Here’s the story of Nicola and Stefano De Val, in 2012 side by side on the track in F.Renault ALPS.
They later become appreciated technicians. The first one as track engineer for Team JAS
Motorsport, the second one as Group Leader Tyre Performance of Alfa Romeo Racing in F.1.

You know who comes first, but not who was born first. Parallel lives, those of Nicola and Stefano
De Val brothers, identical twins with the same history with formula cars. Before that their paths
split up. The last open-wheeler season goes back to 2012, in the F.Renault ALPS, year that saw
Daniil Kvyat as a champion. From there their lives took a different professional path. The master
degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano and then a job of a very high level.

For Nicola in JAS Motorsport, for five months as a Performance Engineer and then Race Engineer
of Gabriele Tarquini in the WTCC, with whom he celebrated the victory at the Race of Suzuka of
2014. Stefano on the other hand entered the Sauber F1 Racing Team as a Tyre Engineer, moving to
Switzerland. Now they both moved up the ranks. The first, in the team of Alessandro Mariani, is
Chief of the Race Engineers, follows personally Tiago Monteiro, and is also Factory Test Driver
developing the Honda TCR. Stefano since November 2018 is Group Leader of Tyre Performance of
the team Alfa Romeo Racing in Formula 1. He worked closely together with all the drivers that
went through the Hinwil racing team, from Marcus Ericsson to the new duo Antonio Giovinazzi
and Kimi Raikkonen.

Two important roles, both of great responsibility, those of the De Val twins, even if in different
categories. Curious the path that brought them where they currently are.

“From my point of view racing with cars was just an exploratory matter. I thought hard whether to
choose one or another career path. In the end I found an answer when I started working in
Formula 1. When I realized that I was capable of working in that framework, of such high level –
explains Stefano – The pleasure of driving, the passion, are still there. But today I have a very busy
schedule and a clear target, to develop even more my personal profile to the maximum levels”.

In 2014 Nicola and Stefano have won the Sport-Prototype Portuguese Championship, ending the
season with a podium at the 12h of Abu Dhabi. Their last appearance together goes back to the 3h
of Monza of 2015, when they reached 3rd place with a Wolf CN2, first of the prototypes. Time has
gone by from their debut in Formula Junior until today.

- We have asked Stefano how he started working in Sauber.
“After my degree I started working in Germany, in an office dedicated to vehicle dynamics that
worked with various manufacturers, in particular on developing suspensions geometry. I have
been there for one year before I got the chance to enter in Sauber as a Tyre Engineer. I did my
master degree thesis together with Pirelli and was a Race Driver. All of this was a complete picture
for them. I started immediately working on the track with the F1 team. With my current role, my
commitment increased even more. I also have to thank Simone Resta: he was the one that made
me become “group leader” when he was still with Alfa”.

- What is your job, more specifically?
“I am responsible of the tyre performance all around. So, on the tyre base, I am in charge of the
development of the car for the current season and also thinking about the future. With my group
we develop tyre math models. From the simulation point of view I am in charge of everything tyre
related, cooperating with FIA and doing working groups with Pirelli. My presence on the track is
fundamental. The study of temperatures, camber and toe angles, various tyre compounds are all
my tasks. During the race I am in the feedback loop with the strategy.

- For someone that has raced with open wheeler since few years ago, what does it mean to work
in a field like Fomula 1?
“Meeting in the paddock people like Kvyat, Albon and Ocon, of which my brother Nicola and I have
been opponents, is very odd. You realize that Motorsport is a very small world, but full of
opportunities. It has been nice to find them here. Their career was immediately oriented towards
Formula 1. We, on the other hand, wanted to explore this world. The nice thing is that we were all
able to reach our dreams.”

- Of the various drivers that you saw in these years, what do you think?
“I can only say marvelous things for Antonio (Giovinazzi). Kimi is much more professional than
what you get from the Media, and I have more than everything else a great esteem for Leclerc.
When he arrived here in 2018 at the beginning he struggled a lot. But from Baku onwards he
gained more confidence and showed he was a talent. Normally I work a lot with new drivers,
mostly because the tyres we use in Formula 1 are very different to those of every other category.
Charles was one of them. This year we will have Kubica as a third driver. I know he is a real
professional.

