GT

Thomas Neubauer joins the family of official Ferrari drivers

18 Jan. 2024 • 14:36
by
EI
Thomas Neubauer has been announced as an official Ferrari driver as of the 2024 season. The 24-year-old Frenchman, previously a star in the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli and winner of one edition of the Ferrari Finali Mondiali, in 2022, has embarked on a new sporting adventure, becoming a works driver for the Prancing Horse. The driver’s programmme will be announced shortly.
© Ferrari Media

Born in Paris on 8 June 1999, after his first experience with karts and Formula Renault single-seaters, Neubauer debuted in the Maranello manufacturer's one-make series championship in 2019 and, in parallel, began his GT career with both Ferrari and other brands, focusing in particular on endurance racing from 2021.

 

In the Ferrari Challenge Europe, the Frenchman competed in 34 races over five seasons, becoming world champion at the 2022 Finali Mondiali in the main Trofeo Pirelli class with the 488 Challenge Evo. Thomas Neubauer also celebrated victories in high-profile events in the company’s one-make series, including a first place at Le Mans in June 2023, when the series was the support race for the Centenary 24 Hours, the top FIA WEC race won by the Ferrari 499P number 51.

 

In the last five years, Neubauer has been crowned champion in the GT World Challenge Europe, in the Silver class, taking two titles, one in the Sprint Cup (2019) and the other in the Endurance Cup (2022). This past season, the driver's record in the GT WC Europe series included three wins at Imola, the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and Barcelona; Neubauer also took the top step of the podium at the 24 Hours of Dubai and the 24 Hours of Nürburgring in the SP10 class. The French driver has appeared twice at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (2021 and 2023) in the LMGTE Am, both times at the wheel of a Ferrari 488 GTE.

 

Thomas Neubauer

 

« Being part of the group of official Ferrari drivers is the dream of so many drivers: having the opportunity to compete for the Prancing Horse is an honour and a great responsibility for me.

 

Over the past few years I have had the opportunity to get to know the Ferrari universe from the inside by participating in the single-marque championship. Many of my best memories from the last few seasons are linked to the Ferrari Challenge and the Finali Mondiali in Imola in 2022 when I won the title in the Trofeo Pirelli: reaching that goal in Italy, in front of such a passionate motorsport crowd was a thrill I will never forget.

 

I would like to mention another special experience in my career: winning the Ferrari Challenge race at Le Mans in 2023, in the run-up to the Centenary 24 Hours. It was a special achievement: 10 years earlier, I was in Le Mans with my father to watch the world’s most famous endurance race. It was on that occasion that I decided I wanted to become a professional driver, so standing on the top step of the podium in the Ferrari single-marque series, in front of such an extraordinary crowd, was a really meaningful moment for me. Now we turn a new page in the sport. I have high hopes and a goal: to achieve many triumphs with Ferrari.  My biggest dream? In the future, I would like to win a 24 Hours of Le Mans at the wheel of a Prancing Horse car, aiming to accomplish a feat that will be etched into motorsport history. »

 

Antonello Coletta (Global Head of Endurance and Corse Clienti)

 

« We are pleased to welcome Thomas to our family, a driver who has had the opportunity to claim some important triumphs and achievements both in the Ferrari Challenge – where he was crowned world champion in 2022 – and in endurance racing, proving to be a talent with great potential in this field as well. We are confident that Thomas, as he becomes part of the group of official drivers, will make a significant contribution to achieving our ambitious goals. »

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