Louis_Deletraz

Louis Delétraz

Louis Delétraz

Swiss racing driver


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 also competes in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup with Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport.

Quick Facts Nationality, Born ...

Additionally, Delétraz won the Formula Renault Northern European Cup in 2015, as well as being the defending two-time European Le Mans Series champion. He is the son of former Formula One and Le Mans 24 Hours driver Jean-Denis Delétraz.[1]

Early career

Karting

Delétraz began karting in his native Switzerland 2008, winning the Vega Trofeo Super Mini class the following year.[2] Third-place finishes followed in the KF3 Bridgestone Cup Switzerland and Vega Trofeo Junior categories in 2010 before winning the latter championship in 2011.[3]

Formula BMW Talent Cup

Delétraz began his single-seater career in September 2012, racing in the Grand Final of the Formula BMW Talent Cup season, held at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben in Germany. He started each of the three races from Pole position, winning the second race of the event.[4] In the final race of the weekend, Delétraz collided with fellow Swiss driver Ralph Boschung with both drivers retiring from the race. He was subsequently excluded from the event following an incident in the pit lane after the race.[5]

Formula Renault 2.0

2013

Delétraz graduated to Formula Renault for 2013, racing in the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC championship with Josef Kaufmann Racing.[6] He finished the season in 19th place in the championship,[7] with a best race result of fifth coming in the second race of the Silverstone meeting.

2014

Delétraz continued with the team for a second FR2.0 NEC season in 2014.[8] After winning the opening race of the season at Monza,[9] he took a further four podium positions to finish runner-up in the championship, sixteen points behind Fortec Motorsports Ben Barnicoat.[10] During the year, Delétraz also made his debut in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 championship, taking part in the rounds at Spa-Francorchamps, Nürburgring and Paul Ricard as a guest driver.[11]

2015

Deltraz racing in the 2015 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0

In 2015, Delétraz stayed with Josef Kaufmann Racing for a third season, racing a dual campaign in both Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 2.0 NEC.[12] He won the Formula Renault NEC while he finished in the top3 in Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0.[13]

In April 2015, Delétraz was announced as one of the four drivers selected to join the BMW Motorsport Junior Programme for 2015. As part of the initiative, he is due to contest three races of the Veranstaltergemeinschaft Langstreckenpokal Nürburgring series (VLN) for the manufacturer.[14]

Formula Renault 3.5 Series/Formula V8 3.5

Delétraz made his debut in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series at the fifth round of the 2015 season at the Red Bull Ring, driving for the returning Comtec Racing team.[15] He graduated to the series full time with Fortec in 2016, finishing runner-up in the standings.

GP2 Series

On 18 November 2016, it was announced that Delétraz would make his debut in the final round of the 2016 season with Carlin.[16] He finished 26th in the overall standings with no points.

FIA Formula 2 Championship

2017

Delétraz at the 2017 Monza Formula 2 round with Rapax

In December 2016, after partaking in post-season testing with them, Delétraz signed to race full-time with Racing Engineering in 2017 alongside Gustav Malja.[17] After a poor first half of the season, scoring only 1 point, he switched to Rapax, replacing Nyck de Vries who in turn took his place at Racing Engineering.

2018

Delétraz at the 2018 Spielberg Formula 2 round with Charouz Racing System

Delétraz switched teams for the 2018 season, moving to Charouz Racing System to partner former Ferrari Driver Academy member Antonio Fuoco.[18] Having scored second places during the sprint races in Monaco and Le Castellet respectively, the Swiss driver ended up tenth in the championship.

2019

Delétraz at the 2019 Spielberg Formula 2 round with Carlin

In 2019 Delétraz moved to reigning teams champion Carlin with Honda junior driver Nobuharu Matsushita. He finished the season eighth in the standings with a best result of 2nd in both the Monaco and Silverstone sprint races.

2020

For 2020, Delétraz returned to Charouz alongside Pedro Piquet.[19] Having scored five podiums, Delétraz ended his final season in the category eighth overall.

Formula One

In February 2016, Delétraz was confirmed as a member of Renault's young driver program.

In November 2018 it was announced that Delétraz would make his Formula One test debut with Haas F1 Team at the end-of-year Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi.[20] He completed 117 laps in the second day of the 2 day test.[21][22]

In May 2019 it was announced that Delétraz would join Haas F1 Team as simulator driver for the remainder of the 2019 season.[23] Delétraz continued as reserve and development driver for 2020.[24] However, following Romain Grosjean's crash at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix, the team preferred to bring in its other development driver, Pietro Fittipaldi. The Swiss driver criticized this decision on social media. Haas team principal Guenther Steiner brushed off these criticisms, saying Fittipaldi deserved the seat, as he had more Formula One mileage than Delétraz.[25] Louis Delétraz did not continue as a development driver with Haas for 2021.

