Alex Fontana

For the football player, see Alex Fontana (Canadian football).

Alex Fontana (born 5 August 1992) is a Greek-Swiss racing driver currently racing as a professional driver in the 2023 GT World Challenge Europe for Car Collection Motorsport. He is a freelance driver with an open contract able to race for different teams and different manufacturers at the same time. When he is not racing, he works as a coach and driving instructor in Europe, America, and China, while commentating the Formula 1 Grands Prix for Swiss television with RSI.

Alex Fontana
Nationality	Swiss
Born	(1992-08-05) 5 August 1992 (age 31) Lugano, Switzerland
2023 GT World Challenge Europe career
Current team	Car Collection Motorsport
Racing licence	FIA Gold
Former teams	Centri Porsche Ticino, Emil Frey Racing, Dongfeng Yueda Kia Racing Team, Adrenaline Motorsport, Akka ASP Team, Zun Motorsport Crew, Phantom Pro Racing
Previous series
GT4 European Series, GT World Challenge Europe, China Touring Car Championship, VLN, China GT Championship
Championship titles
2023 GT World Challenge Pro-Am Cup 2021 GT World Challenge Silver Cup 2019 China GT Championship GT4 2018 Blancpain Endurance Silver Cup 2011 European F3 Open Championship

Career

Karting

Fontana's passion for racing began in 1996 at three and a half years old in the Greek island of Rhodes, driving his first baby Puffo Kart. Until 2008 he raced in the Swiss National Championships and international events as a factory driver for Swiss Hutless and PCR International. Highlights include the Swiss Karting Championship 2007 KF3 title, the 2006 Biland 4 Stroke World Final win in Dubai, the Bridgestone Cup 2008 KF2 title win, and the Italian Open Master 2008 Runner Up, as well as qualifying for the World Karting Championship 2008 in La Conca, Italy.^{[citation needed]}

Single seaters

In 2009 came the switch to single-seaters after making it into the BMW Talent Scout event at Valencia in 2008. In 2009 he raced in Formula Azzurra with MG Motorsport taking two wins and one additional podium. In 2010 there was the switch to Formula 3 with Corbetta Competizioni in the Italian Championship,^[1] before moving up in 2011 with the same team in the European Formula 3 Open.^[2] 2011 was a successful year for Fontana with two wins and nine podiums, allowing him to take the overall championship title.^[3] At the end of the year, he had the opportunity to test the Mercedes DTM for the HWA Team.

In August 2011, Fontana made his debut in the Formula One–supporting GP3 Series, replacing Vittorio Ghirelli at Jenzer Motorsport for the penultimate round of the season at Spa–Francorchamps.^[4] After finishing 14th in the first race, he took the final championship point in race two by finishing in sixth place.^[5]

In 2012 he joined the FIA Formula 2 Championship^[6] with three podiums and a win, being selected at the end of the year by Lotus F1 Junior Team, thanks also to other points finish in GP3 Series in 4th place, again as a wild card entry and again with Jenzer Motorsport.

2013 was the first season with Lotus F1 Junior Team and the first full season with Jenzer Motorsport in the GP3 Series, with one podium finish and the highlight of the first Formula 1 test with Lotus F1 Team 30 September in Paul Ricard circuit.

In 2014 he continued with Lotus F1 Junior Team in GP3 Series but switching to ART Grand Prix, with two podiums and two front rows start. With only 5 races in the points out of 18, he finished 11th in the championship. At the end of the year, he joined the World Series 3.5 by Renault's official test in Jerez with Lotus Charouz signing the 2nd best lap time.

2015 was a bit of a special year. Lotus was sold to Renault and this caused the exit from the Junior Program. He raced again in GP3 Series with Status GP, with the Canadian team having some difficulties throughout the year and eventually exit the series. In the same year came the call from Pons Racing to replace Roberto Mehri in Monte Carlo, where he raced with Marussia F1. The first race in World Series 3.5 by Renault, the first race in the streets of Monaco, finished in the points with 9th place. At the end of the year he was called by Jarno Trulli to compete in the FIA Formula E Championship last double-round of London Battersea Park, and with the best result in 9th place in the second qualifying. After that, the last single-seater experience to date was the official GP2 Series test in Abu Dhabi, with Status GP and Rapax Team, with the highest result of 8th in the standings.

