Felipe Nasr

Luiz Felipe de Oliveira Nasr (born 21 August 1992) is a Brazilian racing driver, who competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Porsche. Nasr competed in Formula One from to . In endurance racing, Nasr has won three IMSA SportsCar Championship titles, and won the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2019 with AXR and in 2025 with Team Penske; he also won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2024 and 2025 with Porsche.

After a year as the official test driver for Williams in 2014, he joined Sauber as a full-time Formula One driver in 2015. However, from the 2017 season he was replaced by Pascal Wehrlein.

From 2018, Nasr has been competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Whelen Engineering Racing, winning the championship with co-driver Eric Curran in his first year in the series and winning another title with countryman Pipo Derani in 2021.

For 2022, Nasr was named a Porsche factory driver.

Early career

Karting

Born in Brasília, Distrito Federal, Nasr began karting in Brazil when he was seven years old. Between 2000 and 2007 he won several championship titles in Brazil.

Formula BMW

;2008
Nasr made his open-wheel racing debut in the final round of the 2008 Formula BMW Americas season at Interlagos, which supported the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, claiming a podium finish in the second race in a championship that was dominated by Alexander Rossi.

;2009
Nasr moved to the European championship of Formula BMW in 2009 for EuroInternational. He finished 14 of the 16 races in the top two, won 6 races, 5 pole-positions and claimed the title by 104 points from teammate Daniel Juncadella. As the championship was held by BMW, linked to Sauber in that season, Nasr was called to test a Sauber F1 car, but with BMW leaving F1, the test did not happen.

Formula Three

;2010
For the 2010, Nasr moved into the British Formula 3 Championship with Räikkönen Robertson Racing, joining a three-car team alongside the team's 2009 drivers Carlos Huertas and Daisuke Nakajima. In addition to signing for the team, Nasr signed to Robertson Management, the organisation that manages the career of former Formula One World Drivers' Champion Kimi Räikkönen. Nasr finished the 2010 British Formula 3 season in 5th position.

;2011
Nasr signed with Carlin Motorsport for the 2011 Championship and won the Sunoco Rolex 24 at Daytona Challenge, a special joint racing programme among series in the United Kingdom that use Sunoco Racing Fuel. The winner of that challenge won a drive in the 2012 Rolex 24 at Daytona. He was third in the Daytona 24 Hour.
Nasr claimed the title of the 2011 British Formula 3 season, 123 points ahead of his teammate, Kevin Magnussen.

In the 2012 Rolex 24 at Daytona, Nasr finished third overall and in class, driving a second generation Riley prototype for Michael Shank Racing.

GP2 Series

;2012
Nasr signed with DAMS to race in the 2012 GP2 Series season with the support of Brazilian sponsors Banco do Brasil and Eike Batista's OGX. Nasr's best results were a 2nd place in Race 2 of the Belgian round and a 4th place in Race 1 of the German round. He was teamed with the experienced Davide Valsecchi, who won the drivers' championship; Nasr's tenth place in the standings meant DAMS won the teams' championship as well. He took four podium finishes, with a best finish of second at Spa, and was the second highest-placed rookie overall, behind James Calado.

;2013
For the 2013 GP2 Series season Nasr moved to Carlin, partnering British Jolyon Palmer. Nasr believed that he would be a title contender, alongside James Calado and Marcus Ericsson, and hoped to be driving an F1 car at the end of the year. Nasr finished the 2013 campaign 4th overall in the standings.

;2014
Nasr remained with Carlin for the 2014 season, partnering Colombian Julián Leal. He took his first GP2 win in the sprint race in Barcelona. He achieved wins at the Red Bull Ring, Silverstone, and Spa-Francorchamps. Throughout the season, he was involved in a fight for the championship with former teammate Jolyon Palmer, losing out in Russia. Nasr finished third overall, after losing second place by five points, to rookie Stoffel Vandoorne at Yas Marina.

Professional single-seater career

Formula One

;2014
It was confirmed on 22 February 2014 that Nasr would be joining Williams as the team's reserve driver, participating in three tests and five free practice sessions across the course of the season. He made his first appearance in first practice in the replacing Valtteri Bottas.

Sauber (2015–2016)

On 5 November 2014, it was announced that Nasr would drive for Sauber in . In his first race with the team in Australia, Nasr finished in fifth position, the highest placing for a Brazilian driver making a Grand Prix début.
His finishing streak ended at the when his gearbox failed on the way to the grid. In Japan, for the first time, he failed to finish, as he had a mechanical failure on lap 51; he was classified in 20th place. Nasr finished his début season with 27 points, finishing 13th in the drivers' championship. After a successful 2015 season, Sauber retained Nasr for 2016.

