ABOUT ME
About Me
Γειά σου/ Geia Sou! I’m Alex Rizzoli Panayiotis Lambropoulos, a Greek-British motorsport and Doctor Who obsessed 24-year-old who set off on a mission in 2021, where I wanted to build something that means something to people, as cheesy as that sounds. It first started with my podcast, RelaxWithRizzoli, in which I talk about so many different subjects from Formula 1 to Deep Thoughts and advice for young people like myself. I'm passionate about capturing the world through my lens, then in front of the lens with a microphone presenting motorsport content whilst, and most importantly for me, driving and pushing limits on the racetrack. With skills in media, editing, photography, videography and much more, I want to build a huge brand and community that can provide a safe, positive space for people to open up and talk about anything, to people talking about whatever things they have passions for!
My Story
On the 9th May 2001, I was born in the city of Leeds in West Yorkshire in the UK. In 2007, I had my first experience with a race car. My dad was part of a BTCC (British Touring Car Championship) team where I sat in that BMW E46 3 Series, number '45' and said to myself at 5 years old "This is what I wanna do!", from that point, I was captivated. All throughout my life, I constantly see '45' everywhere I go. Just to make things even weirder I was born on the 9th May, the 9th of the 5th month... and 9x5=45, strange right?! At the age of 12, I started Go-Karting and also I started driving my dads left hand drive 1999 Volkswagen Passat with him around old abandoned industrial estates. It was evident from the start of me karting, I could show tremendous car control and speed as every time it would rain I would be out on track on slick tyres and learning and learning how to control the kart in the wet. When it was dry, I was almost matching the lap record in the single engine kart around that track in some of my first times ever driving. By the way, try it, driving in the wet on slicks. Seriously. Some of the most fun you'll ever have!
All through my childhood, I had the unique experience of spending most of my long childhood summers in Athens and Kefalonia in Greece. In 2008, my parents and I were all set to move out there permanently and enrol me in a Greek school, but life had other plans when my parents split 6 weeks before the move. Back in Leeds, I went through high school, alone and obsessed with motorsports and Doctor Who, which was pretty much my personality until I finished college. Then it was all about Formula 1 and Doctor Who...and I shall not lie, in 2023 I may have slightly become obsessed with Taylor Swift's music. I really do break all the stereotypes for a young guy it seems.
After I finished high school in 2017, I applied to college to do Mechanical Engineering for 2 years followed by 1 year of Motorsport engineering in 2019-2020, all because after watching the Top Gear Burma special for the 50th time, James May says whilst cutting a bit of pipe with a small hacksaw "if your watching this from a engineering workshop or a technical college, this is not the right tool for the job", and this prompted me to find out what was the correct tool by going to college.
Both colleges were severely underfunded meaning we could barely buy oil or blue roll so not being able to run or do a hillclimb event with the 1989 Van Dieman single seater, really sucked especially as I formed a attachment towards it. Also, a small thing called COVID-19 happened, you may have heard of it?
In 2021, I took a significant step towards my dreams by earning my racing license and launching my podcast RelaxWithRizzoli. My first ever time driving round a racetrack was at a drenched Oulton Park in a BMW M4, talk about throwing me in the deep end! Since then, I've had the thrilling opportunity to do test days in a Ginetta, a Citroen C1, and a Volkswagen Golf Cup car around the UK's most famous circuits. In 2024, I very nearly bought my own racecar, a Formula Vee and would run it with my dad and the help of a team. Unfortunately, as it goes in motorsport, this time things didn't work out. Racing is more than just a hobby for me; it's a lifelong pursuit and my greatest passion, and to anyone who tells me I cannot achieve some of my main goals in racing, you know what I say?!
Pis...
...tachio is a lovely Greek dish you must try the next time your in Greece! Just thought I'd add that in. Anyway...
Through this website, I hope to share my journey, connect with fellow racing drivers and racing enthusiasts as well as Doctor Who fans, and inspire others to chase their dreams because everyone deserves a chance at success!