| Daniel Abt | |
|---|---|
 Abt at the2018 Berlin ePrix | |
| Nationality |  German |
| Born | (1992-12-03)3 December 1992 (age 32) Kempten, Germany |
| Formula E career | |
| Debut season | 2014–15 |
| Racing licence |  FIA Gold |
| Car number | 33 |
| Former teams | Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler,Nio 333 FE Team |
| Starts | 69 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 2 |
| Podiums | 10 |
| Poles | 2 |
| Fastest laps | 8 |
| Best finish | 5th in2017–18 |
| Finished last season | 21st |
| Previous series | |
| 2013–14 2012 2011 2010 2008–09 | GP2 Series GP3 Series Formula 3 Euro Series German Formula Three ADAC Formel Masters |
| Championship titles | |
| 2009 | ADAC Formel Masters |
Daniel Johannes Abt (born 3 December 1992) is aGerman former racing driver. He is most notable for competing and winning races inFormula E with theAudi Sport ABT team. Previously, Abt raced inGerman Formula Three,GP3, andGP2, as well as winning the2009 ADAC Formel Masters. He is currently on a hiatus from competitive racing, having chosen to take up a broadcasting role withSat.1 as part of their Formula E coverage.
Abt was born inKempten,Bavaria. In 2008, Abt switched to formula racing and competed in theADAC Formel Masters for his father's team,Abt Sportsline. He started from the pole position four times and clinched a third and two second places as his best results. Finishing the season in eighth place of the standings he was defeated by his team-mate Markus Pommer, who finished fifth overall with one victory to his credit. In 2009, Abt contested his second season in the ADAC Formel Masters for Abt Sportsline and with eight race wins commandingly clinched the champion's title ahead of Klaus Bachler. He took seven pole positions and a total of ten podium results. With 224 points against 90 points he clearly prevailed in the internal duel against his team-mateRené Binder.
After running in theGerman Formula Three Championship as a guest entrant for Performance Racing in 2009, he switched to the series in 2010 joining the championship-winningVan Amersfoort Racing team.[1] During the season Abt prevailed against his team-mates Stef Dusseldorp and Willi Steindl and had chances of winning the championship title up to the last race weekend. In the end, he had to admit defeat to Tom Dillmann with a score of 112 points against 120 points, and with two race wins and a total of ten podium places finished as the overall runner-up. After the season, he competed forSignature at the prestigiousMacau Grand Prix. Abt was leading the race ahead of his team-matesEdoardo Mortara andLaurens Vanthoor but lost control of his vehicle and retired after an accident.[2]
In 2011, Abt joined theFormula 3 Euro Series grid for Signature,[3] finishing the season in seventh place after taking four third places as his best results. In the team, he was defeated byMarco Wittmann and Vanthoor, who achieved second and sixth place. Ahead of Carlos Muñoz, who finished in position eight of the standings, Abt was the third-best driver of his team. In addition, Abt was entitled to points in the 2011FIA Formula 3 International Trophy where he achieved fourth place. At the end of the year, he tested for Audi in aDTM car.[4]
After setting the fastest time on several occasions in GP3 tests forLotus GP at the end of 2011,[5] the racing team that had provided the champion and the runner-up the year before, the team gave him a cockpit for the 2012GP3 Series season.[6]
On 19 December 2012, Abt got a contract to joinART Grand Prix in the GP2 Series in2013 together withJames Calado. Abt struggled as a rookie and finished the season in 22nd with only eleven points to his name, but remained in the championship for2014 by moving to the GermanHilmer Motorsport squad alongside fellowGP3 runner-upFacu Regalia.
On 13 February 2014, Abt was confirmed to also be racing in the inauguralFormula E season with his family associated teamAudi Sport ABT alongside Audi'sWorld Endurance Championship driverLucas di Grassi.
Having driven to 3rd on the podium in the inaugural Formula E race, Abt was penalised for illegal modifications on his car resulting being pushed down to 10th position. Abt achieved one podium finish, pole position and fastest lap in the 2014–15 season with 32 points and 11th place in the championship. Abt failed to live up to expectations in his debut season having scored 101 less than teammate Lucas Di Grassi having lacked consistency.
Abt won his first race in Formula E in the2018 Mexico City ePrix, after 38 race starts.
