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Robert Michael Doornbos (Dutch pronunciation:[ˈrɔbərtˈmɑikəlˈdoːr(ə)mbɔs]ⓘ; born 23 September 1981) is a Dutch formerracing driver who also competed with aMonégasque licence. He has been test and third driver for theJordan andRed Bull RacingFormula One teams, as well as driving forMinardi andRed Bull Racing in 2005 and 2006. Doornbos then drove forMinardi Team USA in the 2007 and final season of theChamp Car World Series. He competed in theSuperleague Formula racing series in 2008, and drove for the Netherlands team inA1 Grand Prix's 2008–2009 season. In 2009, Doornbos competed in theIndyCar Series. He began the season withNewman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, but switched toHVM Racing after the race inKentucky Speedway.
Doornbos's first sport was tennis. His interest in motorsport grew after he was invited to the1998 Belgian Grand Prix as a guest ofWilliams F1. It was 1997 Formula One ChampionJacques Villeneuve who suggested that he should go for a series such as Formula Ford, as he was too big and too old to race karts. He gave up tennis and focused on racing, joining the JR racing team for the 1999OpelLotus UK Winter series. He had a successful season, finishing second in the championship after taking fourpole positions, four fastest laps and four wins. In 2000, he competed in theFormula Ford Zetec Benelux series, finishing second in the Belgian championship and fifth overall with one pole, three fastest laps and six podiums.
Returning to the UK in 2001, Doornbos contested the Scholarship class of the BritishFormula Three championship with FGR Racing. He finished the year fifth in the championship, taking two poles, two wins and nine podiums. He drew attention to himself with a second-place finish in the Formula Three support race to theBritish Grand Prix. He then moved to the German Formula Three championship with Team Ghinzani. He picked up four podiums, but no win. The year also featured a sixth-place finish in the prestigiousMacau Grand Prix. Continuing with the team in 2003, Doornbos competed in the European Formula Three Championship, visiting the podium seven times. He took pole position atSpa-Francorchamps for the Formula Three Masters event, and finished second in Korea.
With support fromRed Bull, Doornbos joined reigningInternational Formula 3000 championsArden International for the2004FIAInternational Formula 3000 Championship. Partnered withVitantonio Liuzzi, Doornbos claimed Rookie of the Year after finishing third in the championship. During the year, he took a fastest lap and four podium finishes, including a race win atSpa-Francorchamps.
Prior to the2004 Chinese Grand Prix, it was announced that Doornbos would be the official Friday test driver for theJordan Formula One team, replacingTimo Glock, who had been promoted to race duties in place ofGiorgio Pantano, whose sponsorship money had "dried up". Doornbos impressed as test driver for the final few races of the season, and was reappointed with the newly-sold Jordan team for the2005 season.
Doornbos completed Friday testing duties for Jordan in all but two of the first eleven events of the year, with FrenchRenault F1 test driverFranck Montagny testing at theEuropean Grand Prix, and Jordan being banned from using a third car at theCanadian Grand Prix after using too manytyres at the previous race.
On 19 July Doornbos was appointed as aMinardi race driver for the2005 German Grand Prix onwards, replacing AustrianPatrick Friesacher, who had encountered sponsorship issues. In his firstFormula One race, he collided withJacques Villeneuve, the man who gave advice to Doornbos to start his career as a race driver. Doornbos raced a total of eight Grand Prix for the team, his best result being a 13th position in theTurkish andBelgian Grands Prix.
Doornbos and teammateChristijan Albers would have become the first all-Dutch team line-up sinceCarel Godin de Beaufort andBen Pon drove together for the Ecurie Maarsbergen team at the1962 Dutch Grand Prix atZandvoort were it not for the fact that Doornbos raced with a Monegasque licence.[2]
Effectively, he became Minardi's last Formula One driver, since the team was bought by Red Bull just before the Belgian Grand Prix. In the final race of the season, Doornbos retired on the final lap while Albers had retired a few laps earlier.
The Minardi team ceased to exist in its previous form at the end of 2005, being bought out byRed Bull and becoming theirScuderia Toro Rosso team. Doornbos was unable to find a race drive for 2006, butChristian Horner, his former F3000 boss, had since been appointed as Sporting Director ofRed Bull Racing, where he was appointed the team's test and reserve driver.
Doornbos thus spent most of 2006 testing at the racetracks on Fridays, ready to step into a race drive if eitherDavid Coulthard orChristian Klien were unable to race. In his role as the Red Bull test driver, he once more showed his talents as a racing driver. In the majority of the Grand Prix tests on Fridays, he was to be found in the top-ten, and a number of times he achieved a top-three time.
At the2006 Hungarian Grand Prix, Doornbos was involved in a controversial incident withFernando Alonso, which resulted in the Spaniard incurring a two-second qualifying penalty.
