Tristan Vautier (born 22 August 1989) is a French professional racing driver who is currently competing in theIMSA SportsCar Championship forProton Competition. He previously competed in the2023 FIA World Endurance Championship for theVanwall Racing Team.[1]
Born inSaint-Martin-d'Hères,Isère, Vautier began his career in the FrenchFormula Renault Campus series in 2006, where he finished runner-up.[2] He moved up to the mainChampionnat de France Formula Renault 2.0 series in 2007, finishing fourth, also competing in some events in theEurocup Formula Renault 2.0, scoring a 2nd and 3rd in Zolder.[2] In 2008 the French series was replaced by theWest European Cup, in which Vautier finished sixth.[2]
Vautier moved to theFormula Palmer Audi series in2009, where he finished fourth with six victories.[3]
Vautier made hisFIA Formula Two Championship debut atCircuit de Catalunya, in place ofEdoardo Piscopo.[4][5] Vautier excelled in the pre-race tests and in the first race, where he finished third behindAndy Soucek andMikhail Aleshin. He also finished in the points in the second race, finishing sixth. Those two results were enough to place him thirteenth overall in the championship standings.
2010 saw Vautier move to the AmericanStar Mazda Championship driving forAndersen Racing. Vautier won the season-opener atSebring Raceway and then in June atNew Jersey Motorsports Park. However, several mechanical issues saw him achieve only fifth in the final standings despite being the only driver other than championConor Daly to win more than one race. He returned to the series in2011, this time driving forJDC MotorSports. He won four races and finished every race in the top five, winning the championship overConnor De Phillippi by 25 points. With the title he won a scholarship to move toFirestone Indy Lights in 2012 through theRoad to Indy program.
Vautier signed withSam Schmidt Motorsports to race in Firestone Indy Lights in2012.[6] He won the pole in his first race on theStreets of St. Petersburg and took a flag-to-flag victory,[7] duplicating his Star Mazda feat from two years before by winning on debut. Another win on theMilwaukee Mile came in the midst of a remarkable run of 20 consecutive Top 5 finishes (including the final 2 Star Mazda events of 2010, and his championship season of 2011) in hisRoad to Indy career. The streak ended atToronto when a first-lap collision put him out of the race for the first time in an open-wheel car in nearly two years.
Vautier clinched the 2012 Firestone Indy Lights championship by eight points overEsteban Guerrieri.[8] Winning a partial scholarship to compete in theIndyCar Series in 2013 through the Road to Indy program.
Vautier signed to compete in the2013 IndyCar Series season for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.[9] He is the first driver to be champion of two rungs of the Road to Indy ladder and move onto the IndyCar Series. Vautier finished 20th in points with a best finish of tenth in the second race of the season atBarber Motorsports Park. Vautier qualified in the Firestone Fast-Six on his debut race in St Petersburg, and 3rd for the following round in Barber. He won rookie of the year honours. He finished sixteenth in his firstIndianapolis 500 race.
The Frenchman returned to IndyCar in 2015 as a part-time driver for Dale Coyne Racing. He qualifiedJames Davison's car for the Indianapolis 500, then raced in place ofCarlos Huertas. A week later, he finished fourth in Detroit for the second race, starting last on the grid after qualifying was cancelled. His showing got Dale Coyne to keep him in the car for the remainder of the season, and he backed his strong Detroit result with a 6th place in Mid-Ohio.
Vautier returned to IndyCar in2024, making a start atDetroit driving the No. 51 Honda for Dale Coyne.[10]
Vautier debuted Sports Car racing while still racing open wheels, in the 2009 French GT Championship, and won on his debut race in Nogaro, teaming-up with French driver Jean-Charles Levy.
In 2014, Vautier was hired by theMazda factory team to race at the four endurance races of the 2014United SportsCar Championship in a LMP2 diesel prototype. At the 2015 24 Hours of Daytona he joined JDC/Miller, resulting third in the Prototype Challenge class.
The Frenchman has completed the 24 Hours of Spa five times for team Akka-ASP, in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018, finishing 2nd overall in 2016 on an AMG-Factory backed car alongside Rosenqvist and Van der Zande. He ended the 2016 season by winning the Blancpain GT Sprint final race in Barcelona, teamed-up with Rosenqvist.