After the Race-at-Home scandal, Abt signed for theNio 333 FE Team, replacingMa Qinghua as travel restrictions prevented the latter from traveling to Berlin.[7]
On May 23, 2020, Abt competed as anAudi factory driver in the sim racing series "Race at Home Challenge." However, he violated the rules by allowing a professional esports player to race on his behalf. Consequently, he was disqualified, lost all the championship points he had earned so far, received a €10,000 fine which was donated to charity, and was immediately dismissed byAudi.[8][9]
In November 2020, Abt announced that although he had been offered a seat for the 2020–21 Formula E season, he chose to step away from racing for the time being. Instead, he took on a role as a TV expert and co-commentator forSat.1’s Formula E broadcasts that season. He made it clear that this wasn’t a permanent goodbye to motorsport but felt that taking a break from official racing was the right decision for him. Since then, Abt has focused on other professional pursuits outside of active competition.[10][11]
From 2008 to 2010, Abt was a candidate of the Deutsche Post Speed Academy.[12] As the Academy's overall winner in 2009 and 2010, he was named "Germany's motorsport talent of the year".[13][14] From 2010 onwards, Abt was also a member ofVolkswagen's talent promotion programme.[1]
After obtaining his advanced technical college entrance qualification at a technical secondary school (Fachoberschule), Abt began studying business informatics, but did not complete his degree; he also did not undertake any formal vocational training.[15]
On 8 August 2025, Abt married his fiancée Bianca Abt (née Forstmaier), who is from Sulzberg, Oberallgäu, in a civil ceremony in Kempten, Bavaria.[16]
Several members of Abt's family are involved in motorsport. His father, Hans-Jürgen Abt, is the owner and team principal of the racing team Abt Sportsline, which competes in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM), among other series. His uncle, Christian Abt, is also a racing driver and was active in the DTM for several years.[17][18]
Since April 2014, Abt has been running the YouTube channelDaniel Abt, where he documents his life as a racing driver. As of December 2023, the channel had 632,000 subscribers and more than 204 million views.[19] In April 2020, he launched the podcastReden am Limit together with Benedikt Mayr and Mitja Lafere.[20]
Since 2020, Abt has worked as a Formula E pundit for the German television channel Sat.1.[21]
Abt is the managing director of the Abt Lifestyle GmbH, which he founded himself, and, together with his father, sister, and other individuals, serves on the supervisory board of ABT SE, the main shareholder of Abt Sportsline GmbH.[22] Most recently, Abt held a 5.86% stake in his father Hans-Jürgen Abt’s company, Abt Sportsline GmbH, before ABT SE became the main shareholder, according to the shareholder list in theGerman Commercial Register as of July 2022.[23] Furthermore, Daniel Abt is also involved in other companies, which mainly belong to his family or are intended for his own projects.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Team Abt Sportsline | OSC1 1 17 | OSC1 2 8 | NÜR1 1 9 | NÜR1 2 20 | ASS 1 7 | ASS 2 8 | NÜR2 1 2 | NÜR2 2 Ret | LAU 1 3 | LAU 2 4 | SAC 1 2 | SAC 2 Ret | OSC2 1 7 | OSC2 2 4 | HOC 1 4 | HOC 2 Ret | 8th | 91 |
| 2009 | Team Abt Sportsline | OSC1 1 1 | OSC1 2 2 | ASS 1 EX | ASS 2 EX | NÜR1 1 1 | NÜR1 2 1 | HOC 1 5 | HOC 2 1 | LAU 1 Ret | LAU 2 1 | NÜR2 1 1 | NÜR2 2 1 | SAC 1 2 | SAC 2 1 | OSC2 1 8 | OSC2 2 9 | 1st | 224 |
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Van Amersfoort Racing | Dallara F306 | Volkswagen | OSC1 1 2 | OSC1 2 3 | SAC 1 4 | SAC 2 2 | HOC 1 5 | HOC 2 3 | ASS1 1 2 | ASS1 2 1 | NÜR1 1 5 | NÜR1 2 3 | ASS2 1 10 | ASS2 2 15 | LAU 1 4 | LAU 2 4 | NÜR2 1 2 | NÜR2 2 2 | OSC2 1 1 | OSC2 2 16† | 2nd | 112 |
