Nicolás Martín "Nico" Varrone (born 6 December 2000) is an Argentine racing driver who last competed in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for Van Amersfoort Racing. He is a factory driver for Corvette Racing.

Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Varrone began in competitive karting before graduating to junior formulae in 2016. After debuting in Formula Renault 2.0 Argentina, he won the 2018 V de V Challenge Monoplace as a rookie. He was forced to exit formula racing in 2020 due to a lack of funding, leading to a transition to sports car racing full-time in 2021 with support from Rinaldi Racing, finishing third in the Le Mans Cup's LMP3 class.

Varrone previously competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship in LM GTE and Le Mans Hypercar. In his rookie season in 2023, he won the LMGTE Am class title with Corvette Racing alongside Nicky Catsburg and Ben Keating. He is a two-time class winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, winning in LMGTE Am in 2023 with Catsburg and Keating, and in LMP2 Pro-Am in 2024 with Ben Barnicoat and François Perrodo.

Early career Having competed in karting, Varrone made his car racing debut in the national Formula Renault category at the end of 2016. He remained in the series the following year and ended up 20th in the standings.

A move to Europe followed in 2018, as Varrone joined the V de V Challenge Monoplace, first driving for Inter Europol Competition before switching to TS Corse. The Argentine dominated, taking six wins from 14 races and claiming the title. This made him the final champion of the series' history.

In a 2019 season plagued by monetary concerns, Varrone took part in three rounds of the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship with Hillspeed, where he was able to win the reversed-grid race at Spa-Francorchamps. As a consequence, he signed for Chris Dittmann Racing for the 2020 season. However, plans of running the entire season were scuppered by the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant that Varrone was forced to abandon his season after the opening pair of events.

Sportscar career After being forced to stop his British F3 campaign, Varrone returned home to Buenos Aires, thinking that he would have to abandon his racing career to work in the family business. However, manager Jose Balbiani managed to connect Varrone to Rinaldi Racing owner Michele Rinaldi, giving Varrone the chance to test an LMP3 car and subsequently partake in the final round of that year's Le Mans Cup.

In 2021, Rinaldi paired Varrone with Alexander Mattschull for the entire Le Mans Cup season, where three podiums earned the duo third place overall.

In 2022, Varrone made his debut at the IMSA SportsCar Championship where he entered the Six Hours of The Glen in the LMP3 category. He then signed with the Canadian racing team AWA for the 2023 season.

In January 2023, Varrone signed for Corvette Racing to contest the LMGTE Am class of the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship, driving a Chevrolet Corvette C8.R alongside Nicky Catsburg and Ben Keating. He and his team had a successful year, not only winning their 24 Hours of Le Mans category but also their whole World Endurance Championship category. The campaign contained three race wins, as well as a fastest lap set by Varrone at Le Mans. As a result, Varrone was upgraded to the FIA Gold ranking ahead of 2024.

Ahead of the 2024 season, Varrone became a Corvette factory driver in light of a campaign in the GTD class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship. However, after retiring from the opening two races of the campaign due to car issues, Varrone's AWA Racing teammate Anthony Mantella decided to withdraw from the series. Varrone would soon find another drive, joining reigning 24 Hours of Nürburgring winners Frikadelli Racing for the 2024 event together with Luca Ludwig, Daniel Keilwitz, and Felipe Fernández Laser. The team finished 12th in the red-flagged race, with Varrone setting the fastest lap overall. Varrone also drove for AF Corse in the latter five rounds of the six-race ELMS campaign, where he scored a podium in Spa-Francorchamps.

Varrone made his LMP2 debut at the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans, partnering Ben Barnicoat and gentleman driver François Perrodo in the LMP2 Pro-Am subclass. Despite lacking pace in the closing hours held under wet conditions, the trio won the Pro-Am subclass. Varrone made his contribution by taking and extending the overall lead during the night. The week after, Varrone raced in LMP2 once again, driving for DragonSpeed in the 6 Hours of The Glen.

For 2025, Varrone stepped up to the Hypercar class, taking part in a full-season drive alongside Neel Jani and Nico Pino for Porsche customer team Proton Competition. Varrone stated that the program was long in the making, and cited his relationship with Proton team manager Christian Ried as critical for his spot on the driver roster. Varrone also competed with the team in IMSA, provided that the races did not clash with his Michelin Endurance Cup commitments for Corvette Racing.

Return to formula racing

For the 2026 season, Varrone returned to formula racing as he made the move to Formula 2, signing for Van Amersfoort Racing. Prior to the Baku round, Varrone departed the team and the championship with immediate effect.

