BMW M Motorsport has revealed that Raffaele Marciello, who departs Mercedes-AMG’s factory driver stable at the end of 2023, has been signed by the Bavarian brand for the 2024 season.
The 28-year-old Swiss racer has a glittering GT racing CV after seven years with Mercedes. His list of accolades includes GT World Challenge Europe titles, a GT Masters title, a Spa 24 Hours overall victory and a pair of FIA GT World Cup wins in Macau.
Prior to joining Mercedes, he was also a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, won the FIA European Formula 3 Championship in 2013, claimed victories and podium finishes in the GP2 Series, and conducted Formula 1 tests for Ferrari and Sauber.
“I am very pleased to welcome Raffaele Marciello to the BMW M Motorsport family,” said Andreas Roos, the Head of BMW M Motorsport. “When you have the opportunity to sign a top-calibre driver like him, you must seize it. He has consistently demonstrated his prowess for years, particularly in GT cars. But there is much more to him. Before his GT career, Raffaele Marciello showcased his class multiple times in open-wheel racing.
“In our view, he brings the perfect all-around package with his versatility to further strengthen our already high-quality roster of works drivers. The multitude of racing programmes we will undertake in the coming years with our cars provides diverse deployment opportunities. We will announce the specific details of Raffaele Marciello’s racing plans in the coming weeks and months.”
BMW hasn’t yet confirmed Marciello’s racing schedule for next season yet, though he is widely expected to compete with BMW in the FIA WEC with Belgian outfit Team WRT.
“I am very excited to be a BMW M works driver starting from the upcoming season,” he said. “This is a significant step in my career. Having been a racing driver for many years, I am immensely proud to be able to compete for BMW M Motorsport in the future.”
Stefan Wendl, the head of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing, said he regrets having to say farewell to Marciello.
“Of course, I really regret the fact that, in Raffaele, we have to say farewell to a long-standing and highly respected member of the World’s Fastest Family,” he wrote in a statement earlier this week ahead of BMW’s announcement.
“For us as a brand and for our customer teams, it was always a pleasure, both from a sporting and from a human perspective, to work together with such a professional and fast driver. Not in the least because of that, we have racked up numerous race wins, championship titles and record in GT racing with Raffaele since 2017. I wish him all the very best for his private and professional future.
“We will always remember our joint achievements with pleasure and therefore, ‘Lello’ will always remain part of the Mercedes-AMG family. And because the motorsport world is small, as we all know, we will most certainly continue to meet Raffaele on and off the track.”
