Quick Facts
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Biography
Ómar Julián Leal Covelli, commonly known as Julián Leal, (born May 11, 1990 in Bucaramanga) is a professional racing driver from Colombia, although he has also competed with an Italian licence in the GP2 Series.
Career
Formula Renault 2.0
Leal began his racing career in 2006 in the Formula Renault 2.0 PanamGP series, scoring two podium finishes in seven races to finish ninth in the standings. He also took part in two races of the series the following year.
Euroseries 3000
The following season, Leal moved to Europe to compete in the Euroseries 3000 championship. Driving for the Italian Durango team, he finished ninth in the Euroseries standings and eleventh in the Italian Formula 3000 championship, which ran as part of the main series.
He continued in the championship in 2008, finishing sixth in the Euroseries after securing four podium places in fifteen races. In September of that year, he won the Italian Formula 3000 championship at Misano, beating both Fabio Onidi and Nicolas Prost to the title by a single point.
Formula Renault 3.5 Series
At the end of 2008, Leal took part in Formula Renault 3.5 Series testing at Paul Ricard and Valencia, driving for both Draco Racing and Prema Powerteam. In December 2008, it was announced that Leal had signed with Prema Powerteam for the 2009 season. He had a testing first season in the category, with a podium at the Hungaroring being his only points–scoring finish, as he wound up 20th in the standings.
In the off–season, Leal tested for both Prema and Mofaz Racing at the Circuit de Catalunya and in December 2009, it was announced that he would drive for Draco Racing in the 2010 season, partnering Formula Renault graduate Nathanaël Berthon. He again finished the season in 20th position after struggling to match his rookie team–mate, with his best race result being a fourth place at the first race in Brno.
Auto GP
In March 2010, it was announced that Leal would also compete in the new Auto GP championship, competing for the Italian team Trident Racing. He finished seventh in the final standings, with the highlight of his season coming at the penultimate round at the brand–new Circuito de Navarra, where he won the first race after starting from pole position.
GP2 Series
In November 2010, Leal tested a GP2 Series car for the first time, taking part in the post–season test at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, and in January 2011 it was announced that he had signed with the Rapax Team to contest the GP2 Asia Series season, lining–up alongside Fabio Leimer. He had initially signed to contest only the Asia series, but in March 2011 it was confirmed that he would stay with the team for the main 2011 championship, in which he finished 27th.
Leal switched to the Trident Racing team for the non-championship season finale at Yas Marina, and remained with the outfit for the 2012 season, where he was partnered with Stéphane Richelmi. He scored his first series points and finished 21st in the championship.
Leal moved to Racing Engineering for the 2013 season, his teammate for the second time was champion of that year Fabio Leimer. He scored a total of 62 points, including two sprint race podiums leaving him 12th in the championship. For 2014, he moved to British squad Carlin alongside Felipe Nasr. He finished on the podium in both races at the first round but ultimately would finish 10th in the final standings on 68 points.
Leal will continue with Carlin for 2015.
Racing record
Career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Formula Renault 2.0 PanamGP | Penix Unico | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 72 | 9th |
| 2007 | Formula Renault 2.0 PanamGP | ? | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 17th |
| Euroseries 3000 | Durango | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 9th | |
| Italian Formula 3000 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 11th | ||
| 2008 | Euroseries 3000 | Durango | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 38 | 6th |
| Italian Formula 3000 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 35 | 1st | ||
| 2009 | Formula Renault 3.5 Series | Prema Powerteam | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 20th |