After theItalian Grand Prix, when Red Bull Racing announced that Klien had been dropped from the team, Doornbos was promoted to the second race driver role alongside Coulthard for the remaining three races.[3] He entered with a bang by qualifying in the top-ten for his first race, inChina. However, he touchedRobert Kubica at the first corner during the race and the delay restricted him to 12th place at the finish.
Doornbos was subsequently signed as one of the team's test drivers for2007, alongsideMichael Ammermüller,[4] with Coulthard andMark Webber taking the race seats.
In his role as Formula One test and racing driver, Doornbos was given several demonstrations, both on tracks during other race events, as well as on public road. In the Netherlands, he has driven a Formula One car on public roads twice. In 2005, he was one of the drivers of theMonaco aan de Maas event in his hometown ofRotterdam. On 15 August 2006, he made the news with a fundraiser for the children of the 'Stichting Geluk en Vrijheid' (Foundation Happiness and Freedom). At a speed of 326 km/h (204 mph), he drove his Red Bull Formula One Car over the highway A7 on theAfsluitdijk in the Netherlands.[5]
After missing a racing seat for the 2007 Formula One season, Robert Doornbos signed a contract withMinardi Team USA for the 2007Champ Car World Series season. He made a successful debut in the series in the first race of the season, theVegas Grand Prix. After qualifying third, Doornbos finished on the podium, taking second place in the race. This made him the firstrookie sinceNigel Mansell in 1993 to make it to the podium in his first Champ Car race. A drive through penalty in2007 Grand Prix of Cleveland quite possibly cost Robert a chance at his first Champ Car victory, but he still managed a fine second place behindPaul Tracy. One week later, however, Robert won the2007 Mont-Tremblant Grand Prix in Canada and as a result took the joint lead of the championship withSébastien Bourdais. After scoring this victory, the ESPN broadcast team dubbed him "Bobby D" – a nickname he reportedly enjoys. He later went on to win the2007 San Jose Grand Prix after an accident during the first lap on turn one left him without his front wing. The accident inadvertently put him on an alternate pit strategy that he used to his advantage and secured the win. Although he impressed many fans and drivers alike with his personality and driving style, Doornbos would end up third in points at season's end, although he did win Roshfrans Rookie of the Year. After the merger of the CCWS and theIndy Car Series was announced for 2008, the Minardi half of the team elected not to take part, reducing HVM Racing to a one-car team. This left Doornbos without a drive for 2008.
After failing to secure a seat with competitive teams in the unifiedIndyCar Series, and refusing to drive for uncompetitive teams, Doornbos opted to sit out the 2008 season in search for a competitive seat in 2009. It was announced on 21 May 2008 that Doornbos would drive forA.C. Milan in theSuperleague Formula, a newly created racing series where the cars are sponsored by football clubs. The club's technical director is the son ofGiancarlo Minardi, former owner of theMinardi Formula One team under its take over byPaul Stoddart. Doornbos finished third in the inaugural 2008 season.
Doornbos andJeroen Bleekemolen drove together inA1 GP forTeam Netherlands in the2008–09 season.[6] The drivers alternated races. Team Netherlands finished fourth in the championship, with both drivers having scored one victory, both in sprint races.[7]
Doornbos contested the2009 IndyCar Series season withNewman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. Since he had no previousoval track racing experience, he has received coaching from fellowDutchmanArie Luyendyk. Doornbos has finished no worse than twelfth in his first three races but the highlight has been a second place start in his first oval trackrace atKansas (helped by disqualifications ofDario Franchitti andHélio Castroneves for dipping below the white line during qualifying). Lining up beside his teammateGraham Rahal, Newman/Haas/Lanigan cars formed the front row for the first time sinceMilwaukee in2006. He took the lead after the first round ofpit stops, but on that first stop under yellow he bumped a stationary tyre in the pit stall ahead of him. He was penalised to the rear of the field and was no longer a factor.
On 4 August 2009, Doornbos posted on his official website that he was leavingNewman/Haas/Lanigan Racing effective immediately. He stated that there was the option for him to leave the team after 12 races and he decided to take it. He also said that he would like to stay in IndyCar and would announce his future plans shortly.[8]
The following day on 5 August 2009, Doornbos signed with HVM Racing in the IndyCar Series for the remainder of the 2009 and to drive for the team through 2010, however this did not happen.