Sportscar career

2020: Endurance debut

Delétraz competed in the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual and won it with Rebellion Williams eSports, driving the Oreca 07 in the LMP category alongside Raffaele Marciello, Nikodem Wisniewski and Jakub Brzezinski.[26] In the same year, Deletraz also competed in the 2020 with the Swiss outift, Rebellion Racing, in the LMP1 category alongside Nathanaël Berthon and Romain Dumas. The team finished the race in P4.

2021: ELMS glory

In 2021, it was announced that Delétraz would be competing with Team WRT in the European Le Mans Series in the LMP2 category alongside Robert Kubica and Yifei Ye. With three wins and a P2 finish, they clinched the 2021 European Le Mans Series championship in the LMP2 category.[27] Alongside this, Delétraz competed in the 2021 8 Hours of Portimão in the FIA World Endurance Championship, finishing in P6. Additionally, Delétraz competed in the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans with his European Le Mans series teammates. After leading the race with one lap to go, the car, with Yifei Ye behind the wheel, stopped down the hill past the Dunlop Bridge because of a broken throttle sensor creating an electrical short circuit that temporarily turned the engine's electronic control unit off. Because of this, the team had to retire the car.[28]

2022: Successful ELMS title defence

Delétraz driving at the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans.

In 2022, it was announced that Delétraz would be competing with the Prema Orlen Team in the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship[29] and Prema Racing in the 2022 European Le Mans Series[30] both on a full season basis. In the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship, Delétraz finished in P5 in the LMP2 championship with a P2 finish in the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans. In the 2022 European Le Mans Series however, Delétraz and his teammate, Ferdinand Habsburg clinched the LMP2 Driver's championship with 4 wins and a P3 finish in Spa. Alongside this, he also competed in the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship with Tower Motorsport in the LMP2 class.[31] With two wins in Laguna Seca and Petit Le Mans and three podium finishes, Delétraz finished the season in 7th place with points counting towards the Michelin Endurance Cup, not the overall LMP2 championship.

2023: WEC Title

Delétraz ahead of the number 28 Jota Sport entry at the 2023 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps

In 2023, it was announced that Delétraz would be joining the Wayne Taylor Racing squad, driving the Acura ARX-06 GTP entry alongside Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor. He serves as a third driver, competing in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup in Daytona, Sebring and Petit Le Mans.[32] In the opening race at the 24 Hours of Daytona, Delétraz and his team finished in second, ending up 4.190 seconds behind the Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura entry. The team would end up missing out on the title owing to contact between Albuquerque and championship rival Pipo Derani in the final race at Road Atlanta, an event where Delétraz qualified the #10 Acura on pole position, thereby scoring his first ever pole in endurance racing.[33][34]

For his European season, the Swiss driver would contest a campaign for Team WRT in the LMP2 category of the FIA World Endurance Championship, whilst also joining Racing Team Turkey in an attempt to defend his European Le Mans Series title for the second year in a row, this time entering the Pro-Am class alongside Charlie Eastwood and Salih Yoluç.[35][36] During the ELMS season-opener at Barcelona, Delétraz managed to overcome a late pit stop for a change of his car's tail section to pass Neel Jani for the lead with 15 minutes to go, thus beginning RTT's season with an overall victory.[37] Another class victory followed at Paul Ricard, though Delétraz would drop from the overall lead to third within the final few laps as a de-laminating tyre shredded parts of the car's bodywork.[38][39] Bad luck hit the #34 crew at Aragón, where a prospective second place was scuppered during the final pit stop, as the car could not be fired up for eleven minutes, thus dropping them to ninth in class.[40] Despite one further Pro-Am podium in Spa, the team missed out on the title, as a spin by Yoluç in the penultimate race acted as a defining setback.[41] At the end of the year, the team finished third, both in the Pro-Am and overall standings.[42]

The main success story of the season came in the WEC, where Delétraz was partnered by Robert Kubica and Rui Andrade. Following a fifth place at Sebring and a podium at Portimão, the trio combined to take the championship lead with a victory at Spa.[43] Despite a strong race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the team were unable to beat the #34 of Inter Europol Competition; Delétraz losing out in the final stint to Fabio Scherer, who controlled the gap until the checkered flag.[44][45] Another podium followed in Italy, where a late-race overtake by the Swiss driver on the #23 United Autosport guaranteed the team third.[46] Thereafter, a controlled drive to victory in Fuji and a dominant display by WRT at Bahrain, one where the #41 took the lead late thanks to pit stop troubles for the #31 sister car, ended up guaranteeing Delétraz, Kubica, and Andrade the final ever LMP2 title in the WEC era.[47][48][49]

