Robert
Wickens

Canadian driver Robert Wickens began karting in 2001. He won the Sunoco Ron Fellows Karting Championship in different classes in 2002, 2003 and 2005. In 2005 he moved into single-seaters with Formula BMW USA, finishing third overall and taking the rookie title. In 2006 he stayed in Formula BMW USA at first, but switched to EuroInternational after a few races when he became a Red Bull junior. He won three races and the championship. In 2007 he finished third in Champ Car Atlantic for Red Bull/Team Forsythe, with one win.

In 2008 he drove in Formula Renault 3.5 for Carlin, winning at Silverstone and finishing twelfth. He also contested the Formula 3 Euro Series with Signature-Plus, winning at the Norisring and the Bugatti Circuit. Neither race covered the full distance, so only half points were awarded. In 2009 he won two races in the revived FIA Formula Two Championship and was runner-up to Andy Soucek. In 2010 he finished second in the GP3 Series. In 2011 he became Formula Renault 3.5 champion with Carlin, settling the title against team-mate Jean-Éric Vergne in the final race.

Wickens never started a Formula 1 race. In June 2011 Virgin Racing signed him as reserve driver. He completed straight-line testing in the MVR-02 and took part in the first free practice session of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. After the season he joined the young driver test there, driving for both Marussia Virgin and Lotus Renault GP. In 2012 he entered the DTM with the revived Mercedes-Benz Junior Team, and he left the series after the 2017 season.

In 2018 Wickens raced in IndyCar for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. He took pole position in his first race at St. Petersburg and led all but the last two laps before a collision with Alexander Rossi cost him the lead. He finished ninth in the Indianapolis 500 and was named its best rookie. He also finished third at Toronto and second at Mid-Ohio. A serious crash at Pocono on 19 August 2018 ended his season and he missed the final three races. He was still named the series Rookie of the Year.

In 2022 Wickens returned to racing in the Michelin Pilot Challenge, driving a Hyundai in the TCR class for Bryan Herta Autosport with adapted hand controls. He finished third in his first race at Daytona and later won at Watkins Glen and at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. In 2023 he won the TCR title together with Harry Gottsacker.

Source: Wikipedia, “Robert Wickens”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.