Neel Jani (born 8 December 1983) is a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internati ...

professional Porsche factory driver. His father is from India and his mother is German Swiss. He achieved his greatest success winning the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose w ...

in 2016 after first joining Porsche's LMP1 programme for the 2014 season driving in the WEC. Previously, Jani drove for A1 Team Switzerland in

A1 Grand Prix A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) was a "single-make" open-wheel auto racing series that ran from 2005 until 2009. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themselves or a team, the usual format in most fo ...

, helping them win the 2007-2008 title and finishing runner-up in 2005-06 and 2008-09. He raced for PKV Racing in the North American

Champ Car Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Team ...

series in 2007. He is also a

GP2 Series The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Eccl ...

race-winner and former

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...

test driver. He joined

Formula E Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The series was conceived in 2011 in Paris by FIA president Jean Todt and Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, w ...

's Faraday Future Dragon Racing squad for the 2017/2018 season but left the team after one weekend. For the 2019-20 Formula E season, he returned with his home brand Porsche with teammate Andre Lotterer.

First steps

Born in

Rorschach Rorschach may refer to: * Hermann Rorschach, a Swiss psychiatrist ** Rorschach test, his psychological evaluation method involving inkblots * Rorschach (character), a character from the comics ''Watchmen'' * Rorschach (comic book), a 2020 comic * ...

, Jani started his career in

karting Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on fu ...

in 1998 where he stayed for two years before moving up to

Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup Formula Renault Eurocup was a Formula Renault motor racing championship. Eurocup raced only on European circuits. It served as a support series to the Formula Renault 3.5 Series as part of the World Series by Renault from 2005 to 2015. Renault ...

in 2001. In the same year, he also raced some races in

Italian Formula Renault Formula Renault 2.0 Italia was a Formula Renault 2.0 racing series that is based in Italy. The series raced mostly on Italian races but it had regular races at Belgium's Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and in Spain. Several Formula One drivers ...

. He stayed in both for 2002, again only racing part of the Italian Formula Renault season. In 2003, he moved to Formula Renault V6 Eurocup, driving for the Jenzer team. In that year, he finished second by only four points in the championship with Jenzer Motorsport. In 2004, he again raced in the Formula Renault V6 Eurocup but changed team, running with the French team DAMS, stating in the Swiss press, "This year, it is win or nothing." He finished fourth in the championship that year, while his old team, Jenzer Motorsport finished second with their rookie driver Ryan Sharp.

GP2

In 2005, he raced in the

with Racing Engineering alongside Borja García who he generally outperformed. He won two races, at the

Hungaroring The Hungaroring is a motorsport racetrack in Mogyoród, Pest County, Hungary where the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix is held. In 1986, it became the location of the first Formula One Grand Prix behind the Iron Curtain. Bernie Ecclestone ...

and at

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label= Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the Province of M ...

. He also managed to lead most of the

Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around the village a ...

race in a clearly slower car with some effective defensive driving. In 2006, he replaced injured

Nicolas Lapierre Nicolas Lapierre (born 2 April 1984) is a French professional racing driver. He raced with Toyota and with Alpine Racing in the past seasons of the FIA World Endurance Championship. He is a two-time winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring, with overal ...

in the

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...

and

Magny-Cours Magny-Cours () is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France. It is the home of the ''Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours'', a famous motor racing circuit (whose name is often abbreviated to 'Magny-Cours'). It formerly hosted the Formula On ...

races for English race team Arden. By doing this, he also secured his place in the record books, being the only person to ever drive in both GP2 and F1 on the same day.

A1 Grand Prix

He then raced in the new

series, representing his home nation with A1 Team Switzerland. In the inaugural season of A1GP, the team earned the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, e ...

for second place, with Jani consistently finishing on the podium, including a win at the Dubai Autodrome of the 2005-06 United Arab Emirates Sprint race. After leaving the first two rounds of the 2006-07 season to

Sébastien Buemi Sébastien Olivier Buemi (born 31 October 1988) is a Swiss professional racing driver, who competes in the FIA Formula E Championship for Envision Racing. He competed for Scuderia Toro Rosso in Formula One from 2009 to 2011. After leaving Formul ...

, Jani win another 2006–07 Malaysia Sprint race. Jani drove all the races for Switzerland in the 2007-08 season, taking the championship with four wins and 168 points. The team finished second in the 2008-09 season, again with Jani ever-present.

Formula One

He was linked to a reserve F1 seat with the

Sauber Sauber Motorsport AG is a Swiss motorsport engineering company. It was founded in 1970 (as PP Sauber AG) by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in . After operating it ...

team. In 2004 however, he moved back to GP2 the following year. In December 2005 he was confirmed as

Scuderia Toro Rosso Scuderia Toro Rosso (; literal translation of "Red Bull Racing Team"), commonly known as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, was an Italian Formula One racing team. It was one of two Formula One teams owned by Austrian beverage company Red ...

's third driver, alongside race drivers

Scott Speed Scott Andrew Speed (born January 24, 1983) is an American race car driver who has competed in numerous disciplines, including open-wheel, stock car, and rallycross racing. In , Speed became the first American driver to race in Formula One sin ...

and

Vitantonio Liuzzi Vitantonio "Tonio" Liuzzi (born 6 August 1980) is an Italian professional racing driver who formerly raced in Formula One for the Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Force India and HRT teams. Karting Born in Locorotondo, BA, Apulia, Liuzzi, like many a ...

, a role he held throughout the 2006 season, before departing to pursue a

career. For the 2008 F1 season, Neel was linked with the test driving role at

Red Bull Racing Red Bull Racing, also simply known as Red Bull or RBR and currently competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing, is a Formula One racing team, racing under an Austrian licence and based in the United Kingdom. It is one of two Formula One teams owned ...