Doornbos co-founded Kiiroo, a Dutch company involved in the production ofsex toys.[9]
He is currently active as a Formula 1 analyst for Ziggo Sport.[10]
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Poles | Wins | Points | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Formula Ford 1800 Benelux | Team JR Racing | ? | 4 | 4 | ? | 2nd | |
| Formula Vauxhall Lotus Winter Series | ? | ? | ? | ? | 2nd | |||
| 2000 | Formula Ford 1800 Benelux | ? | ? | ? | ? | 58 | 5th | |
| Formula Ford Zetec Netherlands | ? | ? | ? | ? | 61 | 6th | ||
| Formula Ford Festival | Sweeney/Hopper Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | N/A | NC | ||
| 2001 | British Formula 3 | Fred Goddard Racing (National Class) | 26 | 1 | 2 | 182 | 5th | |
| German Formula Three | JB Motorsport | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | ||
| 2002 | German Formula Three | Team Ghinzani | 18 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 11th | |
| Italian Formula Three | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11th | |||
| European Formula Three Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 11th | |||
| Macau Grand Prix | 1 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 6th | |||
| Korea Super Prix | 1 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 8th | |||
| 2003 | Formula Three Euroseries | Team Ghinzani | 20 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 9th | |
| Italian Formula Three | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 16th | |||
| British Formula 3 | Menu Motorsport | 4 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 17th | ||
| Macau Grand Prix | 2 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 16th | |||
| Korea Super Prix | 1 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 2nd | |||
| Masters of Formula Three | Team Ghinzani Euroc S.A.M. | 1 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 18th | ||
| 2004 | International Formula 3000 | Arden International | 10 | 0 | 1 | 44 | 3rd | |
| Formula One | JordanFord | Test driver | ||||||
| 2005 | Formula One | Jordan Grand Prix | Test driver | |||||
| Minardi F1 Team | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25th | |||
| 2006 | Formula One | Red Bull Racing | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24th | |
| 2007 | Champ Car World Series | Minardi Team USA | 14 | 0 | 2 | 268 | 3rd | |
| Formula One | Red Bull Racing | Test driver | ||||||
| 2008 | Superleague Formula | A.C. Milan | 9 | 2 | 2 | 267 | 3rd(1) | |
| 2008–09 | A1GP | Team Netherlands | 6 | 1 | 1 | 75(1) | 4th(1) | |
| 2009 | IndyCar Series | Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing | 12 | 0 | 0 | 225 | 16th | |
| HVM Racing | 5 | 0 | 0 | |||||
Source:[11] | ||||||||
(1) = Team standings
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | Class | 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 | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Fred Goddard Racing | Dallara F398 | Renault Sodemo | Scholarship | SIL1 1 21 | SIL1 2 21 | SNE 1 19 | SNE 2 Ret | DON1 1 Ret | DON1 2 18 | OUL 1 19 | OUL 2 22 | CRO 1 Ret | CRO 2 17 | ROC 1 19 | ROC 2 17 | CAS 1 19 | CAS 2 Ret | BRH1 1 17 | BRH1 2 18 | DON2 1 Ret | DON2 2 19 | KNO 1 4 | KNO 2 C | THR 1 14 | THR 2 Ret | THR 3 19 | BRH2 1 19 | BRH2 2 18 | SIL2 1 Ret | SIL2 2 Ret | 5th | 182 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | JB Motorsport | Dallara F399 | Opel | HOC1 1 | HOC1 2 | NÜR1 1 | NÜR1 2 | OSC 1 | OSC 2 | SAC 1 | SAC 2 | NOR 1 | NOR 2 | HOC2 1 | HOC2 2 | LAU 1 | LAU 2 | NÜR2 1 17 | NÜR2 2 14 | A1R 1 16 | A1R 2 11 | HOC2 1 15 | HOC2 2 15 | 33rd | 0 |