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Signature | Dallara F308/057 | Volkswagen | LEC 1 Ret | LEC 2 11 | LEC 3 9 | HOC 1 4 | HOC 2 7 | HOC 3 6 | ZAN 1 Ret | ZAN 2 8 | ZAN 3 5 | RBR 1 6 | RBR 2 3 | RBR 3 4 | NOR 1 10 | NOR 2 10 | NOR 3 3 | NÜR 1 12 | NÜR 2 7 | NÜR 3 7 | SIL 1 5 | SIL 2 5 | SIL 3 5 | VAL 1 10 | VAL 2 10 | VAL 3 7 | HOC 1 5 | HOC 2 3 | HOC 3 6 | 7th | 150 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | D.C. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Lotus GP | CAT FEA 13 | CAT SPR 6 | MON FEA 6 | MON SPR 3 | VAL FEA 6 | VAL SPR 2 | SIL FEA 4 | SIL SPR Ret | HOC FEA 7 | HOC SPR 2 | HUN FEA 2 | HUN SPR 11 | SPA FEA 1 | SPA SPR 5 | MNZ FEA 1 | MNZ SPR 2 | 2nd | 149.5 |
(key)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Tech 1 Racing | ALC 1 | ALC 2 | MON 1 | SPA 1 | SPA 2 | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | MSC 1 | MSC 2 | SIL 1 | SIL 2 | HUN 1 18 | HUN 2 24 | LEC 1 Ret | LEC 2 18 | CAT 1 16 | CAT 2 Ret | 34th | 0 |
(key)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | D.C. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | ART Grand Prix | SEP FEA Ret | SEP SPR 16 | BHR FEA 14 | BHR SPR 7 | CAT FEA 11 | CAT SPR 8 | MON FEA 16 | MON SPR 22 | SIL FEA 15 | SIL SPR Ret | NÜR FEA 21 | NÜR SPR 18 | HUN FEA 24† | HUN SPR 14 | SPA FEA 16 | SPA SPR 16 | MNZ FEA 17 | MNZ SPR 22 | MRN FEA 13 | MRN SPR DSQ | YMC FEA 9 | YMC SPR 5 | 22nd | 11 |
| 2014 | Hilmer Motorsport | BHR FEA 13 | BHR SPR 13 | CAT FEA Ret | CAT SPR 12 | MON FEA Ret | MON SPR 17 | RBR FEA 17 | RBR SPR 23 | SIL FEA 10 | SIL SPR 11 | HOC FEA 20 | HOC SPR 15 | HUN FEA 5 | HUN SPR 5 | SPA FEA 8 | SPA SPR 5 | MNZ FEA Ret | MNZ SPR 10 | SOC FEA Ret | SOC SPR 13 | YMC FEA | YMC SPR | 16th | 27 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Chassis | Powertrain | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 | Audi Sport ABT | SparkSRT01-e | SRT01-e | BEI 10 | PUT 10 | PDE 15 | BUE 13† | MIA 3 | LBH 15 | MCO Ret | BER 14 | MSC 5 | LDN Ret | LDN 11 | 11th | 32 | ||
| 2015–16 | ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport | SparkSRT01-e | ABT Schaeffler FE01 | BEI 11 | PUT 7 | PDE 8 | BUE 13 | MEX 7 | LBH 3 | PAR 10 | BER 2 | LDN Ret | LDN 2 | 7th | 68 | |||
| 2016–17 | ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport | SparkSRT01-e | ABT Schaeffler FE02 | HKG Ret | MRK 6 | BUE 7 | MEX 7 | MCO 7 | PAR 13† | BER 6 | BER 4 | NYC 14† | NYC Ret | MTL 4 | MTL 6 | 8th | 67 | |
| 2017–18 | Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler | SparkSRT01-e | Audi e-tron FE04 | HKG 5 | HKG DSQ | MRK 10 | SCL Ret | MEX 1 | PDE 14 | RME 4 | PAR 7 | BER 1 | ZUR 13 | NYC 2 | NYC 3 | 5th | 120 | |
| 2018–19 | Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler | SparkSRT05e | Audi e-tron FE05 | ADR 8 | MRK 10 | SCL 3 | MEX 10 | HKG 4 | SYX 5 | RME 18† | PAR 3 | MCO 15 | BER 6 | BRN 6 | NYC 6 | NYC 5 | 7th | 95 |
| 2019–20 | Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler | SparkSRT05e | Audi e-tron FE06 | DIR Ret | DIR 6 | SCL 14 | MEX Ret | MRK 14 | 21st | 8 | ||||||||
| Nio 333 FE Team | Nio FE-005 | BER 18 | BER 16 | BER 15 | BER 18 | BER Ret | BER 20 | |||||||||||
† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 |  Rebellion Racing | Alexandre Imperatori Dominik Kraihamer | Rebellion R-One-AER | LMP1 | 336 | 18th | 9th |
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Rebellion Racing | LMP1 | Rebellion R-One | AER P60 2.4 L Turbo V6 | SIL | SPA | LMS 17 | NÜR Ret | COA 14 | FUJ 16 | SHA | BHR | 28th | 2 |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | ADAC Formel Masters Champion 2009 | Succeeded by |
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| FIA Formula 2 Championship |
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|---|---|
| FIA Formula 3 Championship |
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| Formula Regional European Championship |
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| Vehicles |
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