Chiara Vescio Interview

Immersed into the world of motorsport from the day she was born, Chiara Vescio was always destined to find her true calling in the racing world.

Growing up around cars, drivers and competition thanks to her family, Chiara tried her hand at being a racing driver too – before discovering that she thrived off track instead of on it.

Today, Chiara is the first and only woman in TCR Italy where she works as a Team Co-ordinator – something that she describes as the most important professional experience of her life in motorsport.

We caught up recently to chat about all of this and a lot more, including her time in the F2 Trophy Championship and what she’s setting her sights on for the future.

I hope you enjoy our conversation.

What first got you interested in motorsport?

The truth is… nothing ever got me interested in motorsport. I was simply born into it. I was just three months old when I first entered the world of racing, and from that moment on, I grew up 24/7 immersed in it. My Father was a fast and successful racing driver who played a key role in reviving the legend of the Fiat 500 and twin-cylinder cars. His first race was in March 1984 at Varano de’ Melegari with our stunning 695 SS Abarth, where he finished in first place overall. From there, he helped bring the Fiat 500 back to life, developing its engines, recreating spare parts, and pushing its evolution forwards. He was the most respected specialist in the preparation of the Fiat 500 and twin-cylinder race cars. His work wasn’t just technical — it was pure craftsmanship. Through him, I grew up breathing the scent of engines and competition. It’s in my DNA.

So for me, motorsport has never been just an interest and it’s definitely not just a passion. In fact, it bothers me a lot, when people talk to me, they call it my “passion,” even if they mean it kindly. Motorsport is something much deeper for me. It’s home. It’s family. It’s the most familiar feeling I know. I grew up in paddocks, with my Father, my Mother and later my brother, plus all my other relatives and family friends. All my memories are shaped by that warmth, that closeness, that energy. That’s why, wherever motorsport is, that’s where I belong.

Motorsport is where I’m meant to be.

Building on what I’ve just said, I can’t really explain it. It’s a calling stronger than myself. There’s no logical reason I can point to for why I feel this way. Just because you’re born into motorsport, growing up through your Father’s path, doesn’t mean your child will automatically feel the same.

After being away from motorsport for many years (about ten years), when I returned, that day I knew, without a doubt, that this was the place I was meant to be. Not just physically, but in my life. It went beyond a simple calling. When I’m at the races, on the tracks, I feel something deep in my heart, in my stomach, in every part of me, that lights me up and tells me this is where I belong and it’s something uncontrollable.

You spent time as a racing driver, tell me about this.

My experience in racing was actually very short, and for that reason, I don’t think it would be honest and accurate to call myself a racing driver! A racing driver is definitely something else. I simply had the opportunity and the incredible luck to race a car, even if only for a brief period. I feel deeply grateful for that. Such an amazing experience!

What I truly wanted was more time: more time to train, to improve, to understand my limits behind the wheel of a race car. It was an extraordinary experience and, although I don’t think I naturally have a strong competitive spirit, I absolutely loved the process of learning. I wanted to spend hours on track, not necessarily to compete, but to understand the car, the trajectories, the dynamics, the technical aspects and above all, to experience that feeling of becoming one with the vehicle. That feeling is indescribable.

That’s why I say I’m not a “real” driver. I wasn’t particularly skilled, but it didn’t matter. There are emotions that go beyond performance and feeling that connection with the car was what made the whole experience meaningful to me.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to enjoy my first official race as much as I wish I had. It took place in Varano de’ Melegari, the same track where my Father competed in his very first race, which made the moment even more symbolic, but unlike my Father, who was an excellent driver, I wasn’t and instead of feeling excitement, I felt pressure: people wondering if I would be as good as him or as fast as my brother, who was also a very skilled strong driver and being a woman, there was also this layer of judgment about my appearance, so other people’s affirmations were: “She looks fine but is she actually good too?”

All those expectations didn’t allow me to let go, to be present or to enjoy the experience. I was too rational, too focused on what others might think and not free enough to simply learn and have fun. What I wanted more than anything was to compete with a smile, not just on my face, but in my heart. Yet I couldn’t, because I was overwhelmed by anxiety and pressure.

So my biggest regret is exactly that: not giving myself the chance to truly enjoy those first steps, to experience them with lightness, joy and curiosity, but even so, racing remains one of the most beautiful experiences I’ve ever had and that feeling of being at one with the car is something I will always carry with me and something I still hope to feel again someday. I still want to go training on track on board a racing car.

You then decided that you’d like to work behind the scenes in motorsport, why was this?

