Tristan Philippe Alain Vautier (born 22 August 1989) is a French professional racing driver who is currently competing in the

2025 IMSA SportsCar Championship The 2025 IMSA SportsCar Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship) is an ongoing motor racing championship and the 55th racing season sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association ...

for

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 ...

and in the 2025 European Le Mans Series for CLX –

Pure Rxcing Pure Rxcing (pronounced ''Pure Racing'') is a Lithuanian sports car racing team that currently competes in the LMP2 class of the Asian Le Mans Series. Founded in 2022 by race mechanic and engineer Edgar Kochanovskij, it is the inaugural champion ...

Racing career

Formula Renault

Born in

Saint-Martin-d'Hères Saint-Martin-d'Hères (; ) is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration),

Isère Isère ( , ; ; , ) is a landlocked Departments of France, department in the southeastern French Regions of France, region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère (river), Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.

, Vautier began his career in the French Formula Renault Campus series in 2006, where he finished runner-up. He moved up to the main Championnat de France Formula Renault 2.0 series in 2007, finishing fourth, also competing in some events in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, scoring a 2nd and 3rd in Zolder. In 2008 the French series was replaced by the West European Cup, in which Vautier finished sixth.

Formula Palmer Audi

Vautier moved to the

Formula Palmer Audi Formula Palmer Audi, officially abbreviated to FPA, and sometimes informally abbreviated to Palmer Audi, was a one-make class of open wheel Formula racing founded in 1998 by former Formula One driver, Jonathan Palmer. It was based in the Unite ...

series in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, where he finished fourth with six victories.

FIA Formula Two Championship

Vautier made his FIA Formula Two Championship debut at

Circuit de Catalunya The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya () is a motorsport race track in Montmeló, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. With long straights and a variety of corners, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is seen as an all-rounder circuit. The track has stands ...

, in place of Edoardo Piscopo. Vautier excelled in the pre-race tests and in the first race, where he finished third behind

Andy Soucek Andy Christian Soucek (; born 14 June 1985) is a Spanish- Austrian professional racing driver. Career Soucek was born in Madrid, Spain. His father is an Austrian of Czech descent and his mother is French. He holds dual Austrian and Spanish nati ...

and Mikhail 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.

Star Mazda

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

saw Vautier move to the American

Star Mazda Championship The USF Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, formerly known as the Star Mazda Championship, Pro Mazda Championship, and later Indy Pro 2000 Championship, is an open-wheel racing series serving as the third step on the Road to Indy la ...

driving for

Andersen Racing Andersen Racing was a professional auto racing team that competed in Firestone Indy Lights and Star Mazda competition. It was owned by Dan Andersen, who founded the U.S. F2000 National Championship in 1991 and his brother John Andersen. The team w ...

. Vautier won the season-opener at

Sebring Raceway Sebring International Raceway is a road course auto racing facility in the southeastern United States, located near Sebring, Florida. Sebring Raceway is one of the oldest continuously operating race tracks in the U.S., its first race being run ...

and then in June at

New Jersey Motorsports Park New Jersey Motorsports Park is a road course "Motorsports Entertainment Complex" located in Millville, Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States. It has hosted races since opening in 2008 and currently hosts a schedule including MotoAmerica ...

. However, several mechanical issues saw him achieve only fifth in the final standings despite being the only driver other than champion

Conor Daly Conor James Daly (born December 15, 1991) is an American professional auto racing, racing driver. He competes in the IndyCar Series driving the No. 76 Chevrolet for Juncos Hollinger Racing. He also competes occasionally in NASCAR and has also rac ...

to win more than one race. He returned to the series in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, this time driving for

JDC MotorSports JDC can refer to: * American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, a worldwide relief organization * Jeju Free International City Development Center * John Deere Classic, a PGA Tour golf tournament * John Dickson Carr (1906–1977), American myster ...

. He won four races and finished every race in the top five, winning the championship over

Connor De Phillippi Connor De Phillippi (born December 25, 1992) is an American professional racing driver and gold rated BMW Motorsport works driver. Racing career Early career De Phillippi began karting at the age of 5 years old and by the time he was 14 years o ...

by 25 points. With the title he won a scholarship to move to

Firestone Indy Lights Indy NXT (pronounced "Indy Next"), previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as INDY NXT by Firestone for sponsorship reasons. Indy NXT is the highest step on the Road ...

in 2012 through the

Road to Indy The USF Pro Championships Presented by Continental Tire, formerly known as the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires, is a racecar driver development program, providing a scholarship-funded path to reach the IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500. ...

program.

Indy Lights

Vautier signed with

Sam Schmidt Motorsports The IndyCar Series operation of McLaren, competing as Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team due to sponsorship, is based in Indianapolis and was founded by former IndyCar driver Sam Schmidt in 2001 as Sam Schmidt Motorsports (SSM). The team operates the N ...

to race in Firestone Indy Lights in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

. He won the pole in his first race on the Streets of St. Petersburg and took a flag-to-flag victory, duplicating his Star Mazda feat from two years before by winning on debut. Another win on the

Milwaukee Mile The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectat ...

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 his

career. The streak ended at

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

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 over

Esteban Guerrieri Esteban Guerrieri (born 19 January 1985) is an Argentina, Argentine racing driver currently competing in the FIA TCR World Tour for the GOAT Racing JAS Motorsport, Honda team. His early career in single-seaters saw him become Formula Renault Euro ...

. Winning a partial scholarship to compete in the

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, officially known as the NTT IndyCar Series for sponsorship reasons, is the highest class of American open-wheel car racing in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies sinc ...

in 2013 through the Road to Indy program.