He returned to full-time racing in the US in 2017 with Mercedes-AMG customer Team SunEnergy1 racing, teaming-up with Team owner Kenny Habul, and Boris Said. Vautier set Sebring's GTD track record on his way to pole position for the 12-Hour race, before finishing on the podium after a late comeback in the closing stages. He also returned to the Blanpain GT Series with Team Akka-ASP, teaming-up with Mercedes driver Dani Juncadella and open wheel ace Felix Serralles, closing the season by a win in Barcelona just as he did in 2016.
2017 also marks his return to IndyCar for a one-off, subbing for injured Sebastien Bourdais in Texas. Vautier went on to qualify 5th in the Dale Coyne Racing entry, and led 15 laps in the race before being caught in a multi-car incident.
In 2018, Vautier raced in prototypes alongside of his GT duties as Mercedes-AMG Factory driver, joining AmericanMatt McMurry behind the wheel of the No. 90 Cadillac DPi-V.R. in the IMSAWeatherTech SportsCar Championship, driving forSpirit of Daytona Racing at four races, where he scored Pole Position for the 12 Hours of Sebring. At2018 Petit Le Mans he finished fourth overall for Action Express Racing, partnering withFilipe Albuquerque andChristian Fittipaldi.
His GT Racing campaign for Mercedes-AMG saw him clinch theIntercontinental GT Challenge during the title-deciding race in WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, scoring a 2nd place in the Bathurst 12 Hours and a win in the Suzuka 10 Hours.
He also debuted on the Nordschleife, finishing in the Top-10 in the 24 Hours of Nurburgring for Team Landgraff.
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In 2019, Vautier joined JDC-Miller MotorSports to drive a Cadillac DPi at the IMSA WeatherTech Championship together withMikhail Goikhberg, where he scored two 5th place finishes. He continued racing in GT3 as a Mercedes Factory driver for Team Strakka in the InterContinental GT and Team GetSpeed in the VLN Series and Nurburgring 24 Hours.
The next season he had multiple co-drivers, but scored four top 5s.
Vautier won the2021 12 Hours of Sebring with JDC, together withLoïc Duval andSébastien Bourdais.
In 2022 Vautier scored pole and finished 3rd in the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona teaming with Loïc Duval, Richard Westbrook and Ben Keating. He finished 2nd in the Sebring 12 Hours teaming with Westbrook and Duval.
The Frenchman represented ARC Bratislava in LMP2 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, leading the pro-am class for most of the race before being taken out of contention by a radiator failure.
In 2023 Vautier competed in theEuropean Le Mans Series withAlgarve Pro Racing, later also making hisHypercar debut in theFIA World Endurance Championship, having been called up byVanwall to replaceJacques Villeneuve.[1] Despite Vanwall's exit from WEC after a year, Vautier remained involved in LMH asCadillac Racing's reserve driver for the2024 24 Hours of Le Mans.[11]
(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 | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Graff Racing | ZOL 1 2 | ZOL 2 3 | NÜR 1 19 | NÜR 2 19 | HUN 1 | HUN 2 | DON 1 | DON 2 | MAG 1 13 | MAG 2 Ret | EST 1 | EST 2 | CAT 1 | CAT 2 | 15th | 22 |
| 2008 | Epsilon Sport | SPA 1 25 | SPA 2 10 | SIL 1 | SIL 2 | HUN 1 | HUN 2 | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | LMS 1 | LMS 2 | EST 1 | EST 2 | CAT 1 | CAT 2 | 29th | 1 |
| 2009 | iQuick Valencia | CAT 1 | CAT 2 | SPA 1 | SPA 2 | HUN 1 | HUN 2 | SIL 1 | SIL 2 | LMS 1 | LMS 2 | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | ALC 1 17 | ALC 2 13 | NC† | 0 |
