Drudi Added to Aston Martin Factory Driver Roster

Aston Martin has signed reigning Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup champion Mattia Drudi to its nine-man factory driver roster, with Henrique Chaves and David Pittard also joining.

Drudi, 25, recently confirmed his departure from Audi after forming part of the Ingolstadt marque’s works driver pool since 2019.

He bowed out of his time with Audi by securing the Sprint Cup title driving alongside Ricardo Feller at Tresor Orange 1, but also competed several times in the Nürburgring 24 and Intercontinental GT Challenge.

“I’m honored to be joining Aston Martin as a works driver,” said Drudi.

“I’m really looking forward to being part of such an iconic manufacturer program in motorsport, with its incredible history of success and its really high ambitions for the near future.

“I feel this is the right environment for me to develop as a driver and to fight together for prestigious victories in the most important races around the world.

“The commitment AMR is putting into next year’s Vantage program is really promising and 2024 can’t come soon enough for me.”

Drudi is joined by Chaves and Pittard as new additions to the factory driver roster, while Ross Gunn, Marco Sorensen, Nicki Thiim, Valentin Hasse-Clot, Jonny Adam and Darren Turner have all been retained.

Chaves joins the manufacturer’s books having already achieved significant success at the wheel of the Aston Martin Vantage GTE in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

The Portuguese racer joined Ben Keating and Sorensen at TF Sport to win the GTE-Am title in 2022, securing a 24 Hours of Le Mans class win along the way.

Pittard, meanwhile, is upgraded to full works status after having been aligned with Aston Martin since 2022, primarily racing with The Heart of Racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

The British driver also won the N24 earlier this year at the wheel of a Frikadelli Racing Team Ferrari 296 GT3.

“As we prepare to embark on a new era for Aston Martin in endurance racing, with the advent of newly-developed evolutions of our Aston Martin Vantage GT3 and GT4 platforms, and of course the Valkyrie Hypercar program that becomes a racing entity in 2025, we’ve assembled an ultra-competitive works driver line-up,” said Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance.

“This group of drivers knows how to win and is expert at extracting every ounce of performance from a GT car, while at the same time harnessing the endurance capabilities necessary to win at this level.

“We’re delighted to welcome three proven champions in Mattia, Henrique and David to this group, and we’re excited to see what they can all achieve in 2024 and beyond.

“As we move into a period of accelerated learning and development with our various racing platforms, this blend of pace and experience will be vital to achieving Aston Martin’s goal of maintaining our status as a force to be reckoned with among our peers at the top of world endurance competition.”