IndyCar

Vautier signed to compete in the 2013 IndyCar Series season for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. 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 at

Barber Motorsports Park Barber Motorsports Park is an racing facility in Birmingham, Alabama. It was built by George W. Barber, and includes the Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum. It has been the site of the IndyCar Series' Grand Prix of Alabama since 2010 IndyCar Ser ...

. 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 first

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

race. The Frenchman returned to IndyCar in 2015 as a part-time driver for Dale Coyne Racing. He qualified James Davison's car for the Indianapolis 500, then raced in place of Carlos 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 in

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 ...

, making a start at

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

driving the No. 51 Honda for Dale Coyne.

Sports car racing

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 the

Mazda is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima (town), Fuchū, Hiroshima Prefecture, Hiroshima, Japan. The company was founded on January 30, 1920, as Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd. ...

factory team to race at the four endurance races of the 2014

United SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association ( ...

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 American Matt McMurry behind the wheel of the No. 90 Cadillac DPi-V.R. in the IMSA

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (I ...

, driving for

Spirit of Daytona Racing Spirit of Daytona Racing (known as Visit Florida Racing from 2015 to 2018) was an auto racing team that competed last in the International Motor Sports Association, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Prototype Class with the No. 90 Cadillac ...

at four races, where he scored Pole Position for the 12 Hours of Sebring. At

2018 Petit Le Mans The 2018 Petit Le Mans (formally known as the 2018 Motul (company), MOTUL Petit Le Mans for sponsorship reasons) was the 21st running of the Petit Le Mans, and was held on October 15, 2018. It was the last race in the 2018 IMSA SportsCar Champio ...

he finished fourth overall for Action Express Racing, partnering with

Filipe Albuquerque Filipe Miguel Delgadinho Albuquerque (born 13 June 1985) is a Portuguese people, Portuguese professional racing driver, currently driving an Acura ARX-06 in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Wayne Taylor Racing, and an Oreca 07 in the Europea ...

and

Christian Fittipaldi Christian Fittipaldi (born 18 January 1971) is a Brazilian former racing driver who has competed in various forms of motorsport including Formula One, Champ Car, and NASCAR. He was a highly rated young racing driver in the early 1990s, and parti ...

. His GT Racing campaign for Mercedes-AMG saw him clinch the

Intercontinental GT Challenge The Intercontinental GT Challenge is a sports car racing series developed by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation, SRO Group in 2016. It consists of international Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance races for grand tourer racing cars complying w ...

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. In 2019, Vautier joined JDC-Miller MotorSports to drive a Cadillac DPi at the IMSA WeatherTech Championship together with Mikhail 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 the 2021 12 Hours of Sebring with JDC, together with

Loïc Duval Loïc Jean-Claude Duval (; born 12 June 1982) is a French professional racing driver racing for Peugeot Sport in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Duval is a former FIA WEC champion and a winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race, win ...

and

Sébastien Bourdais Sébastien Olivier Bourdais (; born 28 February 1979) is a French professional racing driver who currently races in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Cadillac Hertz Team Jota in the Hypercar category. He is one of the most successful dr ...

. 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 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

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 ...

, later also making his Hypercar debut in 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 ...

, having been called up by

Vanwall Vanwall was a British motor racing team and racing car constructor that was active in Formula One during the 1950s. Founded by Tony Vandervell, the Vanwall name was derived by combining the name of the team owner with that of his Thinwall ...

to replace

Jacques Villeneuve Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve (; born 9 April 1971) is a Canadian former racing driver, who competed in IndyCar from 1994 PPG Indy Car World Series, 1994 to 1995 PPG Indy Car World Series, 1995, and Formula One from to . Villeneuve won t ...

. Despite Vanwall's exit from WEC after a year, Vautier remained involved in LMH as Cadillac Racing's reserve driver for the

2024 24 Hours of Le Mans The 92nd 24 Hours of Le Mans () was an Endurance racing (motorsport), automobile endurance race for teams of three drivers each racing Le Mans Prototypes (LMP) and Group GT3, Le Mans Grand Touring Car (LMGT3) cars held from 15 to 16 June 2024 ...

Racing record

Complete Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 results

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

American open–wheel racing results

( key)

Star Mazda Championship

Indy Lights

IndyCar Series

( key)

Indianapolis 500

Complete Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup results

Complete Bathurst 12 Hour results

Complete InterContinental GT Results

2018 Champion

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship

^† Vautier did not complete sufficient laps in order to score full points. ^* Season still in progress.

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

Complete European Le Mans Series results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^* Season still in progress.

Complete Asian Le Mans Series results

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

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vautier, Tristan 1989 births Living people Sportspeople from Saint-Martin-d'Hères French racing drivers Formule Campus Renault Elf drivers French Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Formula Renault Eurocup drivers Formula Renault 2.0 WEC drivers Formula Palmer Audi drivers FIA Formula Two Championship drivers Indy Pro 2000 Championship drivers IndyCar Series drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers Indy Lights champions Indy Lights drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers Rolex Sports Car Series drivers GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup drivers WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers 12 Hours of Sebring drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers JDC Motorsports drivers Arrow McLaren SP drivers Dale Coyne Racing drivers Mercedes-AMG Motorsport drivers SG Formula drivers Action Express Racing drivers La Filière drivers Strakka Racing drivers Graff Racing drivers FIA Motorsport Games drivers Nürburgring 24 Hours drivers European Le Mans Series drivers Algarve Pro Racing drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers Kolles Racing drivers Team Virage drivers Asian Le Mans Series drivers 21st-century French sportsmen Proton Competition drivers Cool Racing drivers