Gianmaria Bruni

Born in Rome, Bruni began karting at the age of ten, having lied about his age to gain entry to La Pista d'Oro. The minimum age to compete at the track was twelve.

Bruni won the Italian Formula Renault Campus championship in 1998 and followed this success with the European Formula Renault Eurocup 2.0 title the following year. He then moved to British Formula 3, finishing fifth in 2000 and fourth in 2001. He progressed through various European series, finishing third in the Euro Formula 3000 series in 2003, which brought him to the attention of Minardi.

Bruni joined Minardi for the 2004 Formula One season after testing for the team in 2003, though he struggled with sponsorship. He competed for the majority of the season in a car that was significantly less developed than its competitors, and was one of only two drivers to contest most of the season without scoring any points.

In 2005, Bruni moved to the GP2 Series, winning the first race at Barcelona and finishing second at Monaco while driving for Coloni. He left the team before the Monza weekend and joined Durango, taking pole position at Spa-Francorchamps and finishing tenth in the Drivers’ Classification. He continued in GP2 in 2006 with Trident Racing, securing victories at Imola and Hockenheim, and ending the season seventh in the Drivers’ Classification.

Bruni switched to sports car racing in 2007, joining Team AF Corse Motorole in a Ferrari 430 GT3 in the FIA GT Championship. He and Stéphane Ortelli finished second in the GT2 class with three wins. After a period in the American Le Mans Series for Risi Competizione, Bruni focused on Europe in 2011, partnering with Giancarlo Fisichella in an AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia. They won the LM GTE Pro class in the Le Mans Series, contributing to the team’s championship win in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. He finished second at the Le Mans 24hrs and won the Petit Le Mans.

At the 2012 12 Hours of Sebring, Bruni attempted to shunt off the BMW M3 GT of Joey Hand on the last lap, intending to help the sister car of Olivier Beretta win the overall grand touring classification, though the BMW was in a different class and had not completed 70% of the race leader’s distance. In the 80th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2012, Bruni, alongside Toni Vilander and Giancarlo Fisichella, won the GTE-Pro class, completing 336 laps (2,845.53 miles) in their Ferrari 458 Italia.

Bruni secured three wins and two second places in the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship, winning the GTE-Pro teams trophy and the GTE drivers and manufacturers cups. In February 2017, Ferrari and Bruni announced the early termination of their relationship, ending a collaboration that began in 2007. He subsequently signed a contract with Porsche, making his debut with them in July at Watkins Glen. In 2018, he raced for Porsche in the WEC, replacing Frédéric Makowiecki.