My latest guest is a driver who established himself in Europe, competing in two years of FIA Formula 3 and lower formula and trying his hand in America, before moving to sportscars; its Australian driver, Alex Peroni!
Alex spent 2022 racing sportscars in the LMP2 category of the ELMS championship, as well as an outing in the Euroformula Open Championship.
Previously, he's spent time in America in the Indy Lights(now Indy NXT) series, as well as two years at F3 level with Campos Racing and 4 previous years in lower formula like Italian F4 and Formula Renault Eurocup.
Onto the questions!
1. What's the highlight of your career so far? The win at Monaco stands out for sure, but also my first podium back in F3 after my crash was satisfying.
📸 Alex was one of two Australians to win at Monaco in 2018, as well as Daniel Ricciardo.
2. You've raced against some big names;
Oscar Piastri, Logan Sargeant, Kyle Kirkwood, Liam Lawson and Lando Norris are just a few; does one of them stand out as being your toughest opponent to date or does someone else stand out? Racing with Kirkwood was fun he was always aggressive but fair, also had some fun battles with Logan in Formula Renault.
📸 Logan Sargeant, soon to debut in F1, seen in a Formula Renault car.
3. You've raced a lot of circuits; which one is your favourite you've raced on? I would say Monaco or even Barber in America is definitely up there.
📸 Monaco(top) and Barber Motorsports Park(bottom), are two of Alex's top circuits.
4. Is there a favourite you've not raced on? I would say Macau is the big one i’ve missed out on. Looking at on onboard of that place is unbelievable.
📸 Macau is often referred to as Monaco and the Nordschleife combined, an incredible, if slightly scary prospect.
5. Who's your racing hero(es)? The biggest one would be Michael Schumacher. I grew up watching him and always idolised him.
📸 The one and only. #KeepFightingMichael https://www.keepfightingfoundation.org/en
6. One of the things you're probably best known for is your crash in Monza in 2019, what goes through your mind after a crash like that? I would say shock and just a bit of disbelief as I didn’t remember it.
📸 Alex's crash occurred when he ran wide into a sausage kerb, launching him into the air, and into the catch fencing on top of the tyre wall.
7. How about when you watch it back? Bit later would of been frustration.
📣 Alex suffered fractured vertebrae and a concussion in the crash, ending his season prematurely.
8. The sausage kerb at that corner was removed in the aftermath of your accident yet some remain at Monza, particularly at the Della Roggia chicane where other accident have happened; do they need to go or where accidents like yours just an anomaly and the sausage kerbs serve a purpose? I think it’s been proven they do more damage than good and I think every driver would agree with me on that one. I understand the track limits issue but it just isn’t the answer in my opinion.
📸 The ever tightening Della Roggia chicane, which has been the scene of a number of accidents involving cars being flipped, bounced and smashed into the surrounding barriers.
9. How good a feeling is it winning in Monaco like you did in 2018? Amazing! Life long dream.
📸 Alex celebrates in Monaco.
10. You can list drivers like Christian Lundgaard and Sophia Florsch as former teammates, which teammates have you gotten on best with in the past? I’d say I've gotten along well with most of my teammates. Christian and I had a good time together off and on the track. So I'd probably say him.
📸 Christian Lundgaard, now in IndyCar, was Alex's Formula Renault Eurocup teammate.
11. Who was the toughest teammate you had to measure yourself against? I would probably say Christian. He was rapid in 2018 and probably should of won the championship.
12. Are you keen to continue single seater racing or are you looking elsewhere for opportunities? Last year I competed in LMP2 aiming to be in hypercar or get a factory drive which would be cool.
13. You started in the Euroformula series last year but left after just one round in a year where the series struggled to attract drivers, why do you think it's struggled? It's in a tough spot because Motopark dominate deservedly and other teams can’t keep up, but the car is amazing and competing on all the big tracks is cool.
📸 Oliver Goethe(above) won the Euroformula Open Championship in 2022.
14. You had a season in Indy Lights? How was racing in America? Was a nice experience especially competing on a variety of tracks including ovals. Didn’t quite go to play but would love to return and make it right.
📸 Alex celebrates a podium in Indy Lights.
15. Would you go back given the opportunity? Definitely.
16. Both years you were in F3, the field was incredibly strong, which year was tougher? I would say 2020 was tougher.
📸 Oscar Piastri(#1), won the 2020 F3 title, but the grid featured the likes of Logan Sargeant, Theo Pourchaire, Liam Lawson, Jack Doohan and Frederik Vesti.
17. Campos scored 69 points over those two season with you scoring every one of them; do you consider yourself to be a good team leader? It's something I’m currently working and in my opinion a good skill to have.
📸 Alex in Campos trim.
18. You are obviously a racing fan as well as a driver; is there anything you've collected over the course of your career? A lot of Ferrari merchandise when I was younger for sure. From the time I’m competing, not a whole lot.
19. Do you have any pre race rituals or routines? Just stretching and some music.
20. What's the best thing about being a racing driver? For me its being able to travel the world and meet a lot of people.
📸 Preparation.
Huge thanks to Alex for taking the time to answer these questions! I look forward to seeing what's next for him!
📸 Image credits: Formula Motorsport Limited, Alex Peroni, Campos Racing, Renault Sport, NTT IndyCar Series, Barber Motosports Park, Euroformula Open Championship.
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