Pipo Derani is a very determined sort of character. It’s an impression which becomes apparent as soon as the interview commences – the Brazilian has just completed a run after a transatlantic flight from Germany – and can be detected throughout the 21 year old’s young career.
“To be honest, I’ve never had someone who has already been on top in the sport and has helped me, it was most of the time on my own and learning from my own mistakes,” Derani admits. “Most of the time it gets much easier if someone has already made a way up to the top categories and if you listen to these people then your chance of making mistakes gets a little bit smaller, so it’s never been easy for me getting through the difficult times.”
Going it alone has given Derani an inner steel and a maturity which belies his years. Recognising early on that without enormous financial backing, his Formula One dream was destined to be perpetually out of reach, Derani switched his attentions to the fertile land of sportscar racing and hasn’t looked back since.
“It’s a bit of a surprise to be honest because it’s two different worlds, single-seaters and sportscars,” he says. “I had good results in single-seaters, but it doesn’t really matter to be honest, in any case you won’t be successful unless you have a big cheque. I changed the route of my career and made the decision to give up on the Formula One dream, which is not easy for a young driver, but looking back now I can see that it was the right choice.
I had to make that decision quite early in my career and knew that if I was going to be successful then I would have to change my aims and today I couldn’t be happier to be here, fighting for a World Championship so early in my career.”