Nasr's—and Sauber's—only points in 2016 came at the Brazilian Grand Prix, where he finished ninth. The finish allowed Sauber to overtake Manor in the constructors' championship, which cost the latter team prize money and eventually led to Manor's bankruptcy. Ironically, this meant Nasr was left without a seat for the 2017 season as he was due to swap places with Manor driver Pascal Wehrlein and could not find another seat after the Manor team exited the sport.

Formula E

In January 2019, Nasr joined GEOX Dragon for the rookie test in Marrakesh, but was unable to participate due to contractual issues. The following month, it was announced Nasr would replace Maximilian Günther from the Mexico City ePrix onwards. Because of Nasr's IMSA commitments, Günther had temporarily returned to his seat at the 2019 Rome ePrix. He made his debut at the 2019 Mexico City ePrix where he finished in 19th place, having run at the back of the pack for the majority of the race. At his second race in Hong Kong, he crashed his car into the wall early in the race, taking out the two Mahindra cars of Pascal Wehrlein & Jerome d'Ambrosio in the process. At his third race in Sanya he stalled on the grid & recorded his second successive DNF. Nasr has not returned to Formula E since, ending his run at three consecutive races with one non-points finish and two DNFs, as the team opted to continue using Günther moving forward. He was classified 24th overall in the championship, tied on 0 points with Tom Dillmann & Felix Rosenqvist.

Planned IndyCar debut

On 10 March 2020, it was announced Nasr was scheduled to make his IndyCar debut for Carlin at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the race was postponed until October, putting his debut on hold. Ultimately, Nasr did not compete in the 2020 season.

Sportscar career

Cadillac factory driver (2018–21)

After a year without racing competitively, Nasr entered the Prototype category of the 2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship, partnering Eric Curran at Whelen Engineering Racing in a Cadillac DPi-V.R. The duo started well, finishing second at the 24 Hours of Daytona and taking third in the 12 Hours of Sebring, despite Nasr being involved in an on-track incident in both races respectively. During round five at Belle Isle, Nasr held off a fresh-tyred Ricky Taylor to claim his maiden IMSA win, thus putting himself and Curran to the top of the standings. Nasr and Curran remained consistent throughout the rest of the season, scoring two more podiums, and clinched both the North American Endurance Cup and overall titles at the final round in Road Atlanta.

Nasr remained at the team for 2019, this time partnering compatriot Pipo Derani for the full season and being joined by Curran for the endurance events. He finished second after being overtaken by eventual winner Fernando Alonso at Daytona, before triumphing at Sebring. The next six races only saw one podium finish at Belle Isle, whilst the Acura Team Penske #6 gained the upper hand in the title battle. At the second-to-last race in Laguna Seca, the #6 won, leaving third-placed Nasr and Derani 12 points behind going into the season finale. Victory at Petit Le Mans earned Nasr and Derani the Endurance Cup title, though they lost out on the overall crown by merely five points.

For his third successive season at Action Express Racing, Nasr was once again joined by Derani. The 2020 season was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and come the second round of the campaign Nasr would be forced to sit out after testing positive for the disease. He returned to race at the next race in Sebring, where Derani qualified on pole before he and Nasr claimed victory. Four further podiums in the next five races followed, as Nasr helped AXR to fourth in the teams' standings.

Going into 2021, the Nasr-Derani combination won the Daytona quali race, for which Nasr had qualified in first place. Race results did not come instantly, however, as the pair finished sixth in Daytona and retired in the same spot at Sebring after Nasr collected the #5 Cadillac at turn 1 during the fifth hour. A successful defense from Ricky Taylor left Nasr second at Mid-Ohio, before the Brazilian once again finished second in Detroit. At the second race at Watkins Glen, Nasr was able to jump into the lead with a quicker pit stop and held off Renger van der Zande for his first win of the season, despite having to save fuel in the final stint. Fuel strategy proved decisive during the next round in Road America (for which Nasr took pole), as a late pit stop by Dane Cameron allowed Derani to inherit the lead and victory number two. Third at Laguna Seca was followed by a dominant performance at Long Beach: Nasr scored pole before setting the building blocks to finishing ten seconds ahead of the runners-up. Nasr took pole for the season finale, putting himself and Derani within striking distance of catching the pair of WTR's Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque. The AXR #31 was a frontrunner throughout the entire race, and Nasr was leading until being passed with 22 minutes remaining. He then battled for second with Taylor before colliding at turn 10, the Acura going off and being forced to return the position to the Cadillac. Nasr crossed the line in second to claim his second IMSA title, his first alongside Derani.