- How has your life changed with respect to before?
“Until two years ago I went to all the races. Since 2019, with my new assignment, I take part in
60% of the GPs. Like we say in Formula 1, you are always chasing the Summer. All our seasons are
very long. You keep on travelling and finding out when it is the right time to sleep in order not to
suffer about jet lag. You are in warm places and then come back home with 20°C less. But even
this is an interesting part of my job.”

- Nicola and Stefano, 31 years this May, studied together at University. The first did a thesis on
autonomous vehicles. Three months later he was already at JAS.
“They needed someone to follow simulations and I was already doing that as a graduate. From
February to June 2014 I mainly took care about data analysis. Then I began as a track engineer for
Tarquini. Today what I love most about my work is test TCR cars, performing shakedowns and
preliminary tests. Aspects where the official pilot is not needed. Since this January I reached
almost 3000km to test some aspects where we need the pilot’s feedback, but also engineering
understanding.

- What does it mean for you to be working with “il Cinghio”?
“Even though we had some issues, I objectively think that Tarquini is the most complete pilot
figure that there is. Very focused and cold blooded on the track. When we are developing the car,
he things about that even during the night. Many pilots have good performances only if they have
the perfect vehicle.

- What do you practically do?
I follow all the races, and when there is not one, I test the vehicles. Especially in the winter season.
For example, in TCR 2020 we will have new ECUs and I spent a lot of my effort on this. I prepare a
package and then the official pilots will test it.

- What is your forecast for the next FIA WTCR season?
With the new ECUs it will be a new challenge for every team. We all basically start from scratch.
It’s easy to say that Hyundai will always be one of the leading teams. I think that Honda and Lynk
will also perform well.

- The idea to go back on the track, maybe for a race with your brother, has ever crossed your
mind?
Sure, it would be nice. When I managed to go to Monza for the F1 GP, with Kvyat, Ocon and all the
others it almost looked like we were in the ALPS paddock. Great memories for sure. But I hardly
manage to see Stefano for winter holidays. With over 20 trips each all around the world it’s very
hard to plan a race together. Still, I’m satisfied with what I do. I like testing cars. My driving is
related to technique.

We were disappointed enough to drive back to Milan without waiting for the end of the race.

A couple of years of prototype and endurance racing experience later, we decided it was time to try again to compete and finish our first 24h, and this brought us back to Belgium, this time with the Avelon Formula team.

The event was packed with car with 61 vehicles at the start. Qualifying under pouring rain put us in ninth place while trying to avoid crashes that certainly we did not want to. The team was build up by me and my brother, the Singaporian Sean Hudspeth and by another italian Fabio Emanuele. This was also the starting order and, as for the last time, Nicola started the race.

After two hours of lapping cars while trying to maintain a constant pace, the car has been given to his brother Stefano, which took the car in fourth position before paying with a Drive Through a penalty because of the malfunctioning of the starter motor (that also afterwards slowed down our progress) during the refuelling.

When Stefano was missing just 20minutes at the end of his stint, as if we were not supposed to complete a 24h ever, a brake line exploded, launching Stefano into the barriers, damaging heavily the car and also forcing him not to drive until 6 o’clock in the morning as per decision of the medical center.
The car took a little less than one hour to repair, and after that we kept going and even a fault with the alternator and the gearbox cable did not hold us back enought to retire. At around 8 o’clock in the morining Stefano drove back again, amazingly with the same confidence he had moments before his crash, and we pushed to the end.

Final position was not good (we finished in 25th position), but we were happy to be able to finish our first 24h. It has not been without issues, but we have been happy to share the moment with Sean and Fabio, that have been extremely professional to keep on going even with all the things that happened to us.

Thanks to Oliver Dom Photography for the photo

After minor setup adjustment during free practice, Nicola was able to qualify the car second overall just 0.160 seconds behind the Porsche 911 of his rivals. The race then started with Guglielmo
at the whell that was both wise  and consistent, keeping up a good pace and staying away from possible disasters. Nicola then took the wheel and raced the perfect race, with a very constant pace up until the very end, when he was able to overtake both his class rivals and the Porsche 911 just 10 minutes to the end of the race gaining first place overall!

Nicola: “It was incredible to be able to recover my opponents and to take victory just moments before the  chequered flag! Especially on a night like this. On top of this they have also celebrated the victory with  fireworks! I was gutted just not to have my twin brother with me, but I understand very much his commitments as  in fact I also have to travel with Honda from next Monday until the beginning of July…

Anyway this was a very good weekend for me, especially thinking that the next race will be the 24h of Zolder! It is good that I practiced night driving.”