. As his father is from India, Jani was linked to the proposed Indian-backed buyout of

BMW Sauber BMW has been involved in Formula One in a number of capacities since the inauguration of the World Drivers' Championship in . The company entered occasional races in the 1950s and 1960s (often under Formula Two regulations), before building th ...

but this did not succeed. In early 2010 he tested for

Force India Force India Formula One Team Limited, commonly known as Force India and later Sahara Force India, was a Formula One racing team and constructor based in Silverstone, United Kingdom, with an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 20 ...

and was rumoured to be involved with the team in 2010. However Force India signed Mercedes driver

Paul di Resta Paul di Resta (born 16 April 1986) is a British racing driver from Scotland, competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Peugeot Sport in their LMH entry. He drove in Formula One for Force India from to , and became a reserve drive ...

as their test and reserve driver. PLM12 12 Rebellion Lola Neel Jani

Champ Car

For

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

, Jani drove for the PKV Racing team in the Champ Car World Series. He ended the series in ninth place with a total of 231 points. After choosing to focus on the 2007-2008 A1GP season rather than stay in ChampCar for 2008, the series was absorbed by the IRL.

Sports car racing

In 2010, Jani became affiliated with Swiss privateer Rebellion Racing and teamed with

Nicolas Prost Nicolas "Nico" Jean Prost (born 18 August 1981) is a French professional racing driver. He most recently raced in the FIA Formula E Championship before quitting the series. Also, he was a longstanding racer in the FIA World Endurance Championshi ...

to race a Lola-Judd LMP1 at the

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 f ...

and

, finishing 2nd at Algarve and 5th at Silverstone. Also, he raced the second half of the FIA GT1 season for Matech in a

Ford GT The Ford GT is a mid-engine two-seater sports car manufactured and marketed by American automobile manufacturer Ford for the 2005 model year in conjunction with the company's 2003 centenary. The second generation Ford GT became available for ...

, finishing 7th in a championship race and 8th in other two. Rebellion R13 Jani Silverstone 2018 Club

Jani took up full-time WEC racing in 2012 with Rebellion, teaming with Prost and

Nick Heidfeld Nick Lars Heidfeld (born 10 May 1977) is a German professional racing driver. Despite scoring regular podium finishes in with Williams Grand Prix Engineering, Williams, and in and with BMW in Formula One, BMW Sauber, Heidfeld never won a rac ...

for two seasons, before joining the Porsche works team in 2014 and winning his first LMP1 race at

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

, Brazil, finishing third overall in the championship. The 2015 season saw Jani take another win at

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

in addition to 5 runner-up spots; again he finished third in the championship. Jani kicked off the 2016 WEC season with a win at

and a second place at

Spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneothe ...

before inheriting the win at the

in dramatic fashion when

Kazuki Nakajima is a retired Japanese professional racing driver who drove in Formula One for the Williams-Toyota team from to . In 2012 and 2014, he won the Super Formula Championship driving for TOM'S. Racing for Toyota Gazoo Racing, he won the 2018, 2019 ...

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

broke down in the lead with only one lap to go in the race.

Return to single-seaters: Formula E

On 24 August 2017, it was announced that Jani would make his debut in

FIA Formula E Championship Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The series was conceived in 2011 in Paris by FIA president Jean Todt and Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, who ...

in its fourth season at Faraday Future Dragon Racing with

Jérôme d'Ambrosio Jérôme D’Ambrosio (born 27 December 1985) is a Belgian former professional racing driver, motorsport executive and former Team Principal of Venturi Racing in Formula E. He has previously driven for Marussia Virgin Racing and Lotus F1 in ...

as his team mate. After two 18th place finishes at the season opener in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

, Jani abruptly quit the team focusing instead on his WEC commitments with Rebellion Racing. In December 2018, Porsche announced that Jani would return to the championship as part of their driver line-up for their maiden season. He raced for Porsche with team mate Andre Lotterer till the end of the 2019-20 season, finishing twentieth on the standings. For the

2020-21 Formula E Championship The hyphen-minus is the most commonly used type of hyphen, widely used in digital documents. It is the only character that looks like a minus sign or a dash in many character sets such as ASCII or on most keyboards, so it is also used as such. ...

, he was replaced by Pascal Wehrlein.

Personal life

Jani and his wife Lauren have a son.

Career results

Complete A1 Grand Prix results

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

Complete GP2 Series results

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

Formula One

( key)

American Open Wheel

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

Champ Car

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete GT1 World Championship results

Complete Superleague Formula results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) † Non Championship round

Le Mans Series results

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

American Le Mans Series results

Complete IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results

Complete Formula E results

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

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jani, Neel 1983 births Living people Swiss racing drivers People from Rorschach, Switzerland Italian Formula Renault 2.0 drivers French Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Formula Renault Eurocup drivers Formula Renault V6 Eurocup drivers GP2 Series drivers A1 Team Switzerland drivers Champ Car drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans winning drivers Swiss people of Indian descent European Le Mans Series drivers Formula Lista Junior drivers American Le Mans Series drivers FIA GT1 World Championship drivers Olympiacos CFP (Superleague Formula team) drivers Porsche Supercup drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers Formula E drivers Swiss people of German descent WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers Jenzer Motorsport drivers DAMS drivers Arden International drivers KV Racing Technology drivers Rebellion Racing drivers Porsche Motorsports drivers Dragon Racing drivers Swiss Formula One drivers Sportspeople from the canton of St. Gallen A1 Grand Prix drivers Porsche Formula E Team drivers Racing Engineering drivers Chip Ganassi Racing drivers