At the end of the year, the Swiss auto racing federation awarded Delétraz the 2023 Auto Sport Schweiz Award for "special services to Swiss motorsport".[50]

2024

Remaining with Wayne Taylor Racing, Delétraz embarked on a full-time campaign in the IMSA SportsCar Championship alongside Jordan Taylor, with Colton Herta joining them for the endurance rounds.[51] At the season-opening 24 Hours of Daytona, the Swiss driver managed to resist the advances of Porsche's Mathieu Jaminet during a late restart to finish third, managing to recover for a podium despite a loss of power that lost the team one lap during the night.[52][53] The following 12 Hours of Sebring saw Delétraz pull off a winning move on Sébastien Bourdais with five minutes to go, claiming WTR's first victory of the GTP era.[54][55] At Long Beach, Delétraz crashed out of the race at the first corner, minutes after starting his stint.[56]

Parallel to his commitments overseas, the Swiss driver partnered with long-time teammate Kubica and prototype rookie Jonny Edgar at AO Racing by TF in the ELMS.[57]

Delétraz and AO by TF also took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where the Swiss would go on to take pole position.[58][59]

Karting record

Karting career summary

More information Season, Series ...

Racing record

Racing career summary

More information Season, Series ...

As Delétraz was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.
* Season still in progress.

Complete Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup results

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

More information Year, Team ...

Complete Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 results

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

More information Year, Team ...

As Delétraz was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.

Complete Formula V8 3.5 Series results

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

More information Year, Team ...

Complete 24 Hours of Zolder results

More information Year, Team ...

Complete GP2 Series results

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

More information Year, Entrant ...

Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

More information Year, Team ...

Complete European Le Mans Series results

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

More information Year, Entrant ...

* Season still in progress.

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

More information Year, Entrant ...

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

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

More information Year, Entrant ...

Points only counted towards the Michelin Endurance Cup, and not the overall LMP2 Championship. * Season still in progress.

Complete Asian Le Mans Series results

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

More information Year, Team ...

*Season still in progress.


