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Yifei Ye | |
|---|---|
叶一飞 | |
.jpg) Ye (middle) celebrating after winning the2025 24 Hours of Le Mans | |
| Born | (2000-06-16)16 June 2000 (age 25) |
| FIA World Endurance Championship career | |
| Debut season | 2023 |
| Current team | AF Corse |
| Racing licence |  FIA Silver(until 2021) FIA Gold(2022–)[1] |
| Car number | 83 |
| Former teams | Hertz Team Jota |
| Starts | 23 |
| Wins | 2 |
| Podiums | 3 |
| Poles | 1 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Best finish | 2nd in2025(LMH) |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
| Years | 2021–2025 |
| Teams | Team WRT,Cool Racing,Hertz Team Jota,AF Corse |
| Best finish | 1st(2025) |
| Class wins | 1(2025) |
| Previous series | |
| Championship titles | |
| Chinese name | |
| Simplified Chinese | 叶一飞 |
| Traditional Chinese | 葉一飛 |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Yè Yīfēi |
| IPA | [jê í.féɪ] |
Yifei Ye (Chinese:叶一飞;[2] born 16 June 2000[3]) is a Chinese racing driver who competes in theFIA World Endurance Championship forAF Corse. He is the2021 European Le Mans Series andAsian Le Mans Series champion and previously competed insingle-seater racing, winning theFrench F4 championship in2016 and theEuroformula Open title in2020.
Ye is a former member of theRenault Sport Academy and drove forPorsche Motorsport Asia Pacific as a Selected Driver from 2021 until 2023.[4][5]
He has driven forFerrari since 2024[6] and currently competes with the #83 Ferrari 499P in the2025 FIA World Endurance Championship, alongsideRobert Kubica andPhil Hanson. Ye and his teammates won the2025 24 Hours of Le Mans, making him the first Chinese driver to take an overall victory in the event.[7]
Born on 16 June 2000 inXi'an City in theShaanxi Province of China, Ye began his professional racing career inkarting in 2010 at the age of ten, and would go on to win the China Karting Championship in 2011 and 2012. Ye would make his European racing debut in 2013 at the ROK Cup final inLonato, finishing fourth overall in the Junior ROK class. His karting career concluded in early 2015 with a second-place finish in the Vega International Winter Trophy, in preparation for his step up toFormula 4.[citation needed]
In 2015, Ye graduated to single-seaters in theFrench F4 Championship, where two wins near the end of the campaign brought him to twelfth in the standings.[citation needed]
The following year would see Ye return toFrench F4.[8] He would go on to dominate the season, taking pole position in nearly every qualifying session and winning fourteen races. His final points tally saw him take the championship title by 142 points over runner-upGilles Magnus - marking the largest winning margin in championship history, and the first title for a Chinese driver in Formula 4.[citation needed]
In December 2016, it was announced that Ye would graduate to theFormula Renault Eurocup with reigning teams' championsJosef Kaufmann Racing.[9] He would go on to take three podium finishes on his way to the eighth place in the drivers' standings. Ye reunited with Josef Kaufmann thefollowing season, claiming two wins atMonza and theHungaroring to finish the championship in third overall.[10]
Following his performance in theFormula Renault Eurocup, Ye was signed to theRenault Sport Academy in April 2019.[citation needed]
In October 2018, Ye joined the final round of theF3 Asian Championship with Absolute Racing, where he claimed two podiums out of three races. Ye rejoined the outfit for the following year'sWinter Series, where he claimed four wins to finish second in the championship.[11]