There wasn’t really a specific moment, when I consciously told myself or anyone else that I wanted to work behind the scenes in motorsport. It actually happened in a very natural, almost spontaneous way, as if I were simply following a path unfolding in front of me.

Earlier I mentioned that I stepped away from motorsport for ten full years. What I didn’t say is that the very day I physically set foot on a racetrack again, my first day back in the paddock, was AGAIN in Varano de’ Melegari! That circuit keeps coming back in my story: it was where my Father had his first race, where I had my first official race and where, many years later, my journey into motorsport began again after a decade away.

That day in Varano was when I felt, very clearly, that this was now my choice. The pull I had always felt, that I mentioned earlier, was no longer about following my Father or doing what we were expected to do as a family, as kids, going to races had never really been our choice, but coming back after ten years, I experienced something overwhelming, something deeply internal, telling me that this was where I was meant to be. I felt it in every part of me.

From that moment, opportunities started to appear almost naturally. When I was offered the chance to race, while racing, I met people and teams and one day one of them simply offered me a job. I wasn’t thinking strategically about staying in motorsport or about finding a way to remain involved independently from my family. None of that was in my mind at the time. It all happened very naturally.

I ended up working with the same team I raced for with a Formula Renault 2000. Eventually the opportunity to keep racing disappeared. There were no more funds, no sponsors and not even my own resources to continue, but work opportunities kept coming, so I followed that flow and that’s when I realized something important: through that job offer, I had found my own way to remain in the world, where I felt I truly belonged. I was in motorsport, because of me and my choices, not because of my Father, not because of any other obligations. That made all the difference.

You spent time as a Communications and Marketing Manager as well as a Sports Director – how complex were these roles?

In reality, my responsibilities as Communications and Marketing Manager and as Sports Director often overlapped. Although they are formally different roles, in practice I handled many of the same activities. As Communications and Marketing Manager, for example, I managed a wide range of tasks: communication, logistics both on and off the track, registrations, administrative procedures, travel arrangements and coordination for tests and race weekends. I also interacted with potential sponsors and, on occasion, even searched for drivers, activities that were not strictly required by the role, but became part of my day-to-day work.

Something similar happened as Sports Director. The definition of that role can vary significantly depending on the team and the championship level. In some teams, certain responsibilities, such as dealing directly with Race Direction or the stewards, were handled by the team owners. In that sense, my experience as Sports Director was very different from what the same title might imply in higher categories like Formula 1.

Regarding complexity, I don’t consider these roles inherently difficult if you have the right competencies. Most tasks came naturally to me and I was fortunate to work in areas where my skills were a good match. At the same time, I’ve always been aware of the areas where I wasn’t as strong. For example, securing sponsorships has never been one of my natural strengths, despite being something I’ve often been asked to do. Similarly, dealing with regulations or interfacing with Race Direction is a part of the Sports Director role that I never had to cover directly and I recognise that it’s not an area where I excel.

Overall, my experience wasn’t defined by complexity, but by self-awareness: knowing what I could do very well, what I could learn and what didn’t align with my natural abilities. Everything else was smooth and manageable and I always approached my responsibilities with confidence and clarity.

Tell me about your time in the F2 Trophy Championship in 2016.

My experience in the F2 Trophy Championship in 2016 was truly formative, largely thanks to the opportunity to work closely with Piero Longhi. Most people know him as an exceptional driver, whether in rally, on the track, in touring cars or single-seaters, but only those within the industry really understand how talented he is as an organizer and leader.

Working with him for an entire season and later on in several additional collaborations, shaped me more than any other professional experience in motorsport. He never “taught” me in a formal sense; instead, I learned by observing him, how he handled situations, how he organized complex operations and how he communicated. Even today, I still learn from simply watching him work.

Piero has a unique ability to manage even the most challenging situations with calmness, clarity and respect. I’ve almost never seen him lose his temper. His verbal, non-verbal and written communication always conveys stability and confidence, which has a powerful effect on the people around him. In motorsport, where pressure, stress and tight deadlines are constant, this kind of leadership makes an enormous difference.

To this day, I consider him the person from whom I’ve learned the most in my professional life. He has been an indirect mentor: not someone who instructs you step by step, but someone who teaches through example. I try to internalize that approach, not by imitating him, but by making those qualities my own. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes less, but it’s a continuous process.

So, the most meaningful aspect of my experience in the F2 Trophy was everything I learned from working with him in 2016 and everything I continue to learn from him today. I truly couldn’t have had a better mentor in motorsport.

Talk to me about your time as the Sport Director for Wolf Racing Cars, WRC’s Commercial Area Development Manager and their Social Media Manager.

