DeFrancesco was born 15 weeks premature on January 17, 2000,[1] to Andrew and Cathy DeFrancesco. Weighing only a pound at birth, he was cared for at Toronto's Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre until he was nursed back to health.[4][5]
Racing career
Karting
In 2014, DeFrancesco placed 2nd overall in the Italian Championship and 3rd overall in the CIK FIA European Championship.[6][7][8] In 2014, he sustained an injury to his wrist that required two surgeries and that kept him out of a full racing series for roughly year. As part of his rehabilitation, Devlin attended the Carlin Academy, where he used a combination of simulators and on-track testing to prepare for FIA Formula 4-style racing.[9][8]
In 2015, DeFrancesco was selected to be a part of the Generation Ganassi Driver Identification Program,[10] a mentoring and talent development program sponsored by Chip Ganassi Racing aiming to identify and assist up to 10 North American drivers between the ages of 13 and 18.
In early 2016, DeFrancesco competed in New Zealand's Toyota Racing Series with Giles Motorsport.[13][14] He finished the season 10th overall with a total of 465 points.[1]
MSA Formula
DeFrancesco joined Carlin Motorsports for the 2016 MSA Formula season,[9][7] taking three wins and finishing 5th in the points standings.
Euroformula Open
DeFrancesco continued his collaboration with Carlin Motorsport in the Euroformula Open and Spanish Formula 3 Championships in 2017.[15] A strong campaign saw him end the season as Spanish Formula 3 champion[16] with 3 wins and 5 podiums. He also won a victory and seven podiums in the Euroformula Open championship, netting 3rd in the championship standings.[17]
FIA Formula 3 European Championship
DeFrancesco joined the FIA Formula 3 European Championship for the final two rounds of the 2017 season.[18][19] He once again teamed up with Carlin in 2018, competing in the opening two races.[20] He was forced to withdraw from the following round to undergo dental surgery,[21] and subsequently made the switch to join GP3 Series for the remainder of the 2018 season, teaming up with MP Motorsport.[22]
GP3 Series
Joining MP Motorsport, DeFrancesco finished the year in 21st place without scoring points.[23]
In February 2020, it was announced that Devlin would rejoin Trident Racing for a second year in the championship,[26] but he was forced to withdraw from the season amongst fears of COVID-19, DeFrancesco being immunocompromised.[27]
The Canadian moved to Indy Lights in 2021 in a car co-entered by Steinbrenner Racing and Andretti Autosport. With two podiums and nine top 5s, he finished 6th in the points standings.
IndyCar
DeFrancesco joined the IndyCar Series for the 2022 season, driving the Number 29 car entered as Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport. He had a best result of 12th at Gateway and ranked 23rd in the driver's standings.[33] DeFrancesco continued with the same team for the 2023 season and finished 22nd.[34] DeFrancesco failed to secure a ride for the 2024 season and did not participate in any IndyCar races that season. DeFranseco will return to the IndyCar series in 2025 after signing a multi-year deal to drive for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.[2]
† As DeFrancesco was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points. ‡ Points only counted towards the Michelin Endurance Cup, and not the overall LMP2 Championship.
Complete Ginetta Junior Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)