† As Vautier was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points
(key)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Andersen Racing | SEB 1 | STP 9 | LAG 15 | IND 6 | IOW 8 | NJ1 6 | NJ2 1 | ACC1 23 | ACC2 2 | TRO 11 | ROA 13 | MOS 4 | ATL 5 | 5th | 400 |
| 2011 | JDC MotorSports | STP 3 | BAR 1 | IND 4 | MIL 4 | IOW 4 | MOS 5 | TRO1 1 | TRO2 3 | SON 1 | BAL 1 | LAG 5 | 1st | 426 | ||
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Sam Schmidt Motorsports | STP 1 | ALA 2 | LBH 3 | INDY 3 | DET 5 | MIL 1 | IOW 4 | TOR 11 | EDM 6 | TRO 1 | BAL 1 | FON 4 | 1st | 461 |
(key)
| Year | Team | Chassis | No. | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Rank | Points | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Schmidt Peterson Hamilton HP Motorsports | Dallara DW12 | 55 | Honda | STP 21 | ALA 10 | LBH 17 | SAO 16 | INDY 16 | DET 11 | DET 14 | TXS 18 | MIL 21 | IOW 13 | POC 19 | TOR 19 | TOR 16 | MDO 21 | SNM 12 | BAL 11 | HOU 22 | HOU 11 | FON 21 | 20th | 266 | [12] |
| 2015 | Dale Coyne Racing | 18 | STP | NLA | LBH | ALA | IMS | INDY 28 | 22nd | 175 | [13] | |||||||||||||||
| 19 | DET 17 | DET 4 | TXS 20 | TOR 17 | FON 17 | MIL 16 | IOW 12 | MDO 6 | POC 21 | SNM 23 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | 18 | STP | LBH | ALA | PHX | IMS | INDY | DET | DET | TXS 16 | ROA | IOW | TOR | MDO | POC | GTW | WGL | SNM | 36th | 15 | [14] | |||||
| 2024 | Dale Coyne Racing withRick Ware Racing | 51 | STP | THE | LBH | ALA | IMS | INDY | DET 18 | ROA | LAG | MDO | IOW | IOW | TOR | GTW | POR | MIL | MIL | NSH | 38th | 12 | [15] | |||
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Dallara | Honda | 28 | 16 | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports |
| 2015 | Dallara | Honda | 32 | 28 | Dale Coyne Racing |
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | AKKA ASP | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | Pro | MIS QR 7 | MIS CR 32 | BRH QR 9 | BRH CR 9 | NÜR QR 27 | NÜR CR 10 | HUN QR 2 | HUN CR 4 | CAT QR 3 | CAT CR 1 | 7th | 51 |
| 2017 | AKKA ASP | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | Pro-Am | MIS QR | MIS CR | BRH QR | BRH CR | ZOL QR | ZOL CR | HUN QR | HUN CR | NÜR QR 27 | NÜR CR 24 | 7th | 18 |
| 2018 | SunEnergy1 Racing | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | Pro-Am | ZOL 1 | ZOL 2 | BRH 1 | BRH 2 | MIS 1 | MIS 2 | HUN 1 15 | HUN 2 DNS | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | 5th | 16.5 |
| 2022 | AKKodis ASP Team | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | Pro | BRH 1 | BRH 2 | MAG 1 | MAG 2 | ZAN 1 | ZAN 2 | MIS 1 | MIS 2 | VAL 1 13 | VAL 2 12 | NC | 0 |
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 |  Scott Taylor Motorsport Team SunEnergy1 Racing | Kenny Habul Raffaele MarcielloJamie Whincup | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | APP | 271 | 2nd | 2nd |
2018 Champion
| Year | Team | No. | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Rank | Points | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | SpeedSource | 07 | P | Mazda Prototype | Mazda 2.2 LSKYACTIV-D (SH-VPTS) I4 Turbo (diesel) | DAY 13 | SEB 16 | LBH | LGA | DET | WGL 9 | MOS | IMS | ELK | COA | PET 11 | 30th | 59 | [16] | |
| 2015 | JDC-Miller MotorSports | 85 | PC | Oreca FLM09 | Chevrolet LS3 6.2 L V8 | DAY 3† | SEB | LGA | DET | WGL | MOS | LIM | ELK | COA | PET | 36th | 1 | |||
| 2016 | Stevenson Motorsports | 9 | GTD | Audi R8 LMS | Audi 5.2 L V10 | DAY 7 | SEB | LGA | DET | WGL | MOS | LIM | ELK | VIR | COA | PET | 47th | 25 | [17] | |
