Matthieu Vaxivière (born 3 December 1994) is a French racing driver from

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

. He has been a factory driver for the

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

brand since 2021, as part of which he has competed in the Hypercar class of the

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship, abbreviated as WEC, is a world championship for automobile endurance racing organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The se ...

. Vaxivière is also renowned for his prowess in the

LMP2 A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is a type of sports prototype race car used in various races and championships, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series, and Asian Le M ...

category; he has scored two class podiums at the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...

and won the Pro-Am title of the

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 fo ...

with

AF Corse AF Corse is an Italian auto racing team founded by former racing driver Amato Ferrari in 1995 in Piacenza. Strongly linked to the Maserati and Ferrari brands, AF Corse currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship, GT World Chal ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

and

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Career

Karting

Vaxivière started his racing career in 2005 in the Karting Championship of France.

Car racing debut

Having made his car racing debut in the MitJet Series in 2010, Vaxivière progressed to the

French F4 Championship French F4 Championship, formerly known as Formula Renault Campus France, Formula Campus, Formul'Academy Euro Series, F4 Eurocup 1.6 is a form of open wheel racing founded in 1993 by Louis Drouet. It is based in France and aims at karting gradua ...

the subsequent year. A successful campaign followed, as he took the title by winning three races, which included a double victory at Pau.

Formula Renault 2.0

Vaxiviere entered his debut season of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 in 2012 with

Tech 1 Racing Tech 1 Racing is a racing team based in Toulouse, France. Founded in 2000 by racing driver Simon Abadie and his sister Sarah, it has garnered success in the World Series by Renault, the Eurocup Mégane Trophy and the GP3 Series, most notably ...

, which he finished in 29th position with a single point. The Frenchman experienced a more fruitful year in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, ending up tenth overall with a pair of victories at

Aragón Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to south): Huesca, Zaragoza, a ...

proving to be the highlight of the season.

Formula Renault 3.5

After his two seasons in the Eurocup, Vaxivière graduated to the Formula Renault 3.5 Series for the 2014 season, driving for Lotus alongside

Marlon Stöckinger Marlon Alexander Stöckinger (born 4 April 1991) is a Filipino and Swiss former racing driver competing under the Philippine flag. He most recently competed in the 2016 GT Series Sprint Cup for ISR Racing. He raced for Status Grand Prix in the ...

. He finished eighth overall despite missing two rounds due to an injury. Vaxivière returned to Lotus for the 2015 season. Three wins and a heap of podiums made the French driver vice-champion. For the first season of the newly rebranded Formula V8 3.5 Series, Vaxivière would partner

Matevos Isaakyan Matevos "Matos" Isaakyan (; born 17 April 1998) is a Russian former racing driver. He is a former member of the SMP Racing driver programme. Career Karting Born in Moscow, Isaakyan began karting in his native Russia in 2010, finishing fifth in t ...

SMP Racing SMP Racing is a Russian racing team and driver academy mostly known for competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship, FIA Formula 2 Championship and FIA Formula 3 Championship with the goal of training and unveiling new talents from Russia. ...

. This season, the Frenchman amassed seven podiums, two of which were wins, and took home fourth place in the standings.

Lotus F1

After completing several post-season tests with both

Pons Racing Pons Racing was a motorcycle and auto racing team owned by the British company Pons Racing UK Limited. The team principal is former 250 cc world champion, Sito Pons. In motorcycle road racing world championships, Pons has fielded riders s ...

and Lotus in preparation for 2014, the Frenchman was announced by Lotus to drive with them in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series alongside Filipino-Swiss rookie

Sportscar debut

TDS Racing Oreca 07 Vaxiviere Silverstone 2018

Having competed in various endurance events such as the GT3 Le Mans Cup throughout his time in junior formulae, Vaxivière made his full-time transition into

sportscar racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing that uses sports cars with two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be either purpose-built Sports prototype, sports prototypes, which are the highest level in sports car racing; or grand to ...

near the end of 2016, when he partnered

Michele Rugolo Michele Rugolo (born 31 August 1982 in Montebelluna) is an Italian racing driver. Career Formula Renault After competing in karting championships from 1992 to 1999, Rugolo competed in the Formula Renault 2000 Italy from 2000 to 2002, and then sw ...

and Stéphane Lémeret in the GT category of the

Asian Le Mans Series The Asian Le Mans Series (ALMS) 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 s ...

from round two onwards. He helped DH Racing to finish second in the championship, having taken victory at the

Fuji Speedway is a motorsport race track standing in the foothills of Mount Fuji, in Oyama, Shizuoka, Oyama, Suntō District, Shizuoka, Suntō District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was built in the early 1960s. In the 1980s, Fuji Speedway was used for the ...

