Raffaele Marciello is set to turn his back on single seater racing in order to focus on GT Racing, feeling his dream of reaching Formula 1 is unrealistic due to a lack of funding.
The Italian has raced in the GP2 Series for the past three seasons after moving to the championship as the 2013 FIA European Formula 3 Champion, but in that time has only taken one victory as he finished eighth, seventh and fourth in the final standings with Racing Engineering, Trident and Russian Time respectively.
Marciello, a former member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, has admitted that despite outperforming drivers that have already reached Formula 1, he is not in a position to join them, and is now in the process of reassessing his career.
“You need 10-15 million, I don’t have the money, so no Formula 1 for me,” said Marciello to Motorsport.com. “You need money always.
“You must be realistic and not dream about b******t. You need money for Formula 1 – if you don’t have money, you don’t have Formula 1. It’s important to not lose some [other] opportunity thinking too much about something impossible.
“I think I did a good job [throughout my career]. I won Formula 3, many of the drivers I beat in Formula 3 are now in Formula 1, so if they are in Formula 1, I think I also deserve to be in Formula 1.
“But I will have a different career compared to them and I’m sure it will be great also for me.”
Despite participating in the post-season tests in Abu Dhabi, Marciello is not expecting to remain in the GP2 championship in 2017, and is looking at potential options within the world of GT Racing.
“I’m almost sure I won’t be in GP2 anymore, because it’s a bit silly to do another year in GP2,” said Marciello. “If next year I win, I still need 10 million for Formula 1.
“I’m trying to see if there’s some opportunity for me in GT, we’ll see what. I hope before Christmas I know what I can do next year, so I can focus really well on next year and start. We are 90 percent sure on what we’ll do.”