GT and touring cars

In 2016 there was the switch to GT cars joining McLaren GT Academy for a Blancpain GT Endurance campaign and 24 Hours of Spa in PRO class. At the end of the year, it was called by KIA Motors to develop the new Super Production car for China Touring Car Championship, collecting a podium and a pole position in the debut weekends.

2017 was again in Blancpain GT Endurance and 24 Hours of Spa but in PRO-AM, with the Mercedes AMG supported car of AKKA ASP and his Chupa-Chups livery. A highlight of the year is the overall best lap time in the two days of official testing in Paul Ricard on a field of 55 cars. He was signed by KIA Motors for the maximum number of rounds a foreign driver could complete, four, taking two pole positions, two wins, and one more podium.

In 2018 he raced for Emil Frey Jaguar Racing winning the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup - Silver Cup and also placing the car in the top 5 in the overall standings 2 times out of 5. In China, he has been confirmed for the third year by KIA Motors in China Touring Car Championship. As a foreign driver he disputed the 4 mandatory races on 8 where, thanks to two victories, he allowed Kia to win the constructors' championship. He also took part in two VLN races to achieve the Permit A for the Nordschleife.

2019 was opened by taking part in the first round of the VLN with the official Nissan KCMG team at the "65. ADAC Westfalenfahrt". In this year Fontana was chosen as a driver for the official AMG team - Phantom Pro Racing in the China GT Championship, GT4 class, where, after an intense championship, he managed to win the title. He also raced for the fourth year in a row as an official Kia motors driver for Dongfeng Yueda Kia Racing Team in the China touring car championship for the maximum number of races allowed for a foreign driver. Thanks to his 84 points the Dongfeng Yueda Kia Racing Team has won the manufacturers' title for the second year in a row. Lastly, he has been involved in other motorsports competitions during the year including the china endurance championship as a driver for Lamborghini in GT3 class and as a coach for Volkswagen in TCR class. 2019 has also shown Fontana engaged in collaborations with the Swiss television RSI for the events of Formula 1 and other motorsport shows. In recognition for this year, Fontana was awarded by the Swiss Automobile Club an award for sports merit and a trophy in memory of Loris Kessel.

In 2020 Fontana was meant to join three different competitions in Asia, as well as a comeback in the European competitions. - Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many competitions have been canceled and Fontana didn't take part in any of the competitions in Asia. -

Fontana was confirmed to race with Adderly Fong in the Silver-Pro class of the GT World Challenge Asia behind the wheel of a Mercedes-AMG GT3 of the Zun Motorsport Crew. He, also, was still in contract to continue to race in the China GT Championship, that year in two classes: in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the GT3 class with Chris Chia and the Phantom Pro Racing Team, and, after the success of 2019, in the Mercedes-AMG GT4 in GT4 class.

Furthermore, after a long stop of the activities, Fontana has been called to compete in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup 2020, driving the new Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO of the AKKA ASP Team. The year has been concluded with 11th place in the endurance cup.

In 2021, Fontana competed again in Europe behind the wheel of the consolidated Emil Frey's Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo. This comeback was announced three years after his success in the Endurance Silver Cup with the Swiss Team. Fontana won the 2021 championship title in the Endurance Silver Cup, with his teammates Rolf Ineichen and Ricardo Feller, and he was the sole champion of the Sprint Silver Cup. At the end of the season, he was the unique winner of the combined Silver Championship title, with a gap of 28 points on the 2nd placed, his teammate Ricardo Feller. Even if he was racing in the Silver category, Fontana also finished the year in 5th place overall among Pro drivers in the Sprint Championship. In addition, the endurance team was the protagonist of a record in this competition during the debut race in Monza, managing to become the first Silver cup team to finish the race on the overall podium, other than winning in their category.

In June 2021, Fontana had taken part in his first 24 hours of Nürburgring, racing in the main class with the Konrad Motorsport's Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo.

Fontana returned to the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe in 2023 after a year away, competing for his 2022 GT4 European Series employers Centri Porsche Ticino alongside Ivan Jacoma and Nicolas Leutwiler.^[7] With the new german team "Car Collection Motorsport", the line-up won the class title in the endurance cup with 1 race to spare, adding another championship to Fontana's palmarès.

