The team now recognised as Invicta Racing has been through many different guises in its history, originally known as Virtuosi UK when it was founded back in 2012, then as Russian Time in GP2 and FIA Formula 2 before becoming UNI-Virtuosi in 2019, Invicta Virtuosi Racing in 2023, and finally assuming the name Invicta Racing for the 2024 season.
During its history, the team has raced in multiple different single-seater categories scoring 42 wins, 21 poles, 124 podiums and over 3500 points.
Here’s a look back at how the team became renowned in junior category single-seater racing.
Auto GP (2012-2015)
Auto GP was the series in which Virtuosi made its foray into motorsports in 2012. You’d be forgiven for thinking that a debut season would yield modest results, but Virtuosi was on the pace from the off.
With a driver combination across the season of Matteo Beretta, Sten Pentus, Francesco Dracone and Pål Varhaug, the team took fourth in the Teams’ Championship with Varhaug claiming the runners-up spot in the Drivers’ standings. The 2013 season wasn’t quite so fruitful, with the team finishing seventh in the championship.
2014 would see a return to form, finishing second just six points shy of the summit of the Teams’ championship. A number of drivers competed for Virtuosi that season, including the returning Andrea Roda and Pål Varhaug, Richard Gonda, Sam Dejonghe and eventual runner-up Tamás Pál Kiss. Together, this combination of drivers secured three victories as well as a further eight podiums that year.
GP2 (2015-2016)
Virtuosi took on the management and running of GP2 outfit Russian Time for the 2015 and 2016 seasons. With Virtuosi at the helm, the squad took fifth in 2015, then third in the 2016 Teams’ standings.
Formula E racer Mitch Evans and Artem Markelov comprised the driver line-up for the first season with the former taking two victories in Monza and Bahrain en route to fifth in the Drivers’ points. Markelov stayed on the following season taking one victory in Monaco, while team-mate Raffaele Marciello’s six podiums elevated him to fourth at the end of the year.
F4 British Championship (2022-present)
Operating as Virtuosi Racing, the team has contested the F4 British Championship for the last three seasons taking 11 podiums, two wins and, with Martin Molnár in 2024, secured the Rookie Cup.
FIA Formula 2 (2017-present)
Russian Time
The introduction of the new FIA Formula 2 Championship would signal a milestone in Virtuosi’s ascent to the top of feeder series single-seater racing.
With Markelov at the wheel once more, alongside Italian hotshot Luca Ghiotto, the Russian Time squad secured six wins – five for Markelov, one for Ghiotto – claiming the Teams’ Championship in the series’ first season, while Artem finished second to Charles Leclerc in the Drivers’.
Another season with Virtuosi running the Russian Time outfit followed, as well as three more wins for Markelov and a sole victory for Japanese debutant Tadasuke Makino. Together, the pair secured fourth in the Teams’ standings.
UNI-Virtuosi
From 2019 onwards, the team assumed its new name – UNI-Virtuosi – and proceeded to hit something of a purple patch, taking the runners-up spot in the Teams’ Championship three years in succession (2019-2021), as well as third in Drivers’ standings in 2019 with Ghiotto, second in 2020 with Callum Ilott and third again in 2021 with Zhou Guanyu.
Despite three wins for Jack Doohan, there’d be another dip in 2022 as the Aussie and team-mate Marino Sato could only manage seventh in the Teams’ Championship.
Invicta Virtuosi Racing
Invicta’s first involvement with the team came in 2023, coinciding with an upturn in form and a third-place spot in the end-of-year standings for Doohan. Although he was unable to match Théo Pourchaire and Frederik Vesti that season, three wins (including a spectacular drive at Spa), two poles and a total of five podiums brought the team back into regular front-running contention. Together with Amaury Cordeel, Invicta Virtuosi Racing took fifth overall last season.
Invicta Racing
Now operating as Invicta Racing, the 2024 season has been one of the best in the team’s history. The all-new line-up of Kush Maini and Gabriel Bortoleto has proven a potent combination, with Kush taking victory in Hungary and Gabriel in Austria as well as a historic last-to-first win at Monza.
Together, they have claimed three victories, three pole positions, three fastest laps and 10 podiums. With two rounds remaining, Gabriel sits atop the Drivers’ table with a four-point advantage over Isack Hadjar while Invicta Racing also holds the top spot in the Teams’ Championship.
READ MORE: How Invicta Racing and Gabriel Bortoleto can win the 2024 FIA Formula 2 Championship