| 2002 | Team Ghinzani | Dallara F302 | Mugen-Honda | HOC1 1 23 | HOC1 2 10 | NÜR1 1 C | NÜR1 2 C | SAC 1 6 | SAC 2 5 | NOR 1 Ret | NOR 2 6 | LAU 1 2 | LAU 2 23 | HOC2 1 22† | HOC2 1 3 | NÜR2 1 9 | NÜR2 2 15 | A1R 1 22† | A1R 2 8 | ZAN 1 Ret | ZAN 2 4 | HOC3 1 7 | HOC3 2 Ret | 11th | 17 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Team Ghinzani | Dallara F302/052 | Mugen | HOC 1 2 | HOC 2 8 | ADR 1 10 | ADR 2 6 | PAU 1 8 | PAU 2 DSQ | NOR 1 12 | NOR 2 4 | LMS 1 NC | LMS 2 8 | NÜR 1 3 | NÜR 2 Ret | A1R 1 10 | A1R 2 8 | ZAN 1 5 | ZAN 2 7 | HOC 1 13 | HOC 2 Ret | MAG 1 9 | MAG 2 2 | 9th | 40 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Arden International | IMO 3 | CAT 14 | MON 6 | NÜR 2 | MAG 5 | SIL 10 | HOC 4 | HUN 7 | SPA 1 | MNZ 3 | 3rd | 44 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | WDC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Jordan Ford | JordanEJ14 | Ford RS2 3.0V10 | AUS | MAL | BHR | SMR | ESP | MON | EUR | CAN | USA | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | CHN TD | JPN TD | BRA TD | – | – | |
| 2005 | Jordan Grand Prix | JordanEJ15 | Toyota RVX-05 3.0V10 | AUS TD | MAL TD | BHR TD | SMR TD | ESP TD | MON TD | EUR | CAN | USA TD | 25th | 0 | ||||||||||
| JordanEJ15B | FRA TD | GBR TD | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minardi F1 Team | MinardiPS05 | Cosworth TJ2005 3.0V10 | GER 18 | HUN Ret | TUR 13 | ITA 18 | BEL 13 | BRA Ret | JPN 14 | CHN 14† | ||||||||||||||
| 2006 | Red Bull Racing | Red BullRB2 | Ferrari 056 2.4V8 | BHR TD | MAL TD | AUS TD | SMR TD | EUR TD | ESP TD | MON TD | GBR TD | CAN TD | USA TD | FRA TD | GER TD | HUN TD | TUR TD | ITA TD | CHN 12 | JPN 13 | BRA 12 | 24th | 0 | |
† Did not finish the race, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position, races initalics indicate fastest race lap)
| Year | Team | No. | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Rank | Pts | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Minardi Team USA | 14 | PanozDP01 | Cosworth XFEV8t | LVS 2 | LBH 13 | HOU 3 | POR 3 | CLE 2 | MTT 1 | TOR 6 | EDM 11 | SJO 1 | ROA 14 | ZOL 7 | ASN 13 | SRF 4 | MXC 16 | 3rd | 268 | [15] |
| Year | Team | No. | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Rank | Pts | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing | 06 | Dallara IR-05 | HondaHI7RV8 | STP 11 | LBH 9 | KAN 12 | INDY 28 | MIL 14 | TXS 11 | IOW 15 | RIR 9 | WGL 9 | TOR 23 | EDM 9 | KTY 19 | 16th | 283 | [16] | |||||
| HVM Racing | 33 | MDO 14 | SNM 10 | CHI 18 | MOT 16 | HMS 20 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Teams | Races | Poles | Wins | Podiums (Non-win) | Top 10s (Non-podium) | Indianapolis 500 Wins | Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Dallara | Honda | 23 | 28 | N/H/L |
(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 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | Pos | Pts | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | A.C. Milan Scuderia Playteam | DON 1 17 | DON 2 DNS | NÜR 1 1 | NÜR 2 6 | ZOL 1 18 | ZOL 2 4 | EST 1 2 | EST 2 2 | VLL 1 2 | VLL 2 17 | JER 1 1 | JER 2 10 | 3rd | 335 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | SC Corinthians Azerti Motorsport | SIL 1 11 | SIL 2 7 | ASS 1 9 | ASS 2 15 | MAG 1 12 | MAG 2 16 | JAR 1 9 | JAR 2 5 | NÜR 1 7 | NÜR 2 10 | ZOL 1 3 | ZOL 2 16 | BRH 1 15 | BRH 2 18 | ADR 1 8 | ADR 2 6 | POR 1 6 | POR 2 3 | ORD 1 18 | ORD 2 15 | BEI 1 DNS | BEI 2 DNS | NAV 1 9 | NAV 2 15 | 12th | 363 | |||||||||||||
| 2011 | Netherlands AtechReid Grand Prix | ASS 1 11 | ASS 2 DNS | 16th | 16 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Japan AtechReid Grand Prix | ZOL 1 5 | ZOL 2 7 | 2nd | 136 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source:[12] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
† Non Championship round
(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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | SC Corinthians Azerti Motorsport | SIL DNQ | ASS DNQ | MAG DNQ | JAR DNQ | NÜR DNQ | ZOL DNQ | BRH DNQ | ADR DNQ | POR 5 | ORD DNQ | BEI C | NAV DNQ |
| 2011 | Netherlands AtechReid Grand Prix | HOL DNQ | |||||||||||
| Japan AtechReid Grand Prix | BEL 6 | ||||||||||||
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | DC | Pts | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–09 | Netherlands | NED SPR | NED FEA | CHN SPR 2 | CHN FEA 16 | MYS SPR | MYS FEA | NZL SPR 3 | NZL FEA 5 | RSA SPR | RSA FEA | POR SPR 1 | POR FEA DNS | GBR SPR | GBR SPR | 4th | 81 | [17] |
Source:[12] | ||||||||||||||||||
Robert Doornbos sporting positions | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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