Raffaele Marciello Bio
Raffaele Marciello, known by the nickname “Lello,” is a Swiss-born Italian professional racing driver born on 17 December 1994 in Zürich, Switzerland. He currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup for BMW M Team WRT, driving the No. 15 car. A former member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, Marciello earned his reputation as one of Europe’s top junior single-seater talents before transitioning to GT racing in 2017. Over the course of his career, he has collected championship titles in Formula Three, the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup, ADAC GT Masters, and the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup.
Early Life and Background
Marciello was born in Zürich, Switzerland, but grew up with strong ties to Italy, a heritage reflected in his racing nationality during his early career. He began karting in 2005 and worked his way up through the European junior karting ranks, progressing to the KF2 category by 2010. His performances in karting attracted attention from scouts at Ferrari, helping him secure a place in the newly launched Ferrari Driver Academy alongside fellow young Italian talent Brandon Maïsano.
Off the track, Marciello developed his craft in the European karting scene, racing against future Formula One drivers such as Stoffel Vandoorne. That junior experience gave him the race craft and consistency required to step up to single-seater racing at a young age.
Path to NASCAR
Raffaele Marciello’s career path has remained within international open-wheel and sports car racing, with no documented involvement in NASCAR or any of its national touring series. His professional trajectory has centered on European junior formulae, GP2, and global GT endurance competition, leaving no verified connection to stock car racing in the United States. As a result, no NASCAR-specific milestones can be cited for his profile.
Raffaele Marciello Career
Early Career (2010–2013)
Marciello graduated to single-seaters in 2010, racing in the newly launched Formula Abarth series for JD Motorsport. He won the opening race at Misano, added another victory at Varano, and finished third in the championship standings. His results that year also earned him a place in the Ferrari Driver Academy.
He moved up to the Italian Formula Three Championship in 2011 with Prema Powerteam, claiming wins at Misano and Adria while finishing third overall. In 2012, he raced in both the Formula 3 Euro Series and the FIA European Formula Three Championship, scoring more wins than any other driver in either series. The following year, he dominated the 2013 FIA European Formula Three Championship, winning 13 races and clinching the title with a race to spare.
Formula Three Breakthrough (2012–2013)
During the 2012 off-season, Marciello also competed in the New Zealand-based Toyota Racing Series, taking ninth place in the standings with a win at Hampton Downs. That winter campaign gave him valuable experience ahead of his busy 2013 campaign.
His 2013 season with Prema Powerteam established him as one of the most promising junior drivers in the world. He entered the year as a pre-season favorite and delivered 13 victories on his way to the European Formula Three crown. His title-winning form helped him earn a reserve and test driver role with the Sauber Formula One team for 2015.
GP2 Series Career (2014–2016)
Marciello moved to the GP2 Series in 2014 with Racing Engineering, the team announced as his entry by the Ferrari Driver Academy in January of that year. His first GP2 victory came in a wet feature race at Spa-Francorchamps after an intense fight with Stoffel Vandoorne. Multiple incidents limited his consistency, but his win and three further podiums were enough to place him eighth in the standings.
He switched to Trident Racing for 2015 and improved to seventh overall, scoring 99.1 percent of the team’s points. In 2016, he drove for Russian Time and finished fourth in the standings, his strongest GP2 result, behind a season dominated by Prema Racing.
BMW M Team WRT Era (2024–Present)
The week after his dominant 2023 FIA GT World Cup win in Macau, Marciello announced he was joining BMW as a factory driver. In January 2024, BMW and Team WRT confirmed he would make his Hypercar debut in the FIA World Endurance Championship, driving the BMW M Hybrid V8 alongside Dries Vanthoor and Marco Wittmann in the No. 15 entry.
His first WEC campaign yielded BMW’s first top-class podium, a runner-up finish at Fuji. Marciello continued in the No. 15 BMW for 2025, this time partnered by Vanthoor and Kevin Magnussen, while also driving a BMW M4 GT3 for ROWE Racing in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup.
Driving Style and Strengths
Marciello is widely recognized for his smooth, mistake-free driving style and his ability to manage long stints during endurance events. He pairs consistent race pace with strong qualifying speed, regularly putting his cars on pole in GT competition. His capacity to handle traffic and execute strategic passes has made him a trusted lead driver in multi-class endurance racing.
Notable Races and Milestones
Marciello’s signature results include his 2022 win at the 24 Hours of Spa, his 2023 FIA GT World Cup triumph in Macau, BMW’s first WEC Hypercar podium at Fuji in 2024, and victory at the 2025 24 Hours of Nürburgring. He also won the 2025 Bathurst 12 Hours podium and the Suzuka 1000 km, both under the BMW banner.
Raffaele Marciello Career Wins
Raffaele Marciello has accumulated championship titles and major endurance race victories across single-seaters, GT3, and Hypercar competition. His most celebrated successes include the 2013 FIA European Formula Three Championship, the 2018 Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup, the 2022 ADAC GT Masters title, the 2022 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup crown, and the 2022 GT World Challenge Europe overall title.
GT World Challenge Europe Highlights
Marciello has been a fixture of the GT World Challenge Europe since 2017, scoring early podiums with AKKA ASP and Mercedes-AMG. He won the Endurance Cup title in 2022 alongside Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella, followed by a successful defense in 2023. He also claimed the overall GT World Challenge Europe title in 2022 and added the Sprint Cup crown in 2018 alongside Timur Boguslavskiy’s co-driver Michael Meadows.
Other Wins and Performances
Beyond his GT World Challenge successes, Marciello won the 2022 ADAC GT Masters title with Team Landgraf, the 2019 and 2023 FIA GT World Cup at Macau, and the 2025 24 Hours of Nürburgring. Earlier, he dominated the 2013 FIA European Formula Three Championship with 13 victories and added his first major endurance win at the 2022 24 Hours of Spa.
| Series | Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
|---|---|---|---|
| FIA World Endurance Championship (Hypercar) | 0 | Multiple verified | 1 |
| GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup | Verified champion 2022, 2023 | Multiple | Multiple |
Raffaele Marciello Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Public information about Raffaele Marciello’s parents and immediate family is limited, and no documented racing lineage has been verified through his Ferrari Driver Academy background or his karting origins in Switzerland.
Personal Life
Marciello is known publicly by the nickname “Lello.” He switched from an Italian to a Swiss racing licence ahead of the 2022 season, citing a lack of support from the Italian motorsport federation. Beyond these details, no further verified information about his spouse, children, or residence has been published.
2025 Season Performance
Marciello’s 2025 schedule has centered on two BMW programs: the FIA World Endurance Championship with Team WRT in the No. 15 BMW M Hybrid V8, and the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup with ROWE Racing. He opened the WEC campaign with a fourth place at Qatar and a sixth at Imola, before a drive-through penalty for a pit-lane speeding infringement at Spa dropped the No. 15 crew to tenth. A hybrid cooling issue forced an early exit at Le Mans, and the team failed to score in the remaining rounds, finishing outside the top ten in the drivers’ standings behind the sister No. 20 BMW.
His GT3 season has been far more rewarding. He finished fourth overall at the 24 Hours of Daytona, took second at the Bathurst 12 Hours in a WRT one-two, and won the Nürburgring round of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup with ROWE Racing. A commanding victory at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, paired with a Suzuka 1000 km win, pushed him into contention for the 2025 Intercontinental GT Challenge title, which he ultimately finished second.
At the FIA GT World Cup in Macau, Marciello closed his 2025 campaign with a runner-up finish behind Antonio Fuoco. The year cemented his value to BMW’s factory roster and confirmed his standing as one of the leading GT drivers in international motorsport.