DC Points
2022 AKM Motorsport IMO
1 		IMO
2 		IMO
3 		MIS
1 		MIS
2 		MIS
3 		SPA
1
16 		SPA
2
Ret 		SPA
3
23 		VLL
1
17 		VLL
2
16 		VLL
3
14 		RBR
1
Ret 		RBR
2 		RBR
3
17 		RBR
4
33 		MNZ
1
38† 		MNZ
2
12 		MNZ
3
C 		MUG
1
15 		MUG
2
17 		MUG
3
23 		33rd 0

Complete Formula Regional Middle East Championship 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 DC Points
2024 MP Motorsport YMC1
1
11 		YMC1
2
26† 		YMC1
3
15 		YMC2
1
13 		YMC2
2
7 		YMC2
3
6 		DUB1
1 		DUB1
2 		DUB1
3 		YMC3
1 		YMC3
2 		YMC3
3 		DUB2
1 		DUB2
2 		DUB2
3 		17th 14

*Season still in progress.

Complete Formula Regional European Championship 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 18 19 20 DC Points
2024 MP Motorsport HOC
1
14 		HOC
2
20 		SPA
1
14 		SPA
2
14 		ZAN
1
Ret 		ZAN
2
27 		HUN
1
11 		HUN
2
19 		MUG
1
15 		MUG
2
15 		LEC
1
13 		LEC
2
12 		IMO
1
13 		IMO
2
19 		RBR
1
6 		RBR
2
Ret 		CAT
1
13 		CAT
2
15 		MNZ
1
6 		MNZ
2
12 		20th 16

Complete Macau Grand Prix results

Year Team Car Qualifying Quali Race Main race
2024 Netherlands MP Motorsport Tatuus F3 T-318 16th 14th 11th

Complete Asian Le Mans Series results

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

Year Team Class Car Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pos. Points
2024–25 Algarve Pro Racing LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SEP
1
4 		SEP
2
1 		DUB
1 		DUB
2 		ABU
1 		ABU
2 		2nd* 37*

Complete Eurocup-3 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 DC Points
2025 MP Motorsport RBR
1
 RBR
2
 POR
1
 POR
2
 LEC
1
 LEC
2
 MNZ
1
 MNZ
2
 ASS
1
 ASS
2
 SPA
1
 SPA
2
 JER
1
 JER
2
 CAT
1
 CAT
2
 TBD TBD

References

  1. ^ FIA Driver Categorisation – 2024 List
  2. ^ "Esordio in F4 per il pilota laziale Valerio Rinicella". Il Caffè di Roma (in Italian). 6 February 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  3. ^ "Rinicella debutta nella F4 UAE: Fisichella e Cioci credono in lui". italiaracing.net (in Italian). 31 January 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  4. ^ Wood, Ida (14 December 2021). "Fisichella's racing student Valerio Rinicella into F4 with MP Motorsport". Formula Scout. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  5. ^ Mishra, Oorjit (28 April 2022). "Your season guide to the 2022 Spanish F4 Championship". F1 Feeder Series. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  6. ^ "F4 Jerez". MP Motorsport. 31 May 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  7. ^ "F4 Spa-Francorchamps". MP Motorsport. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  8. ^ Wood, Ida (8 June 2022). "Fisichella student Valerio Rinicella joins Italian F4 with AKM Motorsport". Formula Scout. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  9. ^ "Italian Formula 4 Championship 2022". DriverDB. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  10. ^ Wood, Ida (8 January 2023). "MP Motorsport adds de Heus and Rinicella to F4 UAE round one line-up". Formula Scout. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  11. ^ Wood, Ida (27 January 2023). "Rinicella and Wharton take F4 UAE poles in Kuwait". Formula Scout. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  12. ^ "F4 United Arab Emirates Championship 2023". DriverDB. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  13. ^ Wood, Ida (15 January 2023). "Rinicella stays at MP Motorsport for second year in Spanish F4". Formula Scout. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  14. ^ Alonso Lopez, Alejandro (7 May 2023). "De Palo gets Spanish F4 victory after Rinicella's winning pass penalised". Formula Scout. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  15. ^ Alonso Lopez, Alejandro (25 June 2023). "Nael and Rinicella win Spanish F4's Sunday races at Navarra". Formula Scout. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  16. ^ "Spanish F4 Round 6 Valencia". MP Motorsport. 17 October 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  17. ^ "Spanish F4 Round 7 Barcelona". MP Motorsport. 13 November 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  18. ^ Wood, Ida (9 January 2024). "Bruno del Pino stays with MP Motorsport for second year in Eurocup-3". Formula Scout. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  19. ^ "Formula Regional Middle East Championship 2024 Standings". DriverDB. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  20. ^ Allen, Peter (18 December 2023). "Valerio Rinicella stays with MP Motorsport for FRegional step". Formula Scout. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  21. ^ "Naël makes Saintéloc history as Wharton grabs second win: FR Europe Spielberg recap". Feeder Series. 17 September 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  22. ^ "Wrapping Up the FRECA Season on a Dramatic Note at Monza". MP Motorsport. 28 October 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  23. ^ "Wrapping Up the FRECA Season on a Dramatic Note at Monza". MP Motorsport. 28 October 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  24. ^ "Rinicella to continue with MP Motorsport in Eurocup-3". MP Motorsport. 18 December 2024. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  25. ^ Goodwin, Graham (21 November 2024). "Algarve Pro Racing Confirm Crew For Asian Le Mans Series". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  26. ^ "Valerio Rinicella | Racing career profile | Driver Database". Driver DB. Retrieved 20 December 2023.