Giuseppe Palomba, 23 yrs old from around Naples, has just secured the most prestigious title in FIA karting, but you wouldn’t know it by talking to him: his roots are humble, and his devotion to karting is total. You can sense the gratitude in his words for being where he is right now, and it’s a pleasure to talk to him about karting—just karting—and the passion that carried him to the top step of the podium on Sunday.
Let’s start with the race: your victory can be seen as taking advantage of a once-in-a-life opportunity after the contact between the two leaders, or as an extraordinary demonstration of consistency, stability, and experience. We lean toward the latter.
«Indeed, I realized I could stay with Senna and Pedro when I overtook Iglesias right at the start, understanding that he didn’t have the pace we three did, and I didn’t struggle to keep up with the two leaders, staying with them for the entire first part of the race. When the incident between them happened, I was right there, close behind.
It’s natural to wonder if, beyond that incident between them, you would have attacked.
Of course, I would have played my cards. When they collided, we were still in a phase of the race where you observe the situation and decide when and where to attack, but yes, I wanted the World Championship as much as they did. Maybe, in my case, there was a bit less pressure: Hiltbrand had already been World Champion, Senna was under great pressure as one of the favorites from the start. I was the outsider, let’s say, so I was able to race a bit more carefree, although it took great concentration once I was leading. In any case, when I found myself ieading the race, I managed to put some distance between them and me, over a second, so I believe I fully deserved this World Championship.»
Your racing career has been entirely in KZ: just one of the ways your story is different from that of other drivers.
«Yes, I’ve always and only raced in KZ when it comes to national and international-level races. Sure, as a kid, I did a few small races in direct-drive karts, like I often say, the ones where the prize for the winner was a “Prosciutto” or the races in parking lots of shopping malls. My dad would occasionally race in slaloms with cars and used a KZ kart for training. He would take me to the track with him, and when I got older, we got a KF for me. Sometimes we would swap karts, and I’d drive his when I had just turned 14. That’s when I fell in love with KZ.»
Let’s start with the race: your victory can be seen as taking advantage of a once-in-a-life opportunity after the contact between the two leaders, or as an extraordinary demonstration of consistency, stability, and experience. We lean toward the latter.
«Indeed, I realized I could stay with Senna and Pedro when I overtook Iglesias right at the start, understanding that he didn’t have the pace we three did, and I didn’t struggle to keep up with the two leaders, staying with them for the entire first part of the race. When the incident between them happened, I was right there, close behind.
It’s natural to wonder if, beyond that incident between them, you would have attacked.
Of course, I would have played my cards. When they collided, we were still in a phase of the race where you observe the situation and decide when and where to attack, but yes, I wanted the World Championship as much as they did. Maybe, in my case, there was a bit less pressure: Hiltbrand had already been World Champion, Senna was under great pressure as one of the favorites from the start. I was the outsider, let’s say, so I was able to race a bit more carefree, although it took great concentration once I was leading. In any case, when I found myself ieading the race, I managed to put some distance between them and me, over a second, so I believe I fully deserved this World Championship.»
Your racing career has been entirely in KZ: just one of the ways your story is different from that of other drivers.
«Yes, I’ve always and only raced in KZ when it comes to national and international-level races. Sure, as a kid, I did a few small races in direct-drive karts, like I often say, the ones where the prize for the winner was a “Prosciutto” or the races in parking lots of shopping malls. My dad would occasionally race in slaloms with cars and used a KZ kart for training. He would take me to the track with him, and when I got older, we got a KF for me. Sometimes we would swap karts, and I’d drive his when I had just turned 14. That’s when I fell in love with KZ.»
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Palomba lad and dad team in 2013, at the start of a chrono-race in the parking lot of a shopping mall
How did you make the jump from such a simple and family-oriented setting to international races? It’s quite a leap…
«I think it was essential for me to repay the trust of those who supported me in the early races and stand out in that context. The first to do so were the guys from Team ROA in Benevento, with whom I started racing at a more national level. Racing at a high level was my dream, and when their team, after seeing me race in those small local competitions, offered me the chance to race in the "important" races, like in Lonato, I couldn’t believe it. But I immediately felt comfortable and fast. That’s when Intrepid called, and I made a name for myself at Salbris. Then in another round of the European Championship in Lonato, I was second behind Denner in 2018. After that, Croc Promotion came along with Armando Filini, then Birel, then Sodi, and in a relatively short time, I found myself an official driver, fighting with the best drivers in the world. I was very young for KZ and practically unknown at my debut, so everything was going great for me. Those results were incredible to me: just a few years earlier, I was watching the races with my dad from the stands, unable to compete because we couldn’t afford it, and now I was there, on the track, fighting with them—a dream come true.»
It’s nice to hear you talk about a career in karting without any regret about not moving into car racing, which is often a standard comment for drivers your age (born in 2001, ed.).
«There was a moment, actually, after the World Championship podium in Lonato in 2020, when the possibility of participating in a selection for F4 with a major racing brand came up. But after thinking it over, my family and I asked ourselves: if we went further, how could we afford just the travel, flights, and so on? I know very well that there are two possible paths in karting, essentially: those who have a money and a plan from the Minikart days, with a substantial budget and nearly preordained steps to move into cars fairly early, even straight after OK at 14 years old, and those who can, by staying in karting, aim for top results here. I feel I belong to the latter type of driver, and I’m thrilled with where I am now. The World Championship, I repeat, was an incredible achievement for me: it’s one thing to get good placements in races like WSK, but winning the World Championship, the KZ World Championship no less, is another thing. The top 20 drivers at the World Championship in Portimao are of an extremely high level.»
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In 2019, with Croc Promotion Team, Palomba triumphs in the Italian Championship in Sarno
Sure, the race to F1 takes away some of the magic and risks overshadowing everything that comes before it.
«I’m amazed by drivers who sometimes abandon karting for an early move to single-seaters or a race in the lower formulas like F2, just for a practice session in F1. To me, a World Championship title, in any category, is incredibly important. Why, I wonder, give up the chance to win a World Championship for a category switch? First, I’ll win the World Championship, and then I’ll think about it, right?»
Going back to karting: what made you fall in love with KZ, and what do you think makes it unique?
«The adrenaline, the way it’s driven, but above all, the standing start: it’s a unique feeling, and you especially realize how difficult it is when strong OK drivers come in. Even though they’re fast in qualifying, they lose ground at the start and in the first few phases of the race. I’ve seen several OK drivers struggle with the standing start. The engine works differently in KZ, with the gears, you have to pay attention to many details in shifting. KZ is the TOP! I don’t think the entry age for KZ should be lowered, though; karting today is structured very well in terms of age and categories. The only thing is that drivers are moving into cars too soon, which means there’s no time to reach the highest levels in karting, with all the great rewards it can offer.»
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