Robin Frijns (born 7 August 1991) is a Dutch
motor racing
Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...
driver. He is the
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
Formula Renault 3.5 Series
The World Series Formula V8 3.5, formerly the World Series by Nissan from 1998 to 2004, the Formula Renault 3.5 Series from 2005 to 2015 and the Formula V8 3.5 in 2016 and 2017, was a motor racing series promoted by RPM Racing (1998–2004) and R ...
champion, and the first driver to have won the series in his debut season since
Robert Kubica
Robert Józef Kubica (; born 7 December 1984) is a Poles, Polish racing driver, racing and rally driver, rally driver. He was the first and, , the only Polish racing driver to compete in Formula One. Between 2006 and 2009 he drove for the BMW in ...
in
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
. Frijns is currently competing in
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, who is ...
driving for
Team ABT and in the
FIA World Endurance Championship
The FIA World Endurance Championship is an auto racing world championship organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The series supersedes the ACO's former Intercont ...
for
Team WRT
W Racing Team (WRT) is a Belgian auto racing team founded in 2009 by engineer and former head of Volkswagen Motorsport René Verbist, racing driver Vincent Vosse, and entrepreneur Yves Weerts. Since 2010 the team campaigns Audi R8 LMSs in severa ...
. Frijns achieved his first Formula E podium finish in his second outing in the category, and claimed his maiden victory at the
2019 Paris E-Prix. In 2021 Frijns won 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 racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...
in the LMP2 class driving for Team WRT, alongside
Ferdinand von Habsburg and
Charles Milesi
Charles Milesi (born 4 March 2001) is a French racing driver. He is the son of Patrice Milesi who is also a racing driver.
Career
Early career
After success in karting, Milesi's driving career began in 2017 in Formula Renault. For two years, he ...
.
Career
Karting
Born in
Maastricht
Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...
,
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, Frijns has been an active kart racer in Belgium and France. In 2008, he finished third in the
KF2
KF2, is a kart racing class for top drivers aged 14 and up.
This class used to be called Intercontinental A (ICA) and has changed since January 2007 when Commission Internationale de Karting, CIK-Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA de ...
European Championship category and runner-up in the French Championship, at the same level.
Formula BMW
Frijns began his formula racing career in the
2009 Formula BMW Europe season
The 2009 Formula BMW Europe season was the second season of Formula BMW Europe championship. The championship was contested over sixteen races at eight meetings: seven of which supported Formula One Grands Prix and a meeting at the Masters of F ...
with Josef Kaufmann Racing. He finished third overall in the championship, with a win at
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 six podiums. He also finished as the highest-placed rookie in the championship.
Formula Renault
Formula Renault 2.0
Frijns made his first attempt at
Formula Renault 2.0, racing at the
Spa-Francorchamps
The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), frequently referred to as ''Spa'', is a motor-racing circuit located in Stavelot, Belgium. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, hosting its first Grand Prix in 1925, and has he ...
round of the
2010 Northern European Cup. Driving for Josef Kaufman Racing once more, Frijns finished second in the first race of the meeting, fifth in the second race, and won the third.
In
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
, Frijns joined the
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 championship full-time, continuing to drive for Josef Kaufman Racing. He won the title on his first attempt, winning five races over the course of the season – including both races at
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 finishing forty-five points ahead of his nearest rival,
Carlos Sainz Jr.
Carlos Sainz Vázquez de Castro (; born 1 September 1994), otherwise known as Carlos Sainz Jr. or simply Carlos Sainz, is a Formula One drivers from Spain, Spanish racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari. He is th ...
Frijns also competed in the
Northern European Cup, finishing the season fourth overall, despite missing the
Oschersleben
Oschersleben () is a town in the Börde district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The population in 1905 was 13,271, in 2020 about 19,000.
History
On November 23, 994 Oschersleben was first mentioned in a document by the Emperor Otto III. In 1235 ...