| 2010 | Formula Renault 3.5 Series | International DracoRacing | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 20th |
| Auto GP | Trident Racing | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 9th | |
| 2011 | GP2 Series | Rapax | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27th |
| GP2 Asia Series | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26th | ||
| GP2 Final | Trident Racing | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22nd | |
| 2012 | GP2 Series | Trident Racing | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 21st |
| 2013 | GP2 Series | Racing Engineering | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 62 | 12th |
| 2014 | GP2 Series | Carlin | 22 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 68 | 10th |
| 2015 | GP2 Series | Carlin | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 14th |
| 2016 | European Le Mans Series | SMP Racing | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 60 | 6th |
Complete Euroseries 3000/Auto GP results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Durango | VAL FEA 10 | VAL SPR 10 | HUN FEA 10 | HUN SPR 9 | MAG FEA 8 | MAG SPR 10 | MUG FEA 11 | MUG SPR 6 | NUR FEA Ret | NUR SPR 7 | SPA FEA 7 | SPA SPR Ret | MON FEA 5 | MON SPR 4 | CAT FEA 7 | CAT SPR 6 | 10th | 14 |
| 2008 | Durango | VAL FEA 5 | VAL SPR 6 | SPA FEA 9 | SPA SPR C | VAL FEA 5 | VAL SPR 2 | MUG FEA 4 | MUG SPR 3 | MIS FEA 3 | MIS SPR 2 | JER FEA Ret | JER SPR 7 | CAT FEA Ret | CAT SPR 4 | MAG FEA Ret | MAG SPR 9 | 6th | 38 |
| 2010 | Trident Racing | BRN 1 10 | BRN 2 4 | IMO 1 Ret | IMO 2 8 | SPA 1 7 | SPA 2 Ret | MAG 1 9 | MAG 2 7 | NAV 1 1 | NAV 2 Ret | MNZ 1 8 | MNZ 2 4 | 9th | 21 |
Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Prema Powerteam | CAT 1 15 | CAT 2 19† | SPA 1 19 | SPA 2 18 | MON 1 14 | HUN 1 22 | HUN 2 3 | SIL 1 17 | SIL 2 16 | BUG 1 Ret | BUG 2 20 | ALG 1 18 | ALG 2 17 | NÜR 1 17 | NÜR 2 14 | ALC 1 21 | ALC 2 22† | 20th | 11 |
| 2010 | International Draco Racing | ALC 1 Ret | ALC 2 Ret | SPA 1 11 | SPA 2 12 | MON 1 16 | BRN 1 4 | BRN 2 13 | MAG 1 Ret | MAG 2 19 | HUN 1 Ret | HUN 2 16 | HOC 1 13 | HOC 2 9 | SIL 1 Ret | SIL 2 10 | CAT 1 Ret | CAT 2 Ret | 20th | 11 |
† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.
Complete GP2 Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Rapax | IST FEA 19 | IST SPR Ret | CAT FEA 17 | CAT SPR 14 | MON FEA Ret | MON SPR Ret | VAL FEA 11 | VAL SPR 9 | SIL FEA 22 | SIL SPR 21 | NÜR FEA 14 | NÜR SPR 9 | HUN FEA 20 | HUN SPR Ret | SPA FEA Ret | SPA SPR Ret | MNZ FEA 16 | MNZ SPR Ret | 27th | 0 | ||||||
| 2012 | Trident Racing | SEP FEA 15 | SEP SPR 15 | BHR1 FEA 12 | BHR1 SPR 17 | BHR2 FEA 15 | BHR2 SPR 14 | CAT FEA 24 | CAT SPR 17 | MON FEA 21 | MON SPR Ret | VAL FEA 12 | VAL SPR 8 | SIL FEA 20 | SIL SPR 17 | HOC FEA 21 | HOC SPR 12 | HUN FEA 16 | HUN SPR 15 | SPA FEA 7 | SPA SPR 9 | MNZ FEA 10 | MNZ SPR 8 | MRN FEA 11 | MRN SPR 16 | 21st | 9 |
| 2013 | Racing Engineering | SEP FEA 5 | SEP SPR Ret | BHR FEA 19 | BHR SPR 16 | CAT FEA 13 | CAT SPR 25† | MON FEA Ret | MON SPR 14 | SIL FEA 8 | SIL SPR 4 | NÜR FEA 22 | NÜR SPR 12 | HUN FEA 15 | HUN SPR 21 | SPA FEA 6 | SPA SPR 2 | MNZ FEA 5 | MNZ SPR 3 | MRN FEA Ret | MRN SPR 12 | YMC FEA 16 | YMC SPR 10 | 12th | 62 | ||
| 2014 | Carlin | BHR FEA 2 | BHR SPR 3 | CAT FEA 4 | CAT SPR 5 | MON FEA Ret | MON SPR 16 | RBR FEA 13 | RBR SPR 7 | SIL FEA 5 | SIL SPR 5 | HOC FEA 16 | HOC SPR 18 | HUN FEA Ret | HUN SPR 15 | SPA FEA 13 | SPA SPR 10 | MNZ FEA 14 | MNZ SPR 17 | SOC FEA 9 | SOC SPR 17 | YMC FEA 12 | YMC SPR 11 | 10th | 68 | ||
| 2015 | Carlin | BHR FEA 8 | BHR SPR 5 | CAT FEA Ret | CAT SPR 16 | MON FEA 6 | MON SPR 5 | RBR FEA 14 | RBR SPR 22 | SIL FEA 9 | SIL SPR 12 | HUN FEA 16 | HUN SPR 15 | SPA FEA 4 | SPA SPR 11 | MNZ FEA 12 | MNZ SPR 9 | SOC FEA | SOC SPR | BHR FEA | BHR SPR | YMC FEA | YMC SPR | 14th | 38 |
Complete GP2 Asia Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Rapax | YMC FEA Ret | YMC SPR 17 | IMO FEA 17 | IMO SPR 18 | 26th | 0 |
Complete European Le Mans Series results
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | SMP Racing | LMP2 | BR Engineering BR01 | Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 | SIL 2 | IMO 4 | RBR 4 | LEC 2 | SPA | EST | 6th | 60 |