Portuguese sportscar racing driver (born 2003)
Manuel Espírito Santo (born 13 August 2003) is a Portuguese racing driver who currently drives for Cool Racing in the LMP3 category of the European Le Mans Series.[1]
Early career
After starting his career at the comparatively late age of 14, Espírito Santo made his racing debut in single-seater machinery at the end of 2019, driving for Drivex School at Barcelona in the final round of the F4 Spanish Championship.[2][3] He finished eighth in his maiden race.
After a year of senior-level karting, the Portuguese returned to Spanish F4 in 2021. Despite starting out with multiple points-scoring weekends for MP Motorsport, Espírito Santo managed just two further points finishes in the season's second half, ending up 17th in the standings.[4] He switched to Teo Martín Motorsport for the 2022 season, where he would fail to score points in the opening two events before moving to Campos Racing.[5][6] The results swiftly improved, as Espírito Santo scored a pair of podiums at Valencia — his first weekend for the team. Further points followed at Spa, Aragón, and Barcelona, results which helped Espírito Santo to 12th place in the championship. At the end of the year, he represented Team Portugal in the Formula 4 Cup of the FIA Motorsport Games, where he qualified in fifth, placed second during the qualifying race, and ended up second overall in the main race.[7][8][9]
Sportscar career
2023
2023 saw Espírito Santo enter prototype racing, as he would drive in the European Le Mans Series alongside gentleman drivers Michael Jensen and Nick Adcock, driving an LMP3 car for Team Virage.[10] He managed to impress in his debut season, scoring pole positions at Spa and his home track in the Algarve.[11][12][13] However, retirements at Aragón and the Algarve blighted the team's season, as Espírito Santo and his teammates ended up tenth in the teams' standings.[14]
Additionally, the Portuguese driver joined the team in the Ultimate Cup Series that year in the Proto P3 class.[15] The team dominated, as Espírito Santo helped them towards three victories whilst scoring four fastest laps; he ended up second in the drivers' championship after missing one race.[16] He also raced in the Road to Le Mans, a preliminary event ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Espírito Santo took pole and crossed the finish line first during the opening race, though he and teammate Martin Rich were demoted to fourth after the Portuguese received a five-second penalty for overtaking under safety car conditions.[17][18]
2024
At the start of 2024, Cool Racing brought in Espírito Santo for the final two races of the Asian Le Mans Series at Abu Dhabi.[19] There, he helped the team towards the LMP3 class title by scoring two pole positions and two second-place finishes.[20][21] This would prove to be preparation for Espírito Santo's main campaign, which he would contest with Cool in the ELMS alongside fellow silver-ranked driver Cédric Oltramare and Portuguese bronze Miguel Cristóvão.[22] The opening round at Barcelona brought another pole position to the youngster, who later crossed the line in second.[23][24]
After finishing 5th and 8th at Le Castellet and Imola, the Portuguese was back on the podium at Spa-Francorchamps, where he came third place. At the penultimate round of the season at Mugello, he got his first pole position of the season but retired 68 laps in due to (???).
In the final round of the season and at his home race of Algarve, he got another pole position, which his team converted to their first win alongside a fastest lap. This was also his first ever win in endurance racing, barring his wins in the Ultimate Cup Series. Espírito Santo finished 5th in the championship with one win, three pole positions, one fastest lap, three podiums and 75 points.
Espírito Santo made a cameo in the second round of the 2024 Ultimate Cup Series in the Proto P3 class, at Algarve International Circuit, his hometrack. He competed with Bretton Racing, partnering up with Bernardo Pinheiro, they achieved pole position but came 12th in the race.
Karting record
Karting career summary
Racing record
Racing career summary
† As Espírito Santo was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score championship points.
* Season still in progress.
Complete F4 Spanish Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
† As Espírito Santo was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
Complete FIA Motorsport Games results
| Year
|
Team
|
Cup
|
Qualifying
|
Quali Race
|
Main Race
|
| 2022
|
 Team Portugal
|
Formula 4
|
5th
|
2nd
|
2nd
|
Complete European Le Mans Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete Ultimate Cup Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
* Season still in progress.
Complete Asian Le Mans Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
References
External links