,
Most
Most or Möst or ''variation'', may refer to:
Places
* Most, Kardzhali Province, a village in Bulgaria
* Most (city), a city in the Czech Republic
** Most District, a district surrounding the city
** Most Basin, a lowland named after the city
** A ...
and
Monza
Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...
rounds of the championship. Over the course of the season, he won one race and finished on the podium seven times.
Formula Renault 3.5
In
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
, Frijns made the transition to the
Formula Renault 3.5 Series
The World Series Formula V8 3.5, formerly the World Series by Nissan from 1998 to 2004, the Formula Renault 3.5 Series from 2005 to 2015 and the Formula V8 3.5 in 2016 and 2017, was a motor racing series promoted by RPM Racing (1998–2004) and R ...
– the highest tier of the
World Series by Renault
The Renault Sport Series (formerly known as World Series by Renault) is a motor racing series. The series latterly consisted of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, and used to contain the Renault Sport Trophy and the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. T ...
– this time racing for British team
Fortec Motorsport
Fortec Motorsport Ltd. is a motor-racing team that races in the GB3 Championship. The team was bought in 1995 by current owner Richard Dutton.
Past drivers for the team include Juan Pablo Montoya, Gianmaria Bruni, Danny Watts, Jamie Green, ...
s.
As in 2011, Frijns won the title on his first attempt, winning races at
Motorland Aragón
MotorLand Aragón (alternative Spanish name: Circuito de Alcañiz) is a race track used for motorsports located in Alcañiz, Spain.
The circuit was designed by German architect Hermann Tilke in conjunction with the British architectural bus ...
, the
Moscow Raceway
Moscow Raceway is an FIA-approved motor racing venue, which is situated in the Volokolamsky District of Moscow Oblast, near the villages of Sheludkovo and Fedyukovo, from Moscow, Russia. It opened on 13 July 2012 for its first event as the fifth ...
and 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 wan ...
, and scoring five podiums and four poles over the course of the season.
Frijns' title came amidst controversy when he was involved in a collision with rival driver
Jules Bianchi
Jules Lucien André Bianchi (; 3 August 1989 – 17 July 2015) was a French motor racing driver who drove for the Marussia F1 Team in the FIA Formula One World Championship.
Bianchi had previously raced in Formula Renault 3.5, GP2 and Form ...
in the final race of the season in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
.
Bianchi passed Frijns at the start of lap 21, and he quickly came under more pressure from
Carlin driver
Kevin Magnussen
Kevin Jan Magnussen (born 5 October 1992) is a Danish racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Haas F1 Team.
He is the son of four-time Le Mans winner and former Formula One driver Jan Magnussen. Kevin Magnussen came up through McLa ...
. Magnussen made an attempt to pass Frijns at the Repsol corner, but Frijns moved to block him. The move forced Bianchi wide, and he skirted across the gravel trap and into the wall and retirement. Frijns went on to finish the race in seventh place, but race stewards decided that he had caused an avoidable collision and twenty-five seconds were added to his race time, demoting him to fourteenth place. As Bianchi had failed to score, and fellow title rival
Sam Bird
Sam Jamie Bird (born 9 January 1987) is a British professional racing driver who currently drives for Jaguar TCS Racing in the FIA Formula E World Championship.
Career
Formula BMW
Bird made his name in single seater racing in the Formula B ...
had failed to score enough points, Frijns' title remained intact. In the days following the meeting, Bianchi accused Frijns of intentionally running him off the road, a charge which Frijns denied.
GP2 Series
After the end of 2012, Frijns announced that he would not compete in Formula Renault 3.5 in
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
and after his announcement at Sauber as test driver, his new team expressed their desire for Frijns to be racing in 2013 as he would not be testing for them full-time in .
After an impressive test with
Mercedes'
DTM team, Frijns was not offered a drive with the manufacturer. Frijns instead opted to try for a
GP2 seat, and tested with veteran team
Trident Racing
Trident Racing is a motor racing team that competes in single-seater formula racing. It was founded in 2006 in order to compete in the GP2 championship, which was Europe's second highest-ranking single-seater formula below Formula One. Trident is ...
and new team
Russian Time
Russian Time (previously known as RT Russian Time) was a Russian motor racing team founded by Igor Mazepa to compete in the GP2 Series, a category of open-wheel racing cars designed to prepare drivers for Formula One.
