Ferdinand Zvonimir Maria Balthus Keith Michael Otto Antal Bahnam Leonhard von Habsburg-Lothringen (born 21 June 1997 in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

) is an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n motor racing driver and

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

to the headship of the

House of Habsburg-Lorraine The House of Habsburg-Lorraine (german: Haus Habsburg-Lothringen) originated from the marriage in 1736 of Francis III, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Maria Theresa of Austria, later successively Queen of Bohemia, Queen of Hungary, Queen of C ...

. He is currently driving in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Team WRT and

European Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the ...

with Prema. Habsburg won the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose ...

and the FIA World Endurance Championship in the

LMP2 A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is the type of sports prototype race car used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series. Le Mans Prototypes were crea ...

class alongside Charles Milesi and

Robin Frijns Robin Frijns (born 7 August 1991) is a Dutch motor racing driver. He is the 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 Series champion, and the first driver to have won the series in his debut season since Robert Kubica in 2005. Frijns is currently competing in F ...

in 2021.

Early life and family

Ferdinand Habsburg was born on 21 June 1997 to

Karl von Habsburg Karl von Habsburg (given names: ''Karl Thomas Robert Maria Franziskus Georg Bahnam''; born 11 January 1961) is an Austrian politician and the head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, therefore being a claimant to the defunct Austro-Hungarian t ...

and Francesca von Habsburg. A member of the

, his paternal grandparents were

Otto von Habsburg Otto von Habsburg (german: Franz Joseph Otto Robert Maria Anton Karl Max Heinrich Sixtus Xaver Felix Renatus Ludwig Gaetan Pius Ignatius, hu, Ferenc József Ottó Róbert Mária Antal Károly Max Heinrich Sixtus Xaver Felix Renatus Lajos Gaetan ...

, the last

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wi ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, and Princess Regina of Saxe-Meiningen. His maternal grandparents are

Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza Hans Heinrich August Gábor, Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon (13 April 1921 – 27 April 2002), an industrialist and art collector, was a Dutch-born Swiss citizen with a Hungarian title and heir to a German fortune, a long-time resident of Spa ...

and

Fiona Campbell-Walter Fiona Frances Elaine Campbell-Walter, formerly Baroness Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon et Impérfalva, (born 25 June 1932) is a New Zealand-born British model. She had a successful career in the 1950s and was photographed by Henry Clarke and Cec ...

, descendant of the

Campbell baronets There have been 18 baronetcies created for persons with the surname Campbell, six in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia and twelve in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. Campbell baronets, of Glenorchy (1625) The Campbell baronetcy, of Glenorchy in ...

. Habsburg was baptised on 20 September 1997 in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

by Cardinal

Franjo Kuharić Franjo Kuharić (15 April 1919 – 11 March 2002) was a Croatian Catholic cardinal, who served as the Archbishop of Zagreb from 1970 until his resignation in 1997. The cardinal was often referred to as the "Rock of Croatia" known for his defe ...

. His godparents were his uncle Georg von Habsburg; Alois-Konstantin, 9th Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg;

Margarita Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela Margarita Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela (born 6 January 1935) is the wife of Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria, whom she married after he went into exile. As such, she is also sometimes styled Tsaritsa Margarita; in this context, she may be styled as Princess ...

; and

Agnes Husslein Agnes Husslein, also Agnes Husslein-Arco, (born 22 May 1954) is an Austrian art historian and art manager. Life Husslein was born the daughter of Felicitas (''née'' Boeckl) and Carl Heinrich Arco in Vienna (1920–1978).Arco). He was also given the traditional Croatian name Zvonimir. Andrea und Ferdinand Zvonimir von Habsburg

Andrea und Ferdinand Zvonimir von Habsburg

He is the brother of Eleonore von Habsburg and Gloria von Habsburg. His brother-in-law (Eleanore's husband) is former Formula E driver

Jérôme d'Ambrosio Jérôme D’Ambrosio (born 27 December 1985) is a Belgian former professional racing driver, motorsport executive and former Team Principal of Venturi Racing in Formula E. He has previously driven for Marussia Virgin Racing and Lotus F1 in t ...

. Ferdinand is the

to the headship of the

, currently held by his father. He is informally titled as an Imperial and Royal Archduke of Austria. However, the titles and honorifics are unofficial as Austria is a republic with all royal titles being legally abolished in 1918.