The car was accurately prepared by the Avelon Team (which is also the official manufacturer of the Wolf GB08, in these days also competing at high levels in the ELMS) and therefore only minor adjustments on the rear wing angle were required to get a perfect feeling for the fast corners and incredibly fast straights of Monza.

The race started on Sunday at three o’clock and, just after having said hello to his colleague of the Honda TCR, Nicola jumped into his prototype to start the race. After a couple of laps battling with the other prototypes, he managed to find his way to leading the race, constantly increasing the gap with the competitors. After one hour and a half he passed the car to his brother Stefano, that managed to bring it to the end in first place in his class, even if with some elettrical issues.

Nicola: “Everybody was here for us on this weekend. It has been the best one overall. Celebrating my birthday with my brother, that I did not see for a long time due to his commitment to F1, and my whole family, with my girlfriends and with my colleagues from work, by winning the race was nothing more that I could ask for today.”

Stefano: “In Switzerland I am very busy, but thankfully I managed to get here at the very last minute. Since I missed the first race of the year I was afraid of not being very performing, but after one session and quickly going through the data acquisition (which is what we both do on a daily basis at work) I managed to be competitive. Bringing the car to the end was my final satisfaction. I had never been to the podium in Monza before.”

For these reasons the first race of the 3H Endurance Champions Cup started with a different team composed by Nicola and Guglielmo Bellotti, expert driver of the Wolf GB08 that drove also in the Asian Le Mans Series. The first race was held in the brilliant track of Imola.

Qualifying went good as they placed second behind the very fast Fumanelli, experienced GP3 driver. Minor adjustment were made to the already well balanced car from the previous winter test in the same track that allowed a greater understanding of the team to the new Michelin tyre that is shared also with the Formula Renault 2.0.

Race was going perfectly, as Nicola managed to gain the first position of the CN class after a mistake of Fumanelli, also achieving second position of the overall classification. Unfortunately shortly after the driver change, Bellotti reporter a majour engine fault that forced the team to retire.

Nicola: “As I have stated many times I am euphoric when I am able to make new experiences with new tracks or new cars, but every time I come back to great tracks as Imola or Mugello or Monza the only thing I can do is enjoy myself and this is exactly what happened this time. The engine failure was a huge disappointment since the race was almost won, but the thing that worries me the most is the gearbox, as we are having much more troubles than I expected. It only worked briefly in the first part of the race, but then again we had to switch back to the normal sequential lever and this is a big step back compared to our competitors”.

Together with season team mate Pedro Faria, the twins entered the race with the Wolf GB08 #48 of CRM Motorsport. The last year experience allowed them to focus on the setup of the car for what it appeared to be a tough race, competing against british and italian official Wolf teams.

 Unfortunately the race, which started on Saturday 13th in the morning, started with an electrical issue that, on the third lap of the race, caused a fire in the engine bay forcing Stefano to immediately stop the car and wait to be towed back to the pit. Overall, saving the car from the fire and solving the problem caused a time loss of more than a hour, wasting since the beginning the chances to win the CN class.

Back on the track the pace of all three drivers was really good, and soon it was possible to take advantage of an engine issue on the car in third position, gaining place on the podium that will be kept until the end of the race. The pace was in fact so good that Nicola was able, during the first stint of the night, to set the fastest third sector of the race, despite the presence of the much faster GT cars.

 At around 20:30 the race of the Wolf #48 was definitively ended when team mate Pedro Faria hit the barriers after a spin under the hotel. The car was not severally damaged, but enough for the team to wait for the chequered flag in third position at the pit.

Despite the result, the 12 hours at Abu Dhabi is always the best way to end a season, particularly a season that saw the twins winning the championship!

As happened for every track this year, Friday’s free practice sessions have been used by Stefano De Val – only one present at the event as his brother Nicola was busy following the WTCC in Bejing the same weekend – in order to learn the twists and turns of the most renown track in Portugal: Estoril.

The team composed by the twins was leading the championship by only few points, due to the fact that they did not take part in the two hill climbs races scheduled for the 2014 season, generating overall a 18 points handicap on the J.P. Fontes – M. Barbosa team. In this last event was mandatory for them to stay in front of the car in second place, in order to win the championship.