. Vaxivière's main campaign in 2017 would lie in the

class of the

, which he contested with

TDS Racing TDS Racing (Top Drive Services, formerly known as Pouchelon Racing) is a French auto racing team, currently competing in the European Le Mans Series, FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. History Eurocup Mégane Trophy ...

. Having taken a podium on debut at

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-southwest of Towcester and northeast of Brackley, both accessed via the A43 road, A43 main ...

, the Frenchman finished 16th in the drivers' standings. 2018 would start out positively for Vaxivière, who finished second in the first two races of the

with TDS before embarking on a season in the WEC with the French team. A podium during the

2019 24 Hours of Le Mans Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dic ...

would prove to be the highlight of his season, which Vaxivière finished eighth overall. As a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, 2020 saw Vaxivière compete in a myriad of championships, including the

GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, formerly for sponsorship reasons the Blancpain Endurance Series from 2011 to 2015 and Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup from 2016 to 2019, is a sports car racing series developed by Stéphane Ratel Or ...

or the Mitjet International series, where the Frenchman took four wins from as many appearances. That year also yielded another podium at

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

, Vaxivière driving for

Panis Racing Olivier Jean Denis Marie Panis (; born 2 September 1966) is a French former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Panis won the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix with Ligier. Panis competed in Formula One for Ligier, Prost, BAR and Toyota, ...

alongside

Nico Jamin Nicolas Jamin (born December 5, 1995) is a French racing driver who currently competes in the European Le Mans Series with United Autosports. Open Wheel Racing F2000 Jamin made his professional debut in the 2014 U.S. F2000 National Championsh ...

and

Julien Canal Julien Antoine Jules Canal (born 15 July 1982 in Le Mans) is a French racing driver. Having won his class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in , and whilst driving GT cars, Canal became a staple of the LMP2 category, winning the WEC class title in 20 ...

Alpine works driver

2021: Hypercar debut

For the 2021 season, Vaxivière teamed up with

Nicolas Lapierre Nicolas Camile Bernard Lapierre (born 2 April 1984) is a retired French professional racing driver and team principal. Notable for winning the LMP2 class four times at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Lapierre was a factory driver at Toyota during the ea ...

and

André Negrão André Negrão (born ) is a Brazilian racing driver. He most recently drove for Alpine in the Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2023, and spent a total of seven seasons with the team during his tenure. Negrão is a for ...

to drive an

Alpine A480 The Rebellion R13 is a sports prototype racing car built by French constructor Oreca on behalf of Swiss-based team Rebellion Racing. It is a variation of the Oreca 07, created to compete in the LMP1 class. It would later be renamed by Alpine to ...

in the Hypercar category of the

. The campaign began on a promising note, as the team finished second at

Spa-Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), informally referred to as Spa, is a motor-racing circuit located in Francorchamps, Stavelot, Wallonia, Belgium, about southeast of Spa. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, ho ...

before Vaxivière followed that up by taking a pole position at the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...

Round. The outfit stabilized their pace after another second place in

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

, with them taking third for the remaining rounds, Vaxivière and his teammates being unable to match the pace of the

Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) is a motorsport division of the Japanese car manufacturer Toyota. Alongside competition activities, the division develops technologies for the Gazoo Racing (GR) sub-brand of Toyota's sports and performance-oriented pro ...

squad.

2022: WEC title challenge

Nevertheless, Vaxivière, Lapierre and Negrão returned to

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

. At the season opener in Sebring, the Frenchman put on a particularly impressive showing, setting the fastest lap and helping his team to their first victory in the Hypercar category. Vaxivière and his partners took second at

Spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

before finishing a disappointing fourth in the

, as issues with the car's clutch control and ignition coil systems respectively put the team out of contention for the podium. They bounced back emphatically in

, where, having made contact in a hard-fought battle with the Toyota of

Kamui Kobayashi is a Japanese racing driver and motorsport executive, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe, Toyota and in Super Formula for KC Motorgroup, KCMG. Kobayashi competed in Formula One from to . In end ...