My experience with Wolf Racing Cars began in 2018, initially as Sport Director and, over the years, I had the opportunity to cover several different roles. Then I started to deal with all its socials at the same time and I brought this on until my very last moment in this company. After my first season in the sporting area, I was later appointed as the company’s Commercial Area Development Manager and, more recently, as Communications Manager, particularly overseeing the social media side, although in practice my responsibilities extended beyond that.

One of my main strengths has always been generating ideas, identifying opportunities and building connections that I always shared and offered to my main boss. Several initiatives and collaborations that the company later developed, such as their first major contest, SWA 2025, and the communication projects involving Marco Privitera and Riccardo Scarlato, originated from my proposals and from the contacts I established with them both. This contributed to a significant growth in the company’s social media presence and communication, with increases in engagement and followers that had not been achieved before and has not been matched since.

Wolf Racing Cars is a company with enormous potential, producing cars that I genuinely admire – they are well-designed, well-built and the result of a great deal of technical expertise. I have always believed they could already be much further ahead, because the quality of their work is exceptionally high.

Regarding the commercial role, I would have liked more time to develop the projects I had started. I was learning the position on my own, without formal guidance and external circumstances, including the pandemic, but no…that path was interrupted before I could bring certain results to completion. With more time, I’m confident I’d have been able to deliver concrete outcomes. In this sense, I genuinely feel that my experience at Wolf Racing Cars could have gone much better and I do regret that it didn’t develop and go in the way I hoped.

As for my time as Sport Director, logistics and organizational management were the areas where I performed best. I still remember a specific moment in Vallelunga, on May 1st, 2019, where I had completed in a single day all the administrative and preparatory tasks that usually take several days over a race weekend. Maurizio, who is not someone who gives compliments easily, as all the rest of that family, came to me and told me that “brava” that I’ll always remember, with still THAT scene in front of my eyes like it just happened. When he told me THAT “brava”, I was not getting FOR WHAT he was meaning it, because it was told to me out of context, so I asked him what for and he explained to me that he acknowledged that I had been efficient, doing all in a single day, showing my focus and capability in my job. It meant a great deal to me. That recognition validated that I was heading in the right direction and it remains one of my most meaningful memories from my years with the company.

Overall, my journey at Wolf Racing Cars, from 2018 to 2025 until recently, allowed me to grow across multiple areas and to contribute to projects that shaped both the sporting and communication sides of the company and while professionally it could have turned out better, it remains an experience.

Today, you’re the TCR Italy Team Co-ordinator and, if I’m correct, the first and only woman in this role/organisation.

Yes, it appears so, I am currently the first and only woman to hold this role within the TCR Italy paddock. Before I stepped into this position, there was only one other person acting as a championship reference point in the Italian series, specifically in GT and he is now a close colleague. When the Federation needed someone to take on the same responsibilities for TCR Italy, I was given the opportunity and I will always be amazingly grateful for that trust. Since no one else had previously covered this role in TCR Italy, other than my colleague in GT, it naturally meant that no woman had ever held it before. So yes, I became the first and I remain the only woman at this specific level, working daily with colleagues and managers at various levels, who are all men.

This role has been an extraordinary experience. When I began in December 2021, I didn’t know much about the category, nor was I particularly passionate about touring cars, but as I started building my personal working system, creating relationships with teams, drivers and staff and, as I found myself coordinating around 400 people, almost all of them men, something changed. Day by day, I found myself genuinely falling in love with the cars, the series and the work I’m doing.

I remember the very first day trackside in my new role: Monza, April 2022, in the rain. That was the moment it all became real. The voices I had been speaking with for months, the names I had seen only in emails and messages, they became real human beings standing in front of me. That day, I realized just how much I loved the job.

There was also a moment that same weekend when I felt deeply discouraged, during the first day of that weekend, an episode that emotionally shook me to the point of wanting to go home, hide under a blanket and cry until Monday, but after a moment of reflection, something shifted. I decided that, whatever happened, I would give my absolute best and that decision transformed everything. From there, my connection to the role didn’t simply “begin”, it revealed itself in full. It became a genuine love for what I was doing.

Since then, it has been a long journey, five years now from December 2021. Today the federation is undergoing a managerial transition and after this I sincerely hope to be renewed for the next season. Not out of fear of change, but because I know how much of myself I have put into this role. I have invested my skills, my time, my energy and my emotional commitment. Losing the opportunity to continue would feel almost like losing something I helped build, a project I helped raise and grow, giving all of “me” in this job and championship.

This has been the most important professional experience of my life in motorsport. It has shaped me profoundly, both personally and professionally. If in the past I’d have hesitated to define myself as “a professional with a capital P,” but today, I feel I have earned that title thanks to this role and the immense growth it has given me. I am and will always be deeply grateful to my boss for giving me an opportunity I never dared hope for. It has been extraordinary.