Porsche Penske factory driver (2022–present)

In December 2021, Nasr and Dane Cameron were the first drivers to be announced for the new Porsche Penske Motorsport project in the emerging LMDh category. In preparation for the introduction of the Porsche 963 in 2023, Penske entered the LMP2 class of the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship with an Oreca 07, driven by Nasr, Cameron, and Emmanuel Collard. The trio finished Sebring eighth and took fourth at Spa-Francorchamps. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the early efforts of Nasr and Cameron brought the #5 Penske up to second, before a delaminating left front tyre caused the team to lose ground in hour six. In the end, Nasr and his teammates finished fifth in class. As Penske's focus shifted towards preparations for the LMDh programme, the LMP2 campaign was discontinued following the Le Mans weekend. During the same year, Nasr contested the three crown jewel events of the IMSA schedule in the GTD Pro class with Pfaff Motorsports: he, along with Mathieu Jaminet and Matt Campbell claimed a dramatic class win at Daytona, finished fifth at Sebring, and took third at Petit Le Mans The latter result earned Jaminet and Campbell the GTD Pro title.

For the 2023 season, Nasr partnered Campbell in the new 963 as part of Porsche Penske's #7 crew in the IMSA SCC. In a challenging debut season for the car, Nasr and Campbell scored three podiums, including a controlling victory at Road America. They finished fifth in the drivers' standings, level on points with the sister car which finished ahead on countback.

Nasr was joined by Cameron for the 2024 IMSA season, with Campbell providing support in the endurance events. Daytona became a crowning achievement for Nasr, who took victory after defending his position hard against a chasing Tom Blomqvist in the final hour. A slew of third places followed, starting at Sebring and carrying over through Long Beach and Laguna Seca, despite suffering contacts from GT cars in the latter two. Fourth at Detroit came next before a pass on Louis Delétraz at the final restart in Watkins Glen earned Nasr his second win of the year. Second at Road America extended Nasr and Cameron's championship lead to 100 points, though a ninth place on the road at Indianapolis after Nasr nursed the car home with a power steering failure looked to undo their advantage. However, two disqualifications, including one for the podium-finishing #6 Porsche, increased the #7's gap to 124 points. With a third place at Petit Le Mans, Nasr and Cameron took home both the overall IMSA title and the Michelin Endurance Cup.

Personal life

Nasr is of Lebanese ancestry, his grandfather having emigrated to Brazil in the 1960s. Nasr lists his favourite hobbies as sports, fishing and mechanics, he cites the ''Star Wars'' and James Bond film series as his favourite films, his favourite driver as Ayrton Senna, and his favourite circuit as Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. Felipe is the nephew of Amir Nasr, who owns one of the most successful South American Formula Three racing teams that helped with the progression of many Brazilian drivers in junior formulas, such as Hélio Castroneves, Vítor Meira, Antônio Pizzonia, Luciano Burti, Bruno Junqueira, Cristiano da Matta, Mário Haberfeld, Max Wilson, Átila Abreu and Sérgio Jimenez. Nasr's favourite musical artists include Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and Dire Straits. Nasr is multilingual with the ability to speak Portuguese, English and Italian.

Racing record

Career summary

† – As Nasr was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.

^* Season still in progress.

Complete Formula BMW Europe results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete British Formula Three results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete GP2 Series results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula One results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicates fastest lap)

† Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.

24 Hours of Daytona results

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

^* Season still in progress.

Complete European Le Mans Series results

^‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete Formula E results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

*
Amir Nasr Racing

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nasr, Felipe
1992 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Brasília
Brazilian people of Lebanese descent
Formula BMW USA drivers
Formula BMW Europe drivers
British Formula Three Championship drivers
Formula 3 Euro Series drivers
FIA Formula 3 European Championship drivers
GP2 Series drivers
Brazilian GP2 Series drivers
24 Hours of Daytona drivers
Rolex Sports Car Series drivers
Brazilian Formula One drivers
Sauber Formula One drivers
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
Brazilian Formula E drivers
Brazilian WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers
Formula BMW Pacific drivers
FIA World Endurance Championship drivers
Stock Car Brasil drivers
Sportspeople of Lebanese descent
EuroInternational drivers
Double R Racing drivers
Carlin racing drivers
DAMS drivers
Action Express Racing drivers
Porsche Motorsports drivers
European Le Mans Series drivers
Team Penske drivers
Dragon Racing drivers
Meyer Shank Racing drivers
Brazilian racing drivers
24 Hours of Spa drivers
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup drivers