2019 saw Ye enter the inaugural season of theFIA Formula 3 Championship withHitech Grand Prix alongsideLeonardo Pulcini andRed Bull juniorJüri Vips.[12] In the final race inSochi, he scored his best result of sixth place.[citation needed]
In May 2020, Ye joinedCryptoTower Racing in theEuroformula Open championship. He would go on to dominate the championship, taking clean sweeps at theHungaroring,Red Bull Ring, andCatalunya rounds for a total of 11 wins, 13 poles and 12 fastest laps.[13]
In April 2023, Ye was announced to participate in the official rookie test at Berlin for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team in the Porsche 99X Electric. Ye was able to find a good rhythm and managed to provide a valuable feedback to the engineers on the setup of the Porsche 99X Electric.[14] Additionally, following his successful Berlin rookie test, Ye was set to return to the cockpit of the Porsche 99X Electric for the Rome E-Prix Rookie Free Practice.[15]
At the start of 2021, Ye made hissportscar racing debut with G-Drive Racing, partneringRené Binder andFerdinand Habsburg in theLMP2 category of theAsian Le Mans Series. Having taken a pair of victories at the opening round and consolidated their championship gap during the final two races, the trio claimed the ALMS title.[citation needed]
For his main campaign, Ye would drive forTeam WRT alongsideLouis Delétraz andRobert Kubica in theEuropean Le Mans Series.[16] The team started off in controlling fashion, winning the opening pair of races atBarcelona andSpielberg and gaining an early lead in the standings. After two finishes inside the top five, the Chinese driver and his teammates took victory atSpa-Francorchamps, thus clinching the ELMS championship with a round to go.[citation needed]
In August 2021, Ye joined his ELMS teammates Delétraz and Kubica atTeam WRT to compete in the24 Hours of Le Mans. Ye completed the most overtakes in the LMP2 class, with a total of 315 passes, and led the race for much of its concluding phase. However, the car would experience an electrical failure on the very last lap of the race, forcing Ye to retire from the lead and leading to the squad being unclassified in the final results.[17]
In October 2021, Ye signed with Porsche as Porsche Motorsport Asian Pacific Selected Driver, becoming Porsche's first-ever official Chinese driver in preparation for a potential role in the upcoming Porsche LMDh program.[18]
Ye returned to theAsian Le Mans Series in the GT3 class for2022, making his debut inGT racing and fulfilling his duties as a newly signed driver forPorsche Motorsport Asia Pacific.[19] A pole position and a second-place finish in the final round was enough to elevate the team to eighth in the standings.[citation needed]
In February 2022,Cool Racing announced its driver line-up for 2022. Reigning European Le Mans Series LMP2 Champion Ye along with the four-time winner in Le MansNicolas Lapierre and 2021 European Le Mans Series LMP3 runner upNiklas Krütten. The team also entered the car in the2022 24 Hours of Le Mans with a revised line-up due to Lapierre's commitments with Alpine in theFIA WEC. He was replaced by doubleIMSA championRicky Taylor. Ye took the pole position atSpa-Francorchamps and three podiums throughout the championship.[citation needed]
In 2023, Ye was announced to be making his debut in the top-flightHypercar class of theFIA World Endurance Championship as the youngest driver in the Hypercar class, partneringAntónio Félix da Costa andWill Stevens in the customerPorsche 963 ofHertz Team Jota.[20] The team would make an impressive debut at the third championship round atSpa-Francorchamps, finishing sixth.[21] At the 100th running of the24 Hours of Le Mans, Ye and his teammates would complete an impressive run from last to first during the first half of the race, though this would end after Ye crashed at the Porsche curves.[22][23] Following repairs, Ye and Jota managed to end up completing the race. In the final three races, the team would amass a trio of top-ten finishes, with a highlight coming inBahrain, where the trio finished in fourth place.[24][25]