You’re also the ASN National Representative for FIA Girls on Track Italy – how did this role come about?

This is actually a very meaningful question for me, because I can honestly say that I created this path almost unconsciously. When I started working as the TCR Italy Team Coordinator, I spent a lot of time on social media interacting with drivers and teams. During that period, I discovered the Women in Motorsport and Girls on Track programmes, two initiatives I hadn’t known existed before. I noticed that many countries around the world had their own national branches, but Italy did not.

Given my role and the fact that I was (and still am) the only woman in this position within ACI Sport, I began to think: “Why don’t we have these programmes in Italy? And why shouldn’t I be the one to bring them here?”

This thought emerged, during a very difficult moment in my life: the passing of my mother, just a few days before the racing weekend in Mugello, July 2022. I chose not to step away from work, because I’ve always been extremely dedicated to my job and I didn’t allow myself the time to process the loss. In that emotionally complex and seriously tough weekend, I shared my idea with two friends of mine, Giancarlo Minardi and Andrea Adamo. Andrea helped me with a contact who, without knowing it, turned out to be the perfect person: the right hand of the Head of Women in Motorsport at the time, Deborah Mayer (owner of the team & project IRON LYNX).

As soon as the weekend in Mugello ended, I wrote a first email explaining my thoughts: that I had seen the programmes abroad, that Italy didn’t have them and that I believed we needed to bring them here. By coincidence, it was the perfect moment: the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Monza was approaching in September. I was then invited to the second-ever Women in Motorsport event held in Italy, during that Grand Prix. I was the only Italian invited, though of course many Italian women active in motorsport were present at the event, as they were physically there on track, so they were invited live in that moment.

That experience allowed me to meet Deborah Mayer and many other incredible women. We exchanged reflections about being women in motorsport. After that, I didn’t hear from anyone for over a year.

Then, in November 2023, completely unexpectedly, I was contacted and asked whether I would like to become the ASN Representative for FIA Girls on Track Italy. I never imagined the possibility, not because I wouldn’t have wanted it, but because my initial intention had simply been to bring the programmes to Italy, not to take on a leading role myself. So it truly felt like a surprise and an honour. I OBVIOUSLY accepted immediately.

From that moment, we began working toward what became the first and only Girls on Track Italy event so far: at the Formula E weekend in Misano in April 2024. It was an extraordinary experience and I genuinely hope we can organize more activities in the future. The interest from the girls was strong; they asked about careers, opportunities and how to stay involved. There was no official follow-up pathway at the time, so I offered them my personal support, shared my contacts, invited them to race weekends and guided those who wanted to continue.

My hope is that 2026 will allow us to relaunch the project in Italy, both FIA Girls on Track and perhaps also Women in Motorsport Italy. There is so much potential, so much to do and it would be wonderful to continue developing these initiatives for the next generation.

What has been your favourite moment so far and your most challenging moment?

Let’s start from the bottom of your question: the challenges. If we focus on this role with TCR Italy in particular, I can say that, while I have certainly faced challenging situations, my relationship with the teams and drivers has always been remarkably smooth.

From one side, there can always be detractors in life, people who may obstruct you or make things less easy, but that is simply part of being human and of the life, not something exclusive to motorsport. In reality, in these nearly five years since I began working as Team Co-ordinator (my anniversary of my “START WORKING FROM NOW” is actually in a couple of days, 07/12/2021) my interaction with teams and drivers has been almost effortless.

This is largely because of my background. I was born and raised on the “other side of the barricade”, so to speak, on the side of teams, drivers and customers. Thanks to my family’s involvement in motorsport and through all my roles prior to joining the federation, I always worked from their perspective, never from the organization’s. This has allowed me to understand their needs instinctively, because I’m one of them. I know their world; I have lived their experience, so my work with them has always been fluid and cooperative.

As for challenges, of course I’ve faced them, this is part of the game of the life, but one of the most difficult moment was the death of my mum. A great challenge I’ve faced since taking on this role, not only the loss itself, but the fact that I never had the opportunity to process the grief.

Her passing happened just days before the Mugello racing weekend in July 2022. I chose not to take time off, even though no one’d have questioned it, because I feel always a strong sense of responsibility. My boss was not present that weekend and I could not accept the idea of leaving the championship without either of the two us there. It was extremely hard, emotionally and humanly and yet I forced myself to continue.

What made that moment the most challenging is that the difficulty didn’t end with the loss or the immediate pain. Grief has consequences over time, especially when it remains unaddressed and I have carried those consequences quietly. I never externalised what I was going through, because personal matters, as much as possible, should not affect one’s professional responsibilities.