From 2015 to 2018, the team ...
. Frijns showed impressive pace and Trident's team principal Maurizio Salvadori praised him and stated his intentions to have Frijns race for the team. However a lack of funding put him on the sidelines for the start of
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
in Malaysia.
Before the second race in Bahrain, Frijns announced that he would race with new-for-2013 team
Hilmer for the second event of the season, replacing
Conor Daly
Conor J. Daly (born December 15, 1991) is an American professional racing driver who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 20 Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing, and part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 50 Chevrolet C ...
and partnering
Pål Varhaug
Pål Varhaug (born 26 January 1991 in Stavanger) is a professional racing driver from Norway.
Career
Karting
Varhaug began his motorsport career in karting in 2005, finishing fifth in the Norwegian Championship ICA Junior category. He also ...
. Frijns qualified in a very respectable 10th position ahead of pre-season favourite
James Calado
James John Calado (born 13 June 1989) is a British professional racing driver from England, currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship and other selected GT races for AF Corse. He won the LMGTE Pro class of the 2017 FIA World ...
, but struggled to adapt to the new
Pirelli
Pirelli & C. S.p.A. is a multinational tyre manufacturer based in Milan, Italy. The company, which has been listed on the Milan Stock Exchange since 1922, is the 6th-largest tyre manufacturer and is focused on the consumer production of tyre ...
tyres in the races, before a collision in the first race with
Stéphane Richelmi
Stéphane Richelmi (born 17 March 1990 in Monte Carlo) is a professional racing driver from Monaco. He is the son of former World Rally Championship driver Jean-Pierre Richelmi.
Career
Formula Renault 1.6 & 2.0
Richelmi began his Formula racing ...
whilst in a points-scoring position compromised his weekend. Team principal Franz Hilmer however was impressed with Frijns and hoped he could compete full-time with the team in 2013.
In only his second weekend, Frijns took a win and a second place at
Circuit de Catalunya
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya () is a motorsport race track in Montmeló, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. With long straights and a variety of corners, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is seen as an all-rounder circuit. The track has stands ...
supporting the
2013 Spanish Grand Prix
The 2013 Spanish Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 Gran Premio de España 2013) was a Formula One motor race that was held on 12 May 2013 at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló, Spain. The race was the fifth round of the 2013 season, and ma ...
.
Formula One
On 18 October 2012,
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 u ...
announced that Frijns would be driving their car during the third round of Young Drivers Test in
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area.
...
alongside the team's testing and reserve driver
Esteban Gutiérrez
Esteban Manuel Gutiérrez Gutiérrez (; born 5 August 1991) is a Mexican racing driver currently representing Mercedes in Formula One, Formula E and esports and Inter Europol Competition in World Endurance Championship.
Previously from 2013 t ...
. As the highest-placed Formula Renault driver not attached to any established Formula One team, Frijns was also added to
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 ...
's line-up for the test.
Reflecting on Frijns' 2012 season,
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
commentator Ben Evans opined that "anything less than a Formula One race seat next year would be a travesty".
On 23 November 2012, it was announced that Robin Frijns would become part of
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 u ...
, and would serve as test and reserve driver in 2013.
On 21 January 2014, Frijns confirmed that he will be a reserve driver for
Caterham
Caterham () is a town in the Tandridge District of Surrey, England. The town is administratively divided into two: Caterham on the Hill, and Caterham Valley, which includes the main town centre in the middle of a dry valley but rises to equal ...
in the 2014 season.
Sports car racing
In 2015, Frijns joined
Belgium Belgian Audi Club Team WRT to drive an
Audi R8
The Audi R8 is a mid-engine, 2-seater sports car, which uses Audi's