Born and raised in Nevada City, California, Rossi began his racing career in the United States before moving to Europe as a teenager to pursue a career in Formula One. He graduated from Forest Lake Christian High School at the age of sixteen to focus on his racing ambitions.
Rossi began his open-wheel career in Formula BMW USA in 2007, finishing third overall with Team Apex Racing, USA, achieving three wins and five podiums. He returned for a second year in 2008 with EuroInternational, winning the championship with ten wins from fifteen races, becoming the first American Formula BMW Champion in the Americas Championship. This success earned him a Formula One test with BMW Sauber F1 Team. In 2009, Rossi moved to the International Formula Master series with Hitech Racing, later switching to ISR Racing, where he won three races.
In 2010, Rossi competed in the GP3 Series with ART Grand Prix, winning twice and finishing fourth in the series. He then moved to the Formula Renault 3.5 Series with Fortec Motorsport in 2011, placing third in the championship and earning top rookie honors. He continued in the series with Arden Caterham Motorsport in 2012. Rossi competed in the 2013–10 GP2 Asia Series with Ocean Racing Technology and Team Meritus, finishing ninth in the championship. He then joined Racing Engineering for the 2015 GP2 Series, finishing second in the championship.
Rossi made his Formula One debut in 2015 for Manor Marussia F1 Team, entering five Grands Prix, including his home race in the United States where he finished 12th. After failing to secure a full-time Formula One drive for 2016, Rossi returned to the U.S. and won the 2016 Indianapolis 500 as a rookie with a combined team from Andretti Autosport and Bryan Herta Autosport. He managed his fuel over the final stint to win, running dry after the finish and requiring a tow to victory lane. In 2017, Rossi won at Watkins Glen International, his first road course win in IndyCar. He finished second in the Drivers’ Championship in 2018 and third in 2019. At the 2019 Indianapolis 500, Rossi was in contention for the win before a fuel pump problem during a pit stop dropped him back in the field.
Rossi made his debut in sports car racing at the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans, driving for Greaves Motorsport. In 2014, he competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona for the DeltaWing team. He returned to sports car racing in 2019, joining Acura Team Penske for the endurance races at Daytona and Sebring, finishing third at Daytona. He won the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona with Wayne Taylor Racing, alongside Hélio Castroneves and Ricky Taylor. He also participated in the Bathurst 1000 in 2019 with Walkinshaw Andretti United, finishing 19th.
Rossi was named the 2016 IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year. He has served as a TAG Heuer ambassador alongside Tom Brady.
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