| 2017 | SunEnergy1 Racing | 75 | GTD | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 | DAY 18 | SEB 3 | LBH 15 | COA 3 | DET 15 | WGL 15 | MOS 13 | LIM 16 | ELK 12 | VIR 16 | LGA 12 | PET 16 | 19th | 224 | [18] |
| 2018 | Spirit of Daytona Racing | 90 | P | Cadillac DPi-V.R | Cadillac 5.5 L V8 | DAY 20 | SEB 12 | LBH | MDO | DET 13 | WGL 11 | MOS | ELK | LGA | 24th | 96 | [19] | |||
| Mustang Sampling Racing | 5 | PET 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | JDC-Miller MotorSports | 85 | DPi | Cadillac DPi-V.R | Cadillac 5.5L V8 | DAY 5 | SEB 7 | LBH 9 | MDO 10 | DET 5 | WGL 10 | MOS 9 | ELK 8 | LGA 8 | PET 9 | 11th | 230 | [20] | ||
| 2020 | JDC-Miller MotorSports | 85 | DPi | Cadillac DPi-V.R | Cadillac 5.5 L V8 | DAY 5 | DAY 7 | SEB 8 | ELK 7 | MDO 8 | 9th | 226 | [21] | |||||||
| 5 | ATL 4 | PET 4 | LGA 7 | SEB 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | JDC-Mustang Sampling Racing | 5 | DPi | Cadillac DPi-V.R | Cadillac 5.5 L V8 | DAY 7 | SEB 1 | MDO 4 | DET 5 | WGL 7 | WGL 4 | ELK 6 | LGA 6 | LBH 3 | PET 7 | 6th | 2933 | [22] | ||
| 2022 | JDC-Miller MotorSports | 5 | DPi | Cadillac DPi-V.R | Cadillac 5.5 L V8 | DAY 3 | SEB 2 | LBH 3 | LGA 4 | MDO 6 | DET 5 | WGL 7 | MOS 5 | ELK 5 | PET 7 | 6th | 2979 | [23] | ||
| 2025 | Proton Competition | GTP | Porsche 963 | Porsche 9RD 4.6 L V8 | DAY 10 | SEB 6 | LBH | LGA | DET | WGL | ELK | IMS | PET | 11th* | 506* | |||||
| Source:[24] | ||||||||||||||||||||
† Vautier did not complete sufficient laps in order to score full points.* Season still in progress.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ARC Bratislava | LMP2 | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | SEB | SPA | LMS 12 | MNZ | FUJ | BHR | 27th | 0 | |
| 2023 | Floyd Vanwall Racing Team | Hypercar | Vanwall Vandervell 680 | Gibson GL458 4.5 L V8 | SEB | ALG | SPA | LMS Ret | MNZ 12 | FUJ 11 | BHR 12 | 21st | 0 |
| Source:[24] | |||||||||||||
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 |  ARC Bratislava | Miro Konôpka Bent Viscaal | Oreca 07-Gibson | LMP2 | 360 | 26th | 21st |
| 2023 |  Floyd Vanwall Racing Team |  Tom Dillmann Esteban Guerrieri | Vanwall Vandervell 680-Gibson | Hypercar | 165 | DNF | DNF |
| Sources:[24][25] | |||||||
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; results initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Algarve Pro Racing | LMP2 Pro-Am | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | CAT 8 | LEC 8 | ARA 4 | SPA 6 | ALG 7 | ALG 8 | 9th | 38 |
| 2024 | Team Virage | LMP2 Pro-Am | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | CAT | LEC | IMO | SPA 7 | MUG 6 | ALG 6 | 12th | 22 |
| Source:[24] | ||||||||||||
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Class | Car | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024–25 | RD Limited | LMP2 | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 LV8 | SEP 1 1 | SEP 2 2 | DUB 1 6 | DUB 2 2 | ABU 1 8 | ABU 2 3 | 2nd | 88 |
| Sporting positions | ||
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| Preceded by | Indy Lights Champion 2012 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Star Mazda Championship Champion 2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year 2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Intercontinental GT Challenge Champion 2018 | Succeeded by |
Headquarters:Plainfield,Illinois | |||
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Headquarters:Indianapolis,Indiana | |||||
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