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2009	Formula Azzurra	MG Motorsport	16	2	0	0	3	49	7th
2010	Italian Formula 3 Championship	Corbetta Competizioni	16	0	0	0	0	0	27th
2011	European F3 Open	Corbetta Competizioni	16	2	1	1	7	120	1st
	GP3 Series	Jenzer Motorsport	2	0	0	0	0	1	24th
2012	FIA Formula Two Championship	Motorsport Vision	16	1	0	1	3	115	7th
	GP3 Series	Jenzer Motorsport	4	0	0	0	0	8.5	18th
2013	GP3 Series	Jenzer Motorsport	16	0	0	0	1	18	17th
2014	GP3 Series	ART Grand Prix	18	0	0	1	2	43	11th
2014-15	Formula E	Trulli GP	2	0	0	0	0	0	33rd
2015	GP3 Series	Status Grand Prix	18	0	0	0	0	16	16th
	Formula Renault 3.5 Series	Pons Racing	1	0	0	0	0	2	24th
2016	Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup	Garage 59	5	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	Intercontinental GT Challenge		1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	China Touring Car Championship	Dongfeng Yueda Kia Racing Team	4	0	1	0	1	21	22nd
2017	China Touring Car Championship	Dongfeng Yueda Kia Racing Team	8	2	2	0	3	85	10th
	Intercontinental GT Challenge	AKKA ASP	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup - Pro-Am		4	0	0	0	0	2	47th
	Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup		4	0	0	0	0	0	NC
		Emil Frey Racing	1	0	0	0	0
2018	China Touring Car Championship	Dongfeng Yueda Kia Racing Team	6	2	0	0	3	70.5	11th
	Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup	Emil Frey Racing	5	0	0	0	0	22	21st
	Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup - Silver Cup		5	2	4	3	3	103	1st
	Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup		2	0	0	0	0	3	23rd
	Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup - Silver Cup		2	0	0	0	2	21.5	11th
	European Le Mans Series - LMP3	Racing For Poland	1	0	0	0	0	0.5	36th
	V de V Endurance Series - LMP3	Team Virage	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
2019	China Touring Car Championship	Dongfeng Yueda Kia Racing Team	8	1	0	0	3	84	9th
	China GT Championship - GT4	PhantomPro Racing	12	4	0	0	6	178.5	1st
2020	GT World Challenge Asia	Zun Motorsport Crew	0	0	0	0	0	0	-th**
	China GT Championship - GT4	PhantomPro Racing	0	0	0	0	0	0	-th**
	China GT Championship - GT3		0	0	0	0	0	0	-th**
	GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup	AKKA ASP	4	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup - Silver Cup		4	0	1	1	0	32	11th
	Intercontinental GT Challenge		1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	European Le Mans Series - LMP3	BHK Motorsport	1	0	0	0	0	4	28th
2021	GT World Challenge Europe - Silver Cup	Emil Frey Racing	15	5	6	1	8	194	1st
	GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup - Silver Cup		5	2	2	1	3	91	1st
	GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup		10	1	1	0	2	45	5th
	GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup - Silver Cup		10	3	4	0	5	103	1st
	Intercontinental GT Challenge		1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9	Konrad Motorsport	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	17th
2022	GT4 European Series - Pro-Am	Centri Porsche Ticino	12	1	1	0	5	139	4th
2023	GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup	Car Collection Motorsport	5	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup - Pro-Am Cup		5	1	0	1	3	102	1st
	Intercontinental GT Challenge - Pro-Am		0	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	24H GT Series - GT3
	GT4 European Series - Pro-Am	Centri Porsche Ticino	3	0	0	0	0	5	25th
2024	International GT Open	Car Collection Motorsport
	24H Series - GT3

^* Season still in progress.

^** Season suspended due to COVID-19 situation.