References

  1. Hensby, Paul (23 April 2015). "Louis Deletraz: "It's really important for my future to do well this year"". thecheckeredflag.co.uk. Black Eagle Media Network. Retrieved 22 June 2015. ...and is following in the footsteps of his Father Jean-Denis Deletraz, who was a Formula 1 driver in the 1990s.
  2. "Vega Trofeo – Super Mini 2009 standings". driverdb.com. Driver Database. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  3. "Vega Trofeo – Junior 2011 standings". driverdb.com. Driver Database. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  4. "Louis Delétraz leads from start to finish to win second race of final in Oschersleben". press.bmwgroup-sport.com. BMW. 15 September 2012. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  5. Khorounzhiy, Valentin (25 January 2013). "Louis Deletraz joins Josef Kaufmann for FR2.0 NEC". paddockscout.com. Paddock Scout. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  6. "Formula Renault 2.0 NEC 2013 standings". driverdb.com. Driver Database. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  7. Khorounzhiy, Valentin (10 February 2014). "Josef Kaufmann Racing sign Deletraz for sophomore NEC campaign". paddockscout.com. Paddock Scout. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  8. David, Gruz (12 April 2014). "Deletraz victorious in first race of Formula Renault NEC at Monza". paddockscout.com. Paddock Scout. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  9. "Formula Renault 2.0 NEC 2014 standings". driverdb.com. Driver Database. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  10. Hensby, Paul (16 June 2015). "The rising star of Louis Deletraz". thecheckeredflag.co.uk. Black Eagle Media Network. Retrieved 22 June 2015. He also made his Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Series debut in 2014, making three appearances at Spa-Francorchamps, the Nurburgring and Paul Ricard.
  11. "Delétraz re-signs for Josef Kaufmann Racing to race in Eurocup an NEC". formularapida.net. Formula Rapida Network. 16 January 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  12. Tsang, Natasha (4 October 2015). "2015 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 standings after Hungary". FormulaRapida.net. Formula Rapida Network. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  13. "BMW Motorsport Juniors 2015 confirmed". bmw-motorsport.com. BMW. 9 April 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
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  15. "Delétraz completes Racing Engineering's 2017 driver line-up". December 16, 2016. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
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  17. "Delétraz and Piquet sign with Charouz Racing System". December 18, 2019. Archived from the original on December 18, 2019. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  18. "Deletraz confirmed for first F1 test with Haas". Crash. 2018-11-01. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
  19. Jack Benyon (20 November 2018). "F2 racer Deletraz: I'm a serious Haas F1 team future option". Autosport. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  20. Samarth Kanal (30 November 2018). "F1 Abu Dhabi tyre testing results". Motor Sport Magazine. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  21. Jack Benyon. "Louis Deletraz gets Haas Formula 1 team simulator role". Autosport. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  22. "Haas retains Fittipaldi, Deletraz to F1 team roles". ESPN.com. 2020-03-26. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  23. "Steiner's scathing dismissal of Deletraz over Haas snub". The Race. 2020-12-02. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
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  25. Dailysportscar.com. "Electrical Short Caused Last Lap WRT Failure". Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  26. Jamie Klein (12 January 2022). "Kubica, Deletraz join Prema LMP2 team for 2022 WEC". Autosport. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  27. European Le Mans Series. "DELÉTRAZ, HABSBURG TO JOIN CORREA AT PREMA FOR 2022 ELMS CAMPAIGN". Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  28. Jamie Klein (3 October 2022). "Deletraz joins Wayne Taylor Racing for 2023 IMSA enduros". Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  29. Lloyd, Daniel (2023-10-13). "Deletraz Gives WTR Andretti Points Lead With Petit Pole – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  30. Kainz, Mathias. "IMSA: Kontroverser Crash bei Petit Le Mans entscheidet Titelkampf". Nau (in German). Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  31. Goodwin, Graham. "Louis Deletraz Joins Racing Team Turkey For 2023 ELMS". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  32. Euwema, Davey (2023-04-23). "Racing Team Turkey Wins Barcelona Thriller – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  33. Euwema, Davey (2023-07-16). "Algarve Pro Takes Dramatic Paul Ricard Victory – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  34. Kilbey, Stephen (16 July 2023). "Algarve Pro Wins 4H Le Castellet After Nail-Biting Finale (Updated)". dailysportscar.com.
  35. Kilbey, Stephen (26 August 2023). "United ORECA Wins 4H Aragon Thriller". dailysportscar.com.
  36. Euwema, Davey (2023-10-20). "United Beats APR in Rain-Affected 4H Algarve – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  37. "ELMS". www.europeanlemansseries.com. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  38. "#7 Toyota Wins Dramatic 6H Spa". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  39. Niedermair, Florian (2023-06-13). "Irre Le-Mans-Geschichte: Sieg mit gebrochenem Fuß". Motorsport-Magazin.com (in German). Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  40. Niedermair, Florian (2023-06-11). "24h Le Mans 2023: Ergebnis und alle Klassensieger". Motorsport-Magazin.com (in German). Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  41. Lloyd, Daniel (2023-07-10). "Monza Post-Race Notebook – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  42. Dagys, John (2023-09-10). "Kubica: Fuji Win Puts WRT in "Good Shape" for LMP2 Title – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  43. Kilbey, Stephen (4 November 2023). "#8 Toyota Crew Crowned Champions After Dominant Bahrain Victory". dailysportscar.com.
  44. Dagys, John (2023-11-04). "LMP2 Champions 'Didn't Expect' to Win Race in WRT 1-2 Finish – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
  45. DE, Motorsport- (2023-12-16). "Motorsport Schweiz | Auto Sport Schweiz". Motorsport - DE (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  46. "Deletraz & Taylor To Share Second WTR Acura | dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2023-08-17.
  47. Klein, Jamie (2024-01-29). "Deletraz "Proud" of Acura Podium Comeback Charge – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  48. "Deletraz Defeats Bourdais, WTRAndretti Acura Wins Sebring!". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
  49. Dagys, John (2024-03-16). "WTRAndretti Wins 12H Sebring With Deletraz's Late Move – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
  50. O'Connell, RJ (23 April 2024). "Ganassi Cadillac Exorcises Long Beach Demons With Victory". dailysportscar.com.
  51. "Orlen Team AO By TF ELMS Line-Up Set – WEC Champs Kubica and Deletraz Combine". Dailysportscar. 8 January 2024. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  52. Euwema, Davey (2024-06-13). "Estre Beats Lynn to 24H Le Mans Pole – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  53. "Deletraz takes impressive LMP2 pole for 24 Hours of Le Mans". Motorsport Week. 2024-06-13. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  54. "Louis Delétraz Results". motorsportstats.com. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
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