Tristan Vautier (born 22 August 1989) is a French professional racing driver who is currently competing in the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship for the Vanwall Racing Team.
Racing career
Formula Renault
Born in Saint-Martin-d'Hères, Isère, 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 series in 2009, where he finished fourth with six victories.
FIA Formula Two Championship
Vautier made his FIA Formula Two Championship debut at Circuit de Catalunya, in place of Edoardo Piscopo. Vautier excelled in the pre-race tests and in the first race, where he finished third behind Andy Soucek 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 saw Vautier move to the American Star Mazda Championship driving for Andersen Racing. Vautier won the season-opener at Sebring Raceway and then in June at New Jersey Motorsports Park. However, several mechanical issues saw him achieve only fifth in the final standings despite being the only driver other than champion Conor Daly to win more than one race. He returned to the series in 2011, this time driving for JDC MotorSports. He won four races and finished every race in the top five, winning the championship over Connor De Phillippi by 25 points. With the title he won a scholarship to move to Firestone Indy Lights in 2012 through the Road to Indy program.
Indy Lights
Vautier signed with Sam Schmidt Motorsports to race in Firestone Indy Lights in 2012. 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 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 Road to Indy career. The streak ended at Toronto 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. Winning a partial scholarship to compete in the IndyCar Series 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. 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 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.
Sports car racing
Summary:
2009: French GT Championship (Viper GT3) - 1 win - 2 podiums
2012: Spa 24 Hours - Team Akka-ASP - Ferrari 458 GT3 - 5th Pro-Am
2014: Spa 24 Hours - Team Akka-ASP - Ferrari 458 GT3
2015: BlancPain Endurance Series - Team Akka-ASP - Ferrari 458 GT3
2016: BlancPain Sprint Series - Team Akka-ASP - Mercedes GT3 - 1 win - 2 podiums
Spa 24 Hours - 2nd Overall
2017: Imsa GTD - SunEnergy1 Racing - 1 pole - 2 podiums
BlancPain Endurance Series - 1 win
2018:
InterContinental GT Champion (Mercedes Factory)
BlancPain Endurance Series - 3rd overall
Nurburgring 24 - Top-10
Imsa - Cadillac Dpi Team SDR - Sebring 12h pole
2019: InterContinental GT - VLN Series/Nurburgring 24 (Mercedes Factory)