Complete GP3 Series 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	16	17	18	DC	Points
2011	Jenzer Motorsport	IST FEA	IST SPR	CAT FEA	CAT SPR	VAL FEA	VAL SPR	SIL FEA	SIL SPR	NÜR FEA	NÜR SPR	HUN FEA	HUN SPR	SPA FEA 14	SPA SPR 6	MNZ FEA	MNZ SPR			24th	1
2012	Jenzer Motorsport	CAT FEA	CAT SPR	MON FEA	MON SPR	VAL FEA	VAL SPR	SIL FEA	SIL SPR	HOC FEA	HOC SPR	HUN FEA 17	HUN SPR 15	SPA FEA 10^‡	SPA SPR 4	MNZ FEA	MNZ SPR			18th	8.5
2013	Jenzer Motorsport	CAT FEA 10	CAT SPR 9	VAL FEA 14	VAL SPR 11	SIL FEA 7	SIL SPR 3	NÜR FEA Ret	NÜR SPR 17	HUN FEA 10	HUN SPR 19	SPA FEA 21	SPA SPR 12	MNZ FEA Ret	MNZ SPR Ret	YMC FEA 13	YMC SPR 10			17th	18
2014	ART Grand Prix	CAT FEA 11	CAT SPR 19	RBR FEA Ret	RBR SPR 17	SIL FEA 15	SIL SPR Ret	HOC FEA 11	HOC SPR 13	HUN FEA 14	HUN SPR 13	SPA FEA 6	SPA SPR 3	MNZ FEA Ret	MNZ SPR 10	SOC FEA 3	SOC SPR Ret	YMC FEA 6	YMC SPR 15	11th	43
2015	Status Grand Prix	CAT FEA 9	CAT SPR 16	RBR FEA 10	RBR SPR 6	SIL FEA 19	SIL SPR 18	HUN FEA 14	HUN SPR 13	SPA FEA 10	SPA SPR 6	MNZ FEA 8	MNZ SPR 16	SOC FEA 19	SOC SPR 11	BHR FEA 19	BHR SPR 19	YMC FEA 15	YMC SPR 13	16th	16

^‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.

Complete FIA Formula Two Championship results

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

Year	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Pos	Points
2012	SIL 1 3	SIL 2 3	ALG 1 7	ALG 2 10	NÜR 1 6	NÜR 2 5	SPA 1 8	SPA 2 5	BRH 1 Ret	BRH 2 7	LEC 1 14	LEC 2 Ret	HUN 1 1	HUN 2 5	MNZ 1 9	MNZ 2 6	7th	115

Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series 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	Pos	Points
2015	Pons Racing	ALC 1	ALC 2	MON 1 9	SPA 1	SPA 2	HUN 1	HUN 2	RBR 1	RBR 2	SIL 1	SIL 2	NÜR 1	NÜR 2	BUG 1	BUG 2	JER 1	JER 2	24th	2

Complete Formula E results

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

Year	Team	Chassis	Powertrain	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Pos	Points
2014–15	Trulli Formula E Team	Spark SRT01-e	SRT01-e	BEI	PUT	PDE	BUE	MIA	LBH	MCO	BER	MSC	LDN Ret	LDN 14	33rd	0

Complete European Le Mans Series results

Year	Entrant	Class	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	Rank	Points
2018	Racing For Poland	LMP3	Ligier JS P3	Nissan VK50VE 5.0 L V8	LEC	MNZ 14	RBR	SIL	SPA	ALG	36th	0.5
2020	BHK Motorsport	LMP3	Ligier JS P320	Nissan VK56DE 5.6L V8	LEC	SPA	LEC	MNZ	ALG 8		28th	4

Complete China Touring Car Championship results

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Pos	Points
2017	Dongfeng Yueda Kia Racing Team	Kia K3 2.0T	Super Cup	ZUN 1	ZUN 2	GUA 1 Ret	GUA 2 10	GUI 1	GUI 2	STC 1	STC 2	SHA 1 4	SHA 2 11	NIN 1 12	NIN 2 1	WUH 1	WUH 2	SHA 1 1	SHA 2 3	10th	85
2018	Dongfeng Yueda Kia Racing Team	Kia K3 2.0T	Super Cup	SHA 1 2	SHA 2 Ret	ZUN 1	ZUN 2	GUA 1	GUA 2	STC 1	STC 2	NIN 1	NIN 2	WUH 1	WUH 2	STC 1 1	STC 2 5	SHA 1 9	SHA 2 1	11th	70.5
2019	Dongfeng Yueda Kia Racing Team	Kia K3 2.0T	Super Cup	GUA 1 5	GUA 2 3	SHA 1	SHA 2	STC 1	STC 2	ZUN 1	ZUN 2	NIN 1 3	NIN 2 10	ZHE 1	ZHE 2	SHA 1 Ret	SHA 2 5	WUH 1 1	WUH 2 4	9th	84

Complete China GT Championship GT3/GT4 results

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Pos	Points
2019	PhantomPro Racing	Mercedes-AMG GT4	GT4	SEP 1 1	SEP 2 3	NIN 1 5	NIN 2 1	SHA 1 11*	SHA 2 2	SHO 1 4	SHO 2 6	TIA 1 1	TIA 2 6	SHA 1 1	SHA 2 4	1st	178.5
2020**	PhantomPro Racing	Mercedes-AMG GT4	GT4	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	-th	0
		Mercedes-AMG GT3	GT3	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	-th	0

^* Half points awarded due to red flag.

