Stefano Coletti

Clark and Nasir have the Korean Grand Prix post race round-table discussion, we have Motorsports Mondial and special interview with Stefano Coletti.

STEFANO COLETTI
was born in the Principality of Monaco on 6 April 1989. He weighs 73 kg and is 1.80 m tall.

According to his parents Stefano was born under a special star; Armande (of Monegasque nationality) and Gianluigi (of Italian nationality), Stefano was conceived on board Keke Rosberg’s yacht during a summer vacation – was this perhaps a sign of his destiny?

He was quite an unruly and quite hyperactive child. In order to channel his high levels of energy he started playing soccer at a young age, then tennis and lastly skiing. However he did not reach his full potential as a sportsman.

Armande then had the idea to take Stefano to the Arma di Taggia go-kart circuit to see if he enjoyed the experience. There followed an opportune encounter with Guido Mandracci, a motorbike champion in the 70s and manager of the circuit. Guido took Stefano under his wing and discovered a talented driver with an exceptional ability to analyse the track. Despite a slow start in karting, Guido was very optimistic about Stefano’s talent and persisted with his training. He knew what he was doing and a special bond developed between them, leading over time to a huge improvement in his performance and skill level.

Stefano, like the majority of the best drivers in Formula 1, began his career in karting, where he shone during the 2003 and 2004 seasons, becoming the European Champion, before moving on to single seaters. However, despite his raw speed on the circuit, he lacked consistency. Talent must be combined with hard work and training – a difficult concept for a teenager. From late 2010 Stefano had a step change in his attitude to the sport, due to his increasing maturity and awareness of his goals and what he had to do to get to them. His training has become relentless, with a daily workout of a combination of cycling, jogging, gym work and canoeing in the sea off Monaco – all under the supervision of a dedicated coach.

A naturally very strong athlete, Stefano challenges now his GP2 rivals with a mixture of determination, concentration and composure. In 2011 he obtained three victories in his debut year and after gaining more experience in 2012 has begun the 2013 season in the best way with two wins and three podiums in the first eight races in Malaysia, Bahrain, Spain and Monaco.

[audio:http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/mp3.f1weekly.com/podcasts/10-08-13f1weekly639.mp3]