Not only that: in these seven years there have been other moments of profound pain, beyond the loss of my mum, that significantly affected my last 7 years and that conditioned them, experiences that are still very present within me and always will be. They stay with me, in a way, and of course they influence me, but I never express them outwardly. Especially at work, I’ve always chosen to show myself as smiling and happy, which is genuinely who I am, without allowing the outside world to see what is inside. I believe pain is something intimate and showing it wouldn’t align with the kind of professional I strive, day by day, to become.

This role has taught me to compartmentalise the different areas of my life, something that isn’t always easy, but was necessary in order to keep performing at the highest level possible. I never wanted anyone to say, “Chiara made a mistake because she is going through this or that something personal.” I do NOT like being justified, nor do I want to give myself excuses. If I make a mistake, I must take responsibility for it; that is the only way to be a true professional and to continue evolving.

So, while I have many beautiful memories, the most difficult moment has undoubtedly been learning to carry my grief in silence (and also different personal “griefs”) other whilst continuing to give my best. In its own way, it has shaped me profoundly.

Back to your first part of the question, as for my favourite moment… to be honest, it isn’t a single episode. My favourite moment from these past five years is really a melting pot of many small, beautiful things: a tapestry of positive experiences, gestures of appreciation and instances of genuine human connection. It’s made up of countless acknowledgements, some big, some subtle, like a driver thanking me for something I’ve helped them with or a team recognising that I’ve done a good job. Sometimes it’s a smile, sometimes it’s that unmistakable spark in someone’s eyes that conveys a gratitude deeper than any words could express.

There are also moments that reflect what I’ve been able to build over time. For example, a little over a month ago, one of “my” TCR Italy drivers called me to share concerns about something happening within the championship. We spoke for a while and at the end he said: “Chiara, from now on I’m calling only you. I trust you. I know that when I ask you something, you always give me sincere and truthful answers. You’re the only person I’ve realised I can genuinely rely on.”

That meant so much to me, because he was one of the very first drivers I ever approached in person, back in March 2022 at Mugello. It took four years of consistency, integrity and honesty to get with him to THIS trust, to see and feel that trust so clearly and that acknowledgement was profoundly meaningful, but if I had to choose one moment that touches me every single time, without exception, it’s the sight of the cars lining up. At every race, at every practice session, every time I stand on the starting grid… that is my favourite moment. Seeing the cars and the drivers there, ready to go, is the final result of an immense amount of work that sits behind the scenes, “the magic happening”, hours and hours on the phone with teams, with drivers, sometimes even with their sponsors; all the coordination, the problem-solving, the mediation, the patience, the responsibility.

When I see them all lined up, they “speak” to me. They are the living proof of everything I’ve done, everything I’ve built, everything I’ve given. You’ll always find me smiling on the grid, admiring them, because those cars and the people inside them are the greatest recognition I could ever receive. They are the tangible translation of all the values, the effort, the consistency and the honesty I’ve poured into this role, so my favourite moment is truly a sum of many small things, but above all, it’s that instant when I stand on the grid, look at the cars and know that what I see is the direct consequence of everything I’ve put into my work and that, for me, is priceless.

Is there one area of motorsport you haven’t been involved in yet that you’d like to be in the future?

That is an excellent question, especially considering everything I’ve shared so far. When I look back at all the roles I’ve held in motorsport, because not all of them have been “jobs” in the strict sense, some have simply been roles I stepped into, I realise that none of them were positions I deliberately sought out. They were never destinations I was aiming for. They were opportunities life placed in front of me; chances the universe sent my way and I embraced them. Some I perhaps made the most of, others not as much as I’d have liked, but each one became part of my path.

So at the moment, the honest answer is no: there is no specific area of motorsport I am consciously trying to move into. In fact, I’ve grown to appreciate this recurring theme in my life, roles arriving unexpectedly, shaping a journey I never intentionally designed and I am genuinely curious to see what comes next.

My focus is always on the present: committing myself fully to what I’m doing now, giving my absolute best. I hope I’ve done so in the past; I certainly try to, but whether I truly succeed is not for me to judge, I may be biased. I believe that results should speak for myself, so I hope that, in every role I’ve held, my work and the results I achieved.

Would you rather swim in a pool of Nutella or tomato sauce?

NUTELLAAAAAAA!!!!!

Would you rather fight 100 duck sized horses or a horse sized duck?

None of them! No fights for me, not with humans, not with animals.

Thank you to Chiara for taking the time to chat.

Author: Thiemo Albers-Daly