Racing career

Karting

Habsburg began his racing career at the age of 14 with the Austrian team, Speedworld Academy. He has worn racing number 62 since the beginning of his karting career. In 2014 after four years spent in ROTAX Junior category, winning multiple championship titles, he switched to Rotax DD2. He also qualified three times for the

Rotax Max Challenge The Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals (RMC) is a kart racing series owned and organized worldwide by Rotax, BRP-Powertrain and its distributors, approved and in compliance with Commission Internationale de Karting, CIK-FIA. Competition takes ...

Grand Finals, scoring a best result of eleventh in 2013.

Formula Renault 1.6 NEC

In 2014, Habsburg made his début in single seaters, taking part in the Formula Renault 1.6 NEC Championship with Lechner Racing. He finished fourth with a 100% finishing rate in 15 races.

Toyota Racing Series

For 2015, Habsburg contested New Zealand's

Toyota Racing Series The Formula Regional Oceania Championship is New Zealand's premier formula racing category. The series includes races for every major trophy in New Zealand circuit racing including the New Zealand Motor Cup and the Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy. ...

in January and February 2015 with Victory Motor Racing, finishing 11th in the championship and 5th in the rookie class with two podium finishes. He would return to the series with Giles Motorsport for 2016 and finished fourth in the championship behind

Lando Norris Lando Norris (born 13 November 1999) is a Belgian-British racing driver currently competing in Formula One with McLaren, racing under the British flag. He won the MSA Formula championship in 2015, and the Toyota Racing Series, Eurocup Form ...

, Jehan Daruvala and Brendon Leitch with four podium finishes, which included his first win in car racing in the season opener at Mike Pero Motorsport Park. Habsburg contested his final season in the series in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

, this time driving for M2 Competition. The Austrian finished the campaign in eighth place, scoring two podiums.

Formula Renault 2.0 NEC

For 2015, Habsburg decided to switch to the Formula Renault Northern European Cup with Fortec Motorsports. Having only raced in the first five rounds in the series with a best finish of fifth at his home event at the Red Bull Ring, the Austrian ended up 19th in the standings.

Euroformula Open Championship

Habsburg made his debut in the

Euroformula Open Championship The Euroformula Open Championship (formerly the Spanish Formula Three Championship, European F3 Open Championship) is a junior formula racing series based in Spain. It was one of six national and international Formula Three championships in Europ ...

in the 2015 season finale at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, where he finished both races in the top ten. The following year Habsburg committed to the series full-time, racing for Drivex School. Having lost ground to the more experienced title-favourite

Leonardo Pulcini Leonardo Pulcini (born 25 June 1998, in Rome) is an Italian racing driver and the 2016 Euroformula Open champion. Career Karting Born in Rome, Pulcini began karting professionally in 2012 and came second in the CIK-FIA KF Junior championship a ...

during the first few rounds, Habsburg was able to achieve his first race win in the series at the

Circuit Paul Ricard The Circuit Paul Ricard () is a French motorsport race track built in 1969 at Le Castellet, Var, near Marseille, with finance from pastis magnate Paul Ricard. Ricard wanted to experience the challenge of building a racetrack. The circuit has h ...

. He followed that up by scoring seven podiums across the five remaining rounds, which included a win in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, and finished second in the standings, with twelve podiums from just 16 races to his credit.

FIA Formula 3 European Championship

2017

For 2017, Habsburg stepped up to the FIA European F3 Championship, racing for Carlin. He had a highly successful season, taking four podiums and a first series win at Spa. However his most impressive drive came in the end of year

Macau Grand Prix The Macau Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prémio de Macau; ) is a motorsport road race for automobiles and motorcycles held annually in Macau. It is the only street circuit racing event in which both cars and motorcycles participate, and one of onl ...

. In the main race, he battled hard for the lead with Brazilian

Sérgio Sette Câmara Sérgio Sette Câmara Filho (born 23 May 1998) is a Brazilian racing driver who currently drives for NIO 333 FE Team in Formula E. He was a member of the Red Bull Junior Team, having formerly been a test and development driver for McLaren. Car ...

, but was unable to pass. On the final lap, Habsburg took the lead around the outside of the final corner at Fisherman's Bend, but braked too late and understeered into the barriers on the exit of the corner, with Sette Câmara doing exactly the same thing, handing the race win to Câmara's teammate

Dan Ticktum Daniel Charles Anthony Ticktum (born 8 June 1999) is a British racing driver currently racing with the NIO 333 FE Team in the Formula E World Championship. Ticktum became a member of the Red Bull Junior Team in 2017. During his time with Red ...

. Habsburg eventually limped across the line fourth despite broken front suspension. Nonetheless, the Austrian would gain much praise from both his team boss and journalists for his final lap maneuver, along with his great season as a whole. Ferdinand Habsburg Macau 2019

2018

He returned to the series in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

with Carlin, this time partnering Jehan Daruvala, Sacha Fenestraz,

Nikita Troitskiy Nikita Troitskiy ( rus, Никита Троицкий; born 16 April 1999 in Ekenäs) is a Finnish-born Russian driver. Career Karting Born in Ekenäs, Finland, but raised in St. Petersburg, Troitskiy competed in karting for a number of year ...

and Ameya Vaidyanathan. However, Habsburg was unable to find the form from the previous year, scoring just a lone podium at Misano and finishing 13th in the championship.

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters

2019

In 2019, Habsburg signed for R-Motorsport II to race the

Aston Martin Vantage DTM The Aston Martin Vantage DTM is a "Class 1 Touring Cars, Class 1" Touring car racing, touring car constructed by the British automotive industry, car manufacturer Aston Martin Racing, Aston Martin for use in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. The ...

in the

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM, German Touring Car Masters) is a grand touring car series sanctioned by ITR e.V. who have been affiliated to the DMSB- FIA since 1984. The series is based in Germany, with rounds elsewhere in Europe. The s ...

. He scored two points finishes in Circuit Zolder and the

Norisring The Norisring is a street circuit in Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as a motorcycle racing venue in 1947 and named in a 1950 competition to win a light motorcycle, the track became known as a sports car racing venue in the ...

and ended up 18th in the driver's championship.

2020

For the 2020 season Habsburg made the switch to Audi Sport Team WRT racing the

Audi RS5 Turbo DTM The Audi RS5 Turbo DTM is a Class One Touring Car constructed by the German car manufacturer Audi AG for use in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. The car was an updated version of the previous Audi RS5 DTM that had a naturally aspirated engin ...

. This season was comparatively successful for Habsburg as he secured 10 points positions, one of which was a podium in Circuit Zolder. This meant that Habsburg finished tenth in the driver's championship with 68 points, beating both of his teammates Fabio Scherer and Harrison Newey.

Endurance racing

2020

In 2020, Habsburg competed in the

24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual The 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual was an esports 24-hour automobile endurance race for Le Mans Prototype (LMP) and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance (LMGTE) vehicles held on a simulated version of the Circuit de la Sarthe from 13 to 14 ...

with Mahle Racing, driving the 2018 Aston Martin Vantage GTE alongside former

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...

driver

Robert Wickens Robert Tyler Wickens (born March 13, 1989) is a Canadian racing driver from Guelph, Ontario, driving in the Michelin Pilot Challenge for Bryan Herta Autosport. In 2009 he finished in second place in the FIA Formula Two Championship, and in 2010 ...

and sim-racers Jimmy Broadbent and Kevin Rotting. They classified in 46th place.

2021

Habsburg started his 2021 campaign by racing in the

Asian Le Mans Series The Asian Le Mans Series is an Asian sports car racing endurance series created by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and based in Asia. It is the successor to the defunct Japan Le Mans Challenge which folded in 2007 after its second season. ...

with G-Drive Racing. Together with his teammates Ye Yifei and Rene Binder he won the drivers' championship, taking two wins along the way. Alongside this, Habsburg raced with High Class Racing in the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona alongside

Robert Kubica Robert Józef Kubica (; born 7 December 1984) is a Polish racing and rally driver. He was the first and, , the only Polish racing driver to compete in Formula One. Between 2006 and 2009 he drove for the BMW Sauber F1 team, promoted from test d ...

, Dennis Andersen, and Anders Fjordbach. However, they retired from the race due to a gearbox failure. WRT41LM2022

On 26 February it was confirmed he would compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Team WRT alongside

and Charles Milesi, driving an

Oreca 07 The Oreca 07 is a Le Mans Prototype built by French manufacturer Oreca to meet the 2017 FIA and ACO LMP2 regulations. It made its official race debut in the opening round of the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the 24 Hours of Dayto ...

in the LMP2 class. During the first round in the

6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps The 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (formerly the 1000 Kilometres of Spa-Francorchamps) is an endurance race for sports cars held at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. History The Spa 24 Hours had been introduced in 1924, and other races fo ...

, Habsburg and his team finished tenth and in the following race, the 8 Hours of Portimão, his team finished in fourth position. However, it was in the next race, the

6 Hours of Monza The 6 Hours of Monza (formerly the 1000 Kilometres of Monza and known after 1966 as "Trofeo Filippo Caracciolo") is an endurance race, mainly for sports cars, which is held at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Italy. Overview Despi ...

that Habsburg clinched his first LMP2 podium, finishing in second place. In round four, that being the

, Habsburg and his Team WRT teammates clinched a dramatic LMP2 class win after their sister Team WRT car suffered a throttle Sensor failure on the final lap whilst in the lead of the race. After a two-month long break the trio won the

6 Hours of Bahrain The 8 Hours of Bahrain (previously 6 Hours of Bahrain) (بطولة ست ساعات في البحرين) is a sports car race that is held at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. It was created for the FIA World Endurance Champ ...

. The following weekend, Habsburg, Frijns and Milesi clinched the LMP2 title after scoring a third consecutive victory in the series at the 8-hour race at the same venue. Habsburg also became the first Austrian to win the LMP2 title in the World Endurance Championship.

2022

The following year, Habsburg returned to the WEC, driving the 41 car for RealTeam by WRT with

Rui Andrade Rui Andrade may refer to: * Rui Andrade (footballer) * Rui Andrade (racing driver) {{hndis, Andrade, Rui ...

and

Norman Nato Norman Nato (born 8 July 1992) is a French professional racing driver who is currently driving for Realteam Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Nato is known for finishing as the runner-up in the 2010 F4 Eurocup 1.6 season and the 2 ...

. Together, the team achieved three podiums, which included a win at the

, and finished fourth in the standings. Parallel to his WEC campaign, the Austrian competed for

Prema Racing Prema Powerteam (competing as Prema Racing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, the FIA Formula 3 Championship and European Le Mans Series and as Prema Orlen Team in the FIA World Endurance Championship) is a motorsport team from Italy. It mainly ...

in the

. The team started the season in controlling fashion, winning the season opener at

Paul Ricard Paul Louis Marius Ricard (; July 9, 1909 – November 7, 1997) was a French industrialist and creator of an eponymous pastis brand which merged in 1975 with its competitor Pernod to create Pernod Ricard. Ricard was also an environmentalist and t ...

, after which Habsburg described himself as "honoured", and taking victory in

Imola Imola (; rgn, Jômla or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical ...

despite Lorenzo Colombo having to serve two drive-through penalties for a pair of separate infringements. After a fifth place in Monza, Habsburg and his teammates Colombo and

Louis Delétraz Louis Delétraz (born 22 April 1997) is a Swiss racing driver currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series for Prema Orlen Team and in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Tower Motorsport. He is the 2 ...

took yet another victory at

to extend their championship advantage. Another podium came in the penultimate race at Spa, before the team clinched the title with a victory at the finale in

Portimão Portimão () is a city and a municipality in the district of Faro, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 55,614, in an area of 182.06 km2. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão (). In 1924, it was ...

, meaning that Habsburg and Delétraz claimed the ELMS drivers' title.

Art car

Together with his mother Francesca von Habsburg, Habsburg launched a unique interpretation of racing and art in 2014. The famous Swiss designer group, Lang-Baumann, designed and painted his race car.

Karting record

Karting career summary

Racing record

Career summary

† As von Habsburg was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score championship points.
^‡ Points only counted towards the Michelin Endurance Cup, and not the overall LMP2 Championship.

Complete Formula Renault 1.6 NEC results

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

Complete Toyota Racing Series results

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

Complete Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup results

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

Complete Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^† As Habsburg was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.

Complete Euroformula Open Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers) † As von Habsburg was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score championship points.

Complete Macau Grand Prix results

Complete FIA Formula 3 European Championship results

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

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^† Points only counted towards the Michelin Endurance Cup, and not the overall LMP2 Championship.

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^† Driver did not finish, but was classified as he completed 90% of the race distance.

Complete European Le Mans Series results

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

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

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

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

References

External links

Personal website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Habsburg, Ferdinand 1997 births Living people Sportspeople from Salzburg Austrian Roman Catholics Ferdinand Zvonimir von Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Austrian racing drivers Hungarian racing drivers Toyota Racing Series drivers Formula Renault 2.0 NEC drivers Formula Renault Eurocup drivers Austrian princes Formula Renault 2.0 Alps drivers Euroformula Open Championship drivers FIA Formula 3 European Championship drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers International GT Open drivers WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers Blancpain Endurance Series drivers Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers European Le Mans Series drivers Asian Le Mans Series drivers Carlin racing drivers Walter Lechner Racing drivers Drivex drivers Prema Powerteam drivers M2 Competition drivers Motopark Academy drivers Jota Sport drivers R-Motorsport drivers ART Grand Prix drivers Audi Sport drivers G-Drive Racing drivers W Racing Team drivers Fortec Motorsport drivers Aston Martin Racing drivers Starworks Motorsport drivers