How Brazilian AF Corse rookie Felipe Fraga first came into contact with the DTM as a 16-year-old in 2012 and what fateful meeting took place back then
The announcement that 26-year-old Brazilian Felipe Fraga would be starting for the Red Bull-backed Ferrari top team AF Corse this year as Liam Lawson’s successor came as a surprise to the DTM. But what hardly anyone knew: Fraga has come full circle, because ten years ago he experienced his first DTM race at the Red Bull Ring. And got to know Augusto Farfus, who is now one of his supporters.
“I was a fresh-faced Red Bull athlete at the time,” says Fraga, who was 16 in 2012 and drove his first year of Formula Renault. “When I was at the Red Bull training centre in Austria, I was invited by Red Bull to watch the DTM race at the Red Bull Ring. Ten years later I returned – to test the DTM car.”
All this felt “surreal”, says Fraga, who went on to become a stock car champion in Brazil and has now made the jump to the DTM via GT racing.
Fraga’s 2012 DTM visit to the Red Bull Ring
What memories does Fraga have of his first contact with the traditional series? “I was a formula driver at the time and of course I was just dreaming about Formula 1, but those cars were crazy,” he refers to the manufacturers’ DTM prototypes at the time. “They were even faster than Formula 3, which was running in the supporting programme at the time,” he says. “I couldn’t believe it.”
There was also a meeting with the then Brazilian DTM driver Augusto Farfus, who was contesting his first season in the series for newcomer BMW. “I was able to go into the pits and met Augusto in person,” he recalls. “So I got to know the DTM and Augusto at the same time. “
Ex-DTM driver Farfus now friend and advisor to Fraga
A fateful meeting, because today Farfus is one of his advisors. “Augusto has been in Europe for ages, we are good friends and I exchange ideas with him,” said Fraga, who says he speaks to his 38-year-old compatriot “two, three times a week”. “I ask him what he thinks of things and which series he thinks are good and which he doesn’t think are so good. “
Farfus has “a lot of experience” and the BMW factory driver’s career is “a good example for every GT driver around the world”, says Fraga. “Also, he is the one who brought DTM closer to Brazil. Because of him, everyone knows it today. And now everyone is happy and will watch DTM again because there is a Brazilian again,” he says, not without pride.
How the DTM became a destination
But how long did it take for DTM to become a possible destination for Fraga in his career? “When I became a stock car driver in 2014, I was already thinking about the DTM,” he answers. Fraga had buried his Formula 1 dream for financial reasons, had returned to Brazil and won the title there in the Stockcar Light Series at the first attempt. That earned him a cockpit in the Brazilian stock cars.
The career jump meant that Fraga no longer just had a sponsorship contract with Red Bull, but became a fully-fledged Red Bull driver. And he went on to win the stock car title in 2016. “DTM was the top touring car series at the time,” Fraga recalls. “I was thinking about DTM and Super GT in Japan, as Red Bull is active in both series. I always had these two series in mind. And now it has worked out,” he says happily.
“Was completely perplexed”: DTM dream comes true in Spielberg
But the jump to the DTM only came about because he took the risk of leaving stock cars in 2019. “I didn’t have the dream of winning the title two, three, four or five times, I wanted to develop and try bigger things,” says Fraga, who targeted a factory contract via GT racing in Europe and was added to the driver pool by Mercedes-AMG in 2021.
“And I was always asking Red Bull Brazil and Red Bull HQ if there was a possibility and if they had something for me, because I’m in Europe now,” he confirms. “So when they asked me if I wanted to join the DTM, I was completely perplexed and could hardly say anything. I just said that I was ready and very happy to accept the offer.”
He had “always dreamed of driving a real Red Bull race car. And in such a strong field,” enthuses Fraga, who took his first drive in the Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo on 22 March – at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, of all places. “The team did everything to make me feel comfortable right from the start,” he seems to have finally arrived after a long journey.