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In lieu of the 2024 season, Ye announced that he would be leaving the Porsche stable, soon revealing that he had signed a factory contract withFerrari.[26][27]
Ye and his No. 83 teammatesRobert Shwartzman andRobert Kubica took the overall victory of the2024 Lone Star Le Mans.[28]
| Season | Series | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | ROK Cup International Final — Junior ROK | 28th | |
| 2014 | South Garda Winter Cup —KF3 | 17th | |
| WSK Champions Cup —KFJ | ART Grand Prix | 19th | |
| CIK-FIA European Championship —KFJ | 48th | ||
| ROK Cup International Final — Junior ROK | International Kartronix | 4th | |
| 2015 | WSK Champions Cup —KFJ | Kartonix International | 25th |
| South Garda Winter Cup —KFJ | NC | ||
| Vega International Winter Trophy —KFJ | 2nd | ||
| WSK Super Master Series —KFJ | RB Racing | 12th | |
| CIK-FIA European Championship —KFJ | 46th |
† As Ye was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
* Season still in progress.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | LÉD 1 18 | LÉD 2 11 | LÉD 3 11 | LMS 1 13 | LMS 2 10 | LMS 3 7 | PAU 1 10 | PAU 2 5 | PAU 3 Ret | HUN 1 14 | HUN 2 14 | HUN 3 11 | MAG 1 13 | MAG 2 Ret | MAG 3 11 | NAV 1 9 | NAV 2 1 | NAV 3 12 | LEC 1 9 | LEC 2 1 | LEC 3 12 | 12th | 73 | ||
| 2016 | LEC 1 1 | LEC 2 1 | LEC 3 1 | LEC 4 1 | PAU 1 3 | PAU 2 4 | PAU 3 1 | PAU 4 1 | LÉD 1 1 | LÉD 2 1 | LÉD 3 1 | LÉD 4 1 | MAG 1 1 | MAG 2 7 | MAG 3 1 | MAG 4 1 | LMS 1 1 | LMS 2 15 | LMS 3 Ret | LMS 4 11 | CAT 1 4 | CAT 2 12 | CAT 3 15 | 1st | 420 |
(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 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | RB Racing | VAL 1 | VAL 2 | VAL 3 | MNZ 1 | MNZ 2 | MNZ 3 | IMO1 1 15 | IMO1 2 Ret | IMO1 3 11 | MUG 1 19 | MUG 2 17 | MUG 3 Ret | ADR 1 14 | ADR 2 Ret | ADR 3 19 | IMO2 1 7 | IMO2 2 18 | IMO2 3 11 | MIS 1 12 | MIS 2 9 | MIS 3 8 | 21st | 10 | ||
| 2016 | Kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport | MIS 1 | MIS 2 20 | MIS 3 Ret | MIS 4 DNQ | ADR 1 | ADR 2 2 | ADR 3 DSQ | ADR 4 2 | IMO1 1 7 | IMO1 2 4 | IMO1 3 7 | MUG 1 28 | MUG 2 7 | MUG 3 7 | VAL 1 | VAL 2 | VAL 3 | IMO2 1 8 | IMO2 2 22 | IMO2 3 17 | MNZ 1 5 | MNZ 2 9 | MNZ 3 Ret | 10th | 79 |
(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 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Josef Kaufmann Racing | MNZ 1 | MNZ 2 | ASS 1 | ASS 2 | NÜR 1 2 | NÜR 2 3 | SPA 1 3 | SPA 2 7 | SPA 3 8 | HOC 1 1 | HOC 2 1 | 8th | 104 | |
| 2018 | Josef Kaufmann Racing | PAU 1 | PAU 2 | MNZ 1 | MNZ 2 | SPA 1 2 | SPA 2 3 | HUN 1 1 | HUN 2 11 | NÜR 1 6 | NÜR 2 6 | HOC 1 2 | HOC 2 3 | NC† | 0 |
† As Ye was a guest driver, he was ineligible points
(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 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Josef Kaufmann Racing | MNZ 1 9 | MNZ 2 6 | SIL 1 9 | SIL 2 14 | PAU 1 8 | PAU 2 10 | MON 1 11 | MON 2 19 | HUN 1 24 | HUN 2 7 | HUN 3 5 | NÜR 1 7 | NÜR 2 3 | RBR 1 8 | RBR 2 7 | LEC 1 2 | LEC 2 8 | SPA 1 3 | SPA 2 7 | SPA 3 8 | CAT 1 12 | CAT 2 10 | CAT 3 11 | 8th | 106.5 |
| 2018 | Josef Kaufmann Racing | LEC 1 3 | LEC 2 2 | MNZ 1 1 | MNZ 2 15 | SIL 1 3 | SIL 2 3 | MON 1 4 | MON 2 4 | RBR 1 8 | RBR 2 5 | SPA 1 2 | SPA 2 3 | HUN 1 1 | HUN 2 11 | NÜR 1 6 | NÜR 2 6 | HOC 1 2 | HOC 2 3 | CAT 1 8 | CAT 2 8 | 3rd | 239 | |||
