Van Amersfoort Racing welcomes Argentinian driver Nicolás Varrone to 2026 FIA Formula 2 campaign
Van Amersfoort Racing (VAR) is proud to announce its first FIA Formula 2 driver of 2026, Nicolás Varrone. The Argentinian driver has a large history in endurance racing, with winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in LMGTE Am in 2023 being one of the absolute highlights. VAR is happy to have Nico join the team, and is looking forward to the 2026 season.
The young racing driver began his car racing career in 2016, in the Argentinian Formula Renault 2.0. After two seasons of that, Nico decided to continue building his career in Europe in 2018 and this move paid off. Despite participating with two different teams throughout the V de V Challenge Monoplace season of that year, he managed to win the championship with 546 points, 13 pole positions, six wins and 11 podiums.
Multiple rounds in British F3 and the Le Mans Cup the years after, helped give him the necessary experience to participate competitively in endurance racing. Flash forward to 2021, Nico entered the Le Mans Cup in the LMP3 class for a second time and he earned himself a p3 in the final championship with three podiums. He continued his career in the European Le Mans Series in 2022, while debuting in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the same year. The then FIA Silver-rated driver entered the Asian Le Mans Series in LMP3, which was followed by a 5th place in the championship with four fastest laps and one podium in early 2023.
Right before, in January 2023, he participated in the 24 Hours of Daytona in LMP3, and went on to win that race. Right around that same time he signed a contract for the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), which includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This particular 2023 season was the most successful year of his career. He went on to not only win said prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans with his two teammates Nicky Catsburg and Ben Keating, but also the whole WEC that season in their category, LMGTE Am.
This incredible performance made for his Silver categorisation status to be bumped up a tier in 2024, promoting him to a Gold rated driver, which status he still currently holds. After these many successes, Cadillac rewarded him with a drive in the Bahrain Rookie test in WEC in December.
In 2022, Nico signed for a season in the IMSA SportsCar Championship and continued in that series up to 2025. In that time he did LMP3 twice, he participated in LMP2 in 2024 and then switched to drive in the GTP class this year. He additionally participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He stood on the top step of the podium yet again, and this time in his debut in subclass LMP2-Pro-Am with AF Corse. In the European Le Mans Series and WEC he both returned as well; the European Le Mans Series being in 2024 and WEC a year later, in 2025.
Brad Joyce – Team principal, Van Amersfoort Racing:
“We’re very pleased to welcome Nico to Van Amersfoort Racing for our 2026 FIA Formula 2 campaign. His experience and achievements in endurance racing, including his success at Le Mans, speak for themselves. Stepping into Formula 2 will be a new challenge, but with his talent and technical understanding, we’re confident he will adapt quickly to the environment. We’re looking forward to working with him and believe his arrival will bring great value to the team as we take on the season together.”
Nico Varrone – Formula 2 driver, Van Amersfoort Racing:
“I’m super excited to be joining Van Amersfoort Racing for the 2026 F2 season. A very professional team with a lot of history and success. Can’t wait to get behind the wheel and start working with them. Thankful to everyone who believed in me all these years.”
Nico will first participate in the post-season test in Abu Dhabi with the team. The 2026 FIA Formula 2 season then kicks off in melbourne on the 6-8th of March. It consists of 14 rounds, with 28 races total. Similarly to FIA Formula 3, F2 will also compete in Madrid for the first time this year. The championship is a feeder series to the FIA Formula One World Championship, racing alongside them, and F3 every round this season. The season will eventually finish in Abu Dhabi, on the 4-6th of December.
The driver and VAR have quite an exciting season ahead, and we’d like for our partners and fans to support Nico in this experience.
About Van Amersfoort Racing
Van Amersfoort Racing is a professional racing team based in the Netherlands. It was founded by Frits van Amersfoort in 1975. Since then, Van Amersfoort Racing has built a long tradition of supporting up-and-coming drivers on their way to higher levels. Drivers like Max and Jos Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Mick Schumacher, Kevin Magnussen, and Liam Lawson all raced for Frits van Amersfoort's team in the early stages of their careers before making it into Formula 1.