^** Season suspended due to COVID-19 situation.

Complete GT World Challenge Asia results

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Pos	Points
2020*	Zun Motorsport Crew	Mercedes-AMG GT3	GT3	SEP 1	SEP 2	SHA 1	SHA 2	TBC 1	TBC 2	SEP 1	SEP 2	-th	0

^* Season suspended due to COVID-19 situation.

Complete GT World Challenge Europe results

GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Pos	Points
2018	Emil Frey Racing	Jaguar XK Emil Frey G3	Silver	ZOL 1	ZOL 2	BRH 1	BRH 2	MIS 1 7	MIS 2 11	HUN 1	HUN 2	NÜR 1	NÜR 2	11th	21.5
2021	Emil Frey Racing	Lamborghini Huracán GT3	Silver	MAG 1 3	MAG 2 8	ZAN 1 1	ZAN 2 2	MIS 1 9	MIS 2 11	BRH 1 14	BRH 2 8	VAL 1 18	VAL 2 13	1st	103

GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Pos	Points
2018	Emil Frey Racing	Jaguar XK Emil Frey GT3	Silver	MNZ 5	SIL 44	LEC 16	SPA 6H 29	SPA 12H 35	SPA 24H 28	CAT 4	1st	103
2020	AKKA ASP Team	Mercedes-AMG GT3	Silver	IMO 38	NÜR 38	SPA 6H 27	SPA 12H 39	SPA 24H 29	LEC 21		11th	32
2021	Emil Frey Racing	Lamborghini Huracán GT3	Silver	MNZ 3	LEC 13	SPA 6H 14	SPA 12H 38	SPA 24H 31	NÜR 8	CAT 20	1st	91
2023	Car Collection Motorsport	Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)	Pro-Am	MNZ Ret	LEC 31	SPA 6H 35	SPA 12H 36	SPA 24H 23	NÜR 42	CAT 41	1st	102

Complete Nürburgring 24 Hour results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2021	Konrad Motorsport	Axcil Jefferies   Michele Di Martino   Tim Zimmermann	Lamborghini Huracán GT3	SP9	56	18th	17th

Complete GT4 European Series

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Pos	Points
2022	Centri Porsche Ticino	Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS	Pro-Am	IMO 1 3	IMO 2 1	PRI 1 5	PRI 2 4	MIS 1 5	MIS 2 9	SPA 1 2	SPA 2 Ret	HOC 1 7	HOC 2 Ret	CAT 1 2	CAT 2 2	4th	139

References

1. . italiaracing.net (in Italian). Inpagina. 18 December 2009. Archived from the original on 25 May 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
2. Wilkinson, Andy (22 March 2011). . motorstv.com. Motors TV. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
3. Weeks, James (31 October 2011). . motorstv.com. Motors TV. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
4. Allen, Peter (24 August 2011). "Alex Fontana Replaces Vittorio Ghirelli At Jenzer". TheCheckeredFlag.co.uk. BlackEagleMedia. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
5. Allen, Peter (28 August 2011). "Stanaway wins on debut weekend in GP3". TheCheckeredFlag.co.uk. BlackEagleMedia. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
6. . FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 9 March 2012. Archived from the original on 16 May 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
7. Plümer, Jonas (1 March 2023). "GT World Challenge Europe: Centri Porsche Ticino mit 911 GT3 R" [GT World Challenge Europe: Centri Porsche Ticino with 911 GT3 R]. GT-Place.com (in German). Retrieved 1 March 2023.

External links

• Official website
• Alex Fontana career summary at DriverDB.com

Sporting positions
Preceded by Marco Barba	European F3 Open Championship Champion 2011	Succeeded by Niccolò Schirò
Preceded by Inaugural	Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup - Silver Cup Champion 2018 With: Adrian Zaugg & Mikaël Grenier	Succeeded by Nico Bastian Timur Boguslavskiy Felipe Fraga
Preceded by Jack Mitchell	China GT Championship - GT4 Champion 2019 With: Chris Chia	Succeeded by Suspended
Preceded by Ezequiel Pérez Companc	GT World Challenge Europe - Silver Cup Champion 2021	Succeeded by Thomas Neubauer,Benjamin Goethe
Preceded by Louis Machiels, Andrea Bertolini, Stefano Costantini	GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup - Pro-Am Champion 2023 With: Ivan Jacoma & Niki Leutwiler	Succeeded by Incumbent