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Absolute Racing | CHA 1 Ret | CHA 2 2 | CHA 3 1 | SEP1 1 2 | SEP1 2 2 | SEP1 3 1 | SEP2 1 1 | SEP2 2 1 | SEP2 3 13† | 2nd | 155 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Hitech Grand Prix | CAT FEA 22 | CAT SPR Ret | LEC FEA 13 | LEC SPR 22 | RBR FEA 20 | RBR SPR Ret | SIL FEA 12 | SIL SPR 11 | HUN FEA 18 | HUN SPR 22 | SPA FEA 15 | SPA SPR 10 | MNZ FEA Ret | MNZ SPR 19 | SOC FEA 13 | SOC SPR 6 | 21st | 4 |
(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 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | CryptoTower Racing | HUN 1 1 | HUN 2 1 | LEC 1 2 | LEC 2 1 | RBR 1 1 | RBR 2 1 | MNZ 1 1 | MNZ 2 2 | MNZ 3 2 | MUG 1 5 | MUG 2 3 | SPA 1 1 | SPA 2 11 | SPA 3 3 | CAT 1 1 | CAT 2 1 | CAT 3 1 | CAT 4 1 | 1st | 369 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Class | Car | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | G-Drive Racing | LMP2 | Aurus 01 | Gibson GK428 4.2 LV8 | DUB 1 1 | DUB 2 1 | ABU 1 2 | ABU 2 4 | 1st | 81 |
| 2022 | Herberth Motorsport | GT | Porsche 911 GT3 R | Porsche 4.0 LFlat-6 | DUB 1 12 | DUB 2 Ret | ABU 1 17 | ABU 2 2 | 8th | 20 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; results initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Team WRT | LMP2 | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | CAT 1 | RBR 1 | LEC 5 | MNZ 4 | SPA 1 | ALG 2 | 1st | 118 |
| 2022 | Cool Racing | LMP2 | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | LEC 5 | IMO 3 | MNZ 8 | CAT 3 | SPA 5 | ALG 3 | 5th | 70 |
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 |  Team WRT |  Louis Delétraz Robert Kubica | Oreca 07-Gibson | LMP2 | 362 | NC | NC |
| 2022 | Cool Racing |  Niklas Krütten Ricky Taylor | Oreca 07-Gibson | LMP2 | 367 | 11th | 7th |
| 2023 |  Hertz Team Jota |  António Félix da CostaWill Stevens | Porsche 963 | Hypercar | 244 | 40th | 13th |
| 2024 |  AF Corse | Robert Kubica Robert Shwartzman | Ferrari 499P | Hypercar | 248 | DNF | DNF |
| 2025 | AF Corse | Phil HansonRobert Kubica | Ferrari 499P | Hypercar | 387 | 1st | 1st |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Hertz Team Jota | LMP2 | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | SEB 1 | ALG 5 | NC | 0‡ | ||||||
| Hypercar | Porsche 963 | Porsche 9RD 4.6 L Turbo V8 | SPA 6 | LMS 10 | MNZ 9 | FUJ 6 | BHR 4 | 9th | 38 | |||||
| 2024 | AF Corse | Hypercar | Ferrari 499P | FerrariF163 3.0 L Turbo V6 | QAT 4 | IMO 8 | SPA 8 | LMS Ret | SÃO 11 | COA 1 | FUJ 12 | BHR 8 | 9th | 57 |
| 2025 | AF Corse | Hypercar | Ferrari 499P | Ferrari 3.0 L Turbo V6 | QAT 2 | IMO 4 | SPA 15 | LMS 1 | SÃO 8 | COA 7 | FUJ 9 | BHR 5 | 2nd | 117 |
‡ As Ye was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
(Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | AF Corse - Francorchamps Motors | Ferrari 296 GT3 | Pro | LEC | SPA 6H | SPA 12H | SPA 24H | NÜR | MNZ 34 | JED | NC | 0 |
| 2025 | AF Corse - Francorchamps Motors | Ferrari 296 GT3 | Pro | LEC | MNZ | SPA 6H | SPA 12H | SPA 24H | NÜR | CAT 33 | NC | 0 |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Valentin Moineault | French F4 Championship Champion 2016 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Euroformula Open Championship Champion 2020 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Asian Le Mans Series LMP2 Champion 2021 With:René Binder &Ferdinand von Habsburg | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | European Le Mans Series LMP2 Champion 2021 With:Robert Kubica &Louis Delétraz | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2025 With:Phil Hanson &Robert Kubica | Succeeded by Incumbent |
| FIA Formula 2 Championship |
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| FIA Formula 3 Championship |
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