Salvatore Cicatelli

After completing a karting career that spanned six years, Cicatelli stepped up to single–seaters in 2007, racing in the Italian Formula Azzurra championship. After a season–long battle with fellow Italian driver Marco Zipoli, Cicatelli won the title by a single point, winning half of the season's fourteen races and taking a further four podium places in the process.[1]

At the end of 2007, Cicatelli made his Formula Renault debut, racing in the season–ending Italian Formula Renault 2.0 Winter series held at Vallelunga. Driving for Viola Formula Racing, he finished seventh in the standings with 44 points.[2]

The following season, Cicatelli graduated to the prestigious Italian Formula Three Championship, racing for BVM–Target Racing. In a championship dominated by Mirko Bortolotti and Edoardo Piscopo, he finished every race of the season and took four podium places to finish third in the standings.[3] This result was enough for him to earn a test in a Ferrari F2008 Formula One car alongside Bortolotti and Piscopo, which took place at Fiorano on 27 November 2008.[4] He completed a total of 33 laps at the test, recording a best lap time of 1:01.243, and was the slowest of the three drivers.[5]

Cicatelli stayed in the championship for the 2009 season, joining the Corbetta Competizioni team. This relationship lasted for only six races, however, before he left the outfit to join Team Ghinzani.[6] Despite the switch of teams, he finished the season in seventh place, taking podium positions at Misano, Varano and Imola.[7]