Paul, Michelotto Promoted to Lamborghini Factory Drivers

Maximilian Paul and Mattia Michelotto have become the two newest Lamborghini factory drivers, joining the Italian manufacturer’s roster from the Lamborghini Young Professional driver ranks.

Both Paul and Michelotto join the previously announced Patric Niederhauser as new factory pilots for this year, helping fill the void from the departures of Jordan Pepper and Romain Grosjean.

Paul, who first appearance at the wheel of a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO in 2021, claimed a breakthrough maiden DTM victory in changeable conditions at the Nürburgring in 2023 for Grasser Racing Team and has also won races in International GT Open with Oregon Team.

More recently, the 25-year-old German has driven for his family-run Paul Motorsport operation in DTM and GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS, while overseeing activities in ADAC GT Masters, where the team won a race last year at Zandvoort.

Paul also finished on the podium in the Pro-Am class at the 2025 Nürburgring 24 Hours and claimed Paul Motorsport’s first-ever DTM podium at Zandvoort.

“I’m incredibly thankful to join the Lamborghini factory driver roster after so many years of hard work, races, and shared success,” said Paul.

“Coming through the junior and young professional programs has been a special journey, and it makes this moment even more meaningful.

“It’s a true honor to begin this new chapter as a factory driver and to start the upcoming season with the new Temerario GT3. I’m proud and excited to represent one of my favorite car manufacturers and such an iconic brand.”

Michelotto is also a product of the Lamborghini Young Driver programs, having first made his name in the one-make Super Trofeo Europe championship as a teenager in 2021.

His maiden season in the series delivered a dominant victory in the end-of-year Lamborghini World Finals at Misano where, alongside team-mate Karol Basz, he took the maximum score by recording two pole positions and two race victories.

Since then, Michelotto has been a championship contender in Super Trofeo Europe in 2023, finishing runner-up alongside VSR team-mate Gilles Stadsbader while also finishing second in the Italian GT Championship Sprint Cup in 2023 before clinching the Sprint Cup Pro-Am title with Ignazio Zanon in 2025.

“It has been a gradual journey of constant growth, made possible thanks to the support of extraordinary people who have always believed in me and my potential,” he said.

“Throughout this journey, amidst successes and challenges, I have always given my all, with the same determination I will bring to this new professional chapter at Lamborghini.

“I have always worked with clear goals, built step by step, and I am certain that this represents a new beginning, marked by new challenges and renewed determination.

“I am proud to officially become part of this great family and I wish to sincerely thank everyone who has supported and assisted me on this professional and personal journey.”

Queen, Cook Named Lamborghini Young Driver Programs Shootout Winners

Following the end-of-season Young Driver Shootout held at Misano Adriatico in November, Hugo Cook has been named as the GT3 Junior Driver winner while Colin Queen came out on top in the Super Trofeo Junior Driver shootout.

The GT3 Junior shootout put drivers through a race weekend simulation starting with a 19-lap practice session (15 of which were timed, with the first ten using fresh tires) before moving onto a qualifying simulation consisting of 17 laps (15 of which timed) following a technical debrief.

A further engineering debrief then preceded the race simulation, for a total of 24 laps, using the same set tires as the qualifying runs.

British driver Cook raced at the sharp end of the British GT Championship at the wheel of a Huracan GT3 EVO2 with Barwell Motorsport, finishing second in the drivers’ standings after taking a win alongside team-mate Rob Collard at Oulton Park.

Cook also contested the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup campaign with Barwell, with current Lamborghini factory driver Sandy Mitchell in the No. 78 machine.

Meanwhile, Queen’s success comes off the back of an impressive debut season in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America championship, following which he finished third in the Lamborghini World Finals.

The American, in his first season of GT racing, picked up three podiums in the regular campaign at Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen and Misano.

Over the course of the year, a total of 20 drivers (16 Super Trofeo and four GT3) were assessed by Lamborghini Squadra Corse’s technical staff, with specific evaluations on performance, progression, consistency, technical feedback, physical fitness and professionalism both at and away from the track.

The drivers were aided in each step by Young Driver Program partners, Scuola Federale ACI.

For the shootout, Queen was joined by Super Trofeo North America teammate – and 2024 shootout winner – Enzo Geraci as well as rival Elias de la Torre (USA).

Also taking part were Super Trofeo Asia competitors Charles Hon Chio Leong (Macau), Alex Denning (Ireland) and Ethan Brown (Singapore) and European series drivers Anthony Pretorius (South Africa) and Guido Luchetti (Italy).