In very windy conditions Stefano was able to qualify the car in 3rd position for both races. The qualifying session showed to be far from easy with the experienced Portoguese driver taking advantage of their kilometers on the track. Particularly tricky were the last 15 minutes, where the oil spilled by a broken Porsche caused the tarmac to be slippery up to turn 4.

Race 1 consisted of a hard fight for the head of the group, with Stefano overtaking the car of J.P. Fontes – M. Barbosa for second place few minutes before the pit stop. First place was instead obtained and then lost after an infraction related to the neutralization time during the pit stop itself. In the end, the pace was there but the Wolf arrived second at the chequered flag.

Race 2 was fought against the Abreu – Sá Silva team, and the set of used tyre that came from the qualifying session. The 50 minutes race went down smoothly this time, with Stefano easily defending second position until the end of the race.

Only this time, waiting at the chequered flag toghether with the second place, there was the championship.

In the end this season granted us a huge amount of satisfaction and we are really happy to have come such a long way. We want to share this success with all the people that supported us during this season, starting with the crew of CRM Motorsport, that provided us the car and the care needed to reach this wonderful result.

Special Thanks to our engineers Alessandro Cevenini at his second season following us and Claudio Fenati, that helped us sort out few issues that came along the way to the final race.

Prototypes Absolute Classification (first three):
1°     N. De Val – S. De Val                183 pt.
2°    J.P. Fontes – M. Barbosa          176 pt.
3°    C. Vieira – P. Salvador              144 pt.

And finally, thank you! We hope to have your support for next year, too!

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The weekend started with the free practices of Friday in which, during the whole day, the twins were absolutely faster than anybody. This confidence let them work on the car, gaining ever more time on the competitors. The team in fact noticed huge differences due to the track conditions during the day. This was because of the presence of another important GT championship: the Blancpain Series. The GT cars in fact leave a lot of tyre on the ground causing the prototype to gain too much grip, but thanks to the expertise of the two drivers in cooperation with their trusty race engineer, they have managed to understand a lot from it.

Qualifing went well with the fourth place in qualifing 1 and a good pole position in qualifing 2. Race 1 though has been full of surprises as the paddle shift broke down causing the gearbox to change gears on its own! This of course brought to a loss of pace during the race, causing the brothers to finish in fifth place.

The problem could not be solved during the night and therefore the twins had to start the race without the help of the paddle shift, therefore being forced to use the standard sequential lever. This brought less performance while braking, but anyhow both managed to keep an extremely high pace that let them to Victory.

Nicola: “I was very pleased to be able to cope with the fastest driver in this championship without the usage of the paddle shift. Downshifting fast is very difficult but I was able to gain with respect to the other drivers, except for what regards the last sector. It has been a very nice weekend and with the victory, I really cannot complain. The only problem is that now I have commitments with my job and I will not make it to the next event.”

Stefano: “Race 1 was hilarious. The gearbox just went mental and I did not know whether to laugh or cry. It just decided it wanted to upshift, so when I came out from the hairpin in second gear, it just went straight to sixth gear. Of course it caused us to be really slow. Race 2 was much better, the performance was there but the sequential lever was exhausting.”

The first great news is that Nicola was available to race this weekend, completing the successful duo that won almost every single race last year. Although the weekend started on Friday, it was on Saturday morning, during qualifying, that the Wolf showed to be ahead of the field. Nicola, Driver 2 of the weekend and therefore entitled to qualify the car for Race 2, improved the 4th place of Stefano in Qualy 1, by setting the fastest laptime on the 15 minutes qualifying session.

Starting from the second row, Race 1 went on mainly defending from the attacks of Abreu, while the three cars ahead started creating a gap, then closed due to a contact between eachother and a drive through penalty. Nicola, who was driving the Wolf GB08 after the pit stop, stayed ahead until the checkered flag.

It was actually during Race 2 that the twin showed their best pace, leading until just after the pit stop, when they were forced to fall behind in 3rd position due to a drive through penalty caused by an infraction during the pit stop itself. The luck of the first race was compensated on the second one, but the overall weekend was still largely positive for them, as in fact they are now only a few points behind the lead of the championship (despite not having raced the 2 hillclimbs).

Huge thanks to NunOrganistA, the professional photographer that performed some great shots of us racing and whose pictures are shown here and in the gallery.