, Vaxivière scored another win. However, this would end up being the team's final finish ahead of their rivals Toyota, with a power reduction for the final two races thanks to the BoP mechanism leading to Alpine finishing second in the overall standings.

2023: LMP2 return & Pro-Am title

Vaxivière and

stepped down to the

category for the 2023 season, where the French driver partnered Charles Milesi and

. The team would finish the season seventh overall with a podium at

. In addition, he paired up with

François Perrodo François Hubert Marie Perrodo (born 14 February 1977) is a French billionaire businessman, racing driver, and car collector. He is the chairman of Perenco, an oil and gas company with operations in 14 countries, which was founded by his father. ...

and

Ben Barnicoat Ben George Barnicoat (born 20 December 1996) is a British racing driver, who competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Vasser Sullivan and in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Akkodis ASP; he serves as a factory driver for Lexus. ...

to race in the Pro-Am Cup of the

that same year. After starting the campaign with two class podiums, Vaxivière helped AF Corse towards its first Pro-Am win of the season at

, where he passed title rival

Louis Delétraz Louis Charles Hubert Delétraz (born 22 April 1997) is a Swiss people, Swiss racing driver currently competing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Wayne Taylor Racing, Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing and in the European Le Mans Series for AO Racin ...

for the lead with half an hour to go. The same pair once again battled hard for position at

, where Vaxivière once again came out on top, thus securing fourth in class. Third at the first

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

race was followed by a victory at the season-ending

4 Hours of Portimão The 4 Hours of Portimão (also known as 4 Hours of Algarve) is an endurance race for sports cars, held at Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, in Portugal. The first races were held in 2009 and 2010 as ''1000 Kilometres of Algarve'', as part of ...

, where late defensive driving from Barnicoat against

Malthe Jakobsen Malthe Jakobsen (born 29 October 2003) is a Danish people, Danish racing driver who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Peugeot Sport, Peugeot. He is the 2022 European Le Mans Series champion in the LMP3 class with Cool Racin ...

proved decisive in securing the Pro-Am title for Vaxivière and Perrodo.

2024: Alpine Hypercar & back-to-back ELMS titles

With the

category being dropped from the WEC for the 2024 season, Vaxivière would continue driving for Alpine in their new Hypercar, the A424, alongside Nicholas Lapierre and

Mick Schumacher Mick Schumacher (; born 22 March 1999) is a German racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Alpine. Schumacher competed in Formula One from to . Born and raised in Switzerland, Schumacher is the son of seven-ti ...

. The season, featuring four new manufacturers in the Hypercar class (

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. ( , ), usually referred to as Lamborghini or colloquially Lambo, is an Italian manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its su ...

Isotta Fraschini Isotta Fraschini () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer, also producing trucks, as well as engines for marine and aviation use. Founded in Milan, Italy, in 1900 by Cesare Isotta and the brothers Vincenzo, Antonio, and Oreste Fraschini, in 195 ...

, and

themselves), would begin well for the Alpine team in the first round in Qatar, placing best of the four Hypercar debutants, with Vaxivière's car finishing 11th out of 19 in class. At the following round in

Imola Imola (; 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 region Romagna ...

, Vaxivière was involved in a first-lap collision, which necessitated two laps of car repairs. Following an anonymous

event, the #36 Alpine retired from the

with a driveshaft problem. Finally, Vaxivière and his teammates scored the entry's first point at

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

and, despite struggling during the opening stint owing to the choice of hard rear tyres, followed that up with ninth place at

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

. A further breakthrough came in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, where overtakes by Schumacher secured the team's maiden Hypercar podium with third place. The season ended with ninth place at

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

. Vaxivière continued racing in LMP2 with AF Corse in 2024. Having contested the

2023–24 Asian Le Mans Series The 2023–24 Asian Le Mans Series was the twelfth season of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's Asian Le Mans Series. It is the fourth 24 Hours of Le Mans-based series created by the ACO, following the American Le Mans Series (since merged with t ...

during the winter and gotten a best result of second twice, Vaxivière paired up with Perrodo and two-time substitute of 2023,

Alessio Rovera Alessio Rovera (born 22 June 1995) is an Italian racing driver. He is a Ferrari factory driver and currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship with AF Corse. Early career After winning the 2013 Formula Abarth series in his debu ...