Racing record

Career summary Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position 2016 Fórmula Renault 2.0 Argentina MS Racing Car 4 0 0 0 0 15 27th 2017 Fórmula Renault 2.0 Argentina MS Racing 24 0 0 0 0 103 20th 2018 V de V Challenge Monoplace Inter Europol Competition 4 1 3 2 3 546 1st TS Corse1051068 Fórmula Renault 2.0 Argentina MS Racing 14 0 0 0 0 107 18th TC2000 Championship Riva Racing100000NC† 2019 Porsche GT3 Cup Trophy Argentina ? ? ? ? ? 14 9th BRDC British Formula 3 Championship Hillspeed 9 1 0 0 2 109 17th 2020 International GT Open Team Lazarus 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC Le Mans Cup - LMP3 Rinaldi Racing 1 0 0 0 0 10 24th BRDC British Formula 3 Championship Chris Dittmann Racing 7 0 0 0 0 58 20th 2021 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Rinaldi Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC Le Mans Cup - LMP3 7 0 0 2 3 68 3rd 2022 European Le Mans Series - LMGTE Rinaldi Racing 6 1 1 0 1 39 11th IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP3 FastMD Racing 1 0 1 0 0 315 29th 24H GT Series - GT3 Wochenspiegel Team Monschau 1 1 0 1 1 0 NC 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Am Iron Lynx 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 17th Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - VT3 Team Mathol Racing e.V.322220NC† Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - VT2-FWD 100000NC† 2023 Asian Le Mans Series - LMP3 WTM by Rinaldi Racing 4 0 4 1 1 31 5th FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Am Corvette Racing73015173 1st 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Am11111N/A1st IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP3 AWA 4 1 0 0 2 882 13th GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup AF Corse100000NC2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD AWA 2 0 0 0 0 251 56th IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP2 DragonSpeed 1 0 0 1 0 230 54th Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - SP9 Frikadelli Racing Team10000** 24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP910010N/A12th European Le Mans Series - LMGT3 AF Corse500114312th 2024-25 Asian Le Mans Series - GT AF Corse40000919th2025 FIA World Endurance Championship - Hypercar Proton Competition 8 0 0 0 0 1 27thIMSA SportsCar Championship - GTP 1 0 0 0 0 199 42nd IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Pro Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports 3 0 0 0 1 860 18th2026FIA Formula 2 ChampionshipVan Amersfoort Racing 20 0 0 1 0 15 19th*IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD ProCorvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports 3 0 0 1 1 848 17thFIA World Endurance Championship - LMGT3TF Sport 1 0 0 0 0 4 23rd* Source: † As he was a guest driver, Varrone was ineligible to score points.

Complete BRDC British Formula 3 Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Pos Points 2019 Hillspeed OUL1 OUL2 OUL3 SNE1 SNE2 SNE3 SIL11 SIL12 SIL13 DON11 DON12 DON13 SPA1 SPA2 SPA3 BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 SIL21 SIL22 SIL23 DON21 DON22 DON23 17th 109 2020 Chris Dittmann Racing OUL1 OUL2 OUL3 OUL4 DON11 DON12 DON13 BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 BRH4 DON21 DON22 DON23 SNE1 SNE2 SNE3 SNE4 DON31 DON32 DON33 SIL1 SIL2 SIL3 20th 58

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 2022 Iron Lynx Pierre Ehret Christian Hook Ferrari 488 GTE Evo GTE Am 324 53rd 17th2023 Corvette Racing Nicky Catsburg Ben Keating Chevrolet Corvette C8.RGTEAm31326th1st 2024 AF Corse Ben Barnicoat François Perrodo Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 297 18th 4th LMP2 Pro-Am 1st 2025 Proton Competition Neel Jani Nico Pino Porsche 963 Hypercar 383 13th 13thSources:

Complete European Le Mans Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rank Points 2022 Rinaldi Racing LMGTE Ferrari 488 GTE Evo Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 LEC IMO MNZ CAT SPA ALG 11th 39 2024 AF Corse LMGT3 Ferrari 296 GT3 Ferrari F163CE 3.0 L Turbo V6 CAT LEC IMO SPA MUG ALG 12th 43Source:

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rank Points 2023 Corvette Racing LMGTE Am Chevrolet Corvette C8.R Chevrolet 5.5 L V8 SEB PRT SPA LMS MNZ FUJ BHR 1st 173 2025 Proton Competition Hypercar Porsche 963 Porsche 4.6 L Turbo V8 QAT IMO SPA LMS SÃO COA FUJ BHR 27th 1 2026 TF Sport LMGT3 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R Chevrolet 5.5 L V8 IMO SPA LMS SÃO COA FUJ CAT MNZ 23rd* 4Source:

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Class Make Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 PointsRef 2022 FastMD Racing LMP3 Ligier JS P320 Nissan VK56DE 5.6 L V8 DAY SEB MDO WGL MOS ELK PET 29rd 315 2023 AWA LMP3 Duqueine M30 – D08 Nissan VK56DE 5.6 L V8 DAY SEB WGL MOS ELK IMS PET 13th 8822024 AWA GTD Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R Chevrolet LT6.R 5.5 L V8 DAY SEBLBHLGAMOSELKVIRIMSPET 56th 251 DragonSpeed LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8WGL 54th 230 2025 Corvette Racing byPratt Miller Motorsports GTD Pro Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R Chevrolet LT6.R 5.5 L V8 DAY SEB LGA DET MOS ELK VIR IMS PET 18th 860 Proton Competition GTP Porsche 963 Porsche 9RD 4.6 L V8 LBH WGL 42th 199 2026 Corvette Racing byPratt Miller Motorsports GTD Pro Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R Chevrolet LT6.R 5.5 L V8 DAY SEB LGA DET WGL MOS ELK VIR IMS PET 17th 848Source:

Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 DC Points Van Amersfoort Racing MELSPR MELFEA MIASPR MIAFEA MTLSPR MTLFEA MONSPR MONFEA CATSPR CATFEA RBRSPR RBRFEA SILSPR SILFEA SPASPR SPAFEA HUNSPR HUNFEA MNZSPR MNZFEA MADSPR MADFEA BAKSPR BAKFEA1 BAKFEA2 LSLSPR LSLFEA YMCSPR YMCFEA 21st* 15* Season still in progress.

References

External links