, to defend the Pro-Am title in the

ELMS 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 fo ...

. A strong pit strategy allowed the trio to start the season with a win at

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 c ...

, though the next race saw Vaxivière drop to fourth during the final stint due to high tyre wear. Second at

preceded a commanding class victory at

, which earned the #83 crew a 20-point lead going into the Mugello event. Their lead would be diminished however, as Rovera collided with a GT entry and got the car stranded in the gravel; they ended up seventh in the race. With a four-way title fight coming to a head in

Portimão Portimão () is a city and a municipality in the district of Faro (district), Faro, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2022 was 63,079 in an area of 182.06 km2. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão. In ...

, it was drama on the final lap that decided the championship in AF Corse's favour: the leading

Algarve Pro Racing Algarve Pro Racing (APR) is a Portuguese sports car racing team founded in 2010 by husband and wife Stewart and Samantha Cox. The team focuses on prototype racing, fielding LMP2 entries in the European Le Mans Series, as well as partnering wit ...

entry ran out of fuel on the final lap and was passed by Bent Viscaal's

Proton Competition Proton Competition (also formerly racing as Dempsey-Proton Racing or Team Felbermayr-Proton) is a German auto racing team based in Ummendorf, Baden-Württemberg. It was founded by Gerold Ried, and is currently owned by his son Christian Ried. Th ...

car, thereby letting Vaxivière claim the title with fourth place at the flag.

2025

During the winter, Vaxivière once again raced in the

at AF Corse. With three podiums, including a win at the second

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

race where Vaxivière overtook

Nicky Catsburg Nick Catsburg (born 15 February 1988 in Amersfoort) is a Dutch professional racing driver, currently competing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship with Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports. He was also a factory driver for BMW from 2011 to ...

in the closing laps, he, Rovera, and Perrodo finished third in the standings. In the meantime, the Frenchman was demoted to reserve driver duties at Alpine for the 2025 WEC Season. This meant that he would concentrate on racing in the

, entering with an unchanged lineup and in view of a third successive Pro-Am crown.

provided Vaxivière with a standout performance in the season's first race: after taking the lead of the Pro-Am category early on in his first stint, Vaxivière made a triple overtake on

Reshad de Gerus Reshad Jean de Gerus (born 1 July 2003) is a French racing driver from Réunion, currently competing in the European Le Mans Series for Duqueine Team. Early career French F4 Championship De Gerus drove in the French F4 Championship from 2018 t ...

Pietro Fittipaldi Pietro Fittipaldi da Cruz (born 25 June 1996) is a Brazilian and American racing driver, who competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Pratt Miller Motorsports, and in the 2025 European Le Mans Series, European Le Mans Series for Vector S ...

, and

Théo Pourchaire Théo Jérôme Julien Pourchaire (; born 20 August 2003) is a French people, French racing driver who currently competes in the 2025 European Le Mans Series with Algarve Pro Racing. He is the 2023 Formula 2 Championship, 2023 Formula 2 champion, ...

with 50 minutes left. Soon after, he would pass Charles Milesi for third overall before jumping ahead of

Pipo Derani Luís Felipe "Pipo" Derani (born 12 October 1993) is a Brazilian race car driver who is currently a factory driver for the Genesis Magma Racing program. He is an overall winner of the 2016 24 Hours of Daytona and the 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2023 ...

on a FCY restart. He caught leader

Mathys Jaubert Mathys Jaubert (born 3 March 2005 in Salon-de-Provence) is a French racing driver who currently competes in the 2025 European Le Mans Series for IDEC Sport in LMP2. Early career Jaubert started karting in 2013, featuring mostly in the French ...

with 25 minutes to go, though a pit stop for fresher tyres and a subsequent safety car left Vaxivière in fourth with two remaining racing laps. In those, he overtook Fittipaldi, Milesi, and Jaubert to take victory, the second overall win for a Pro-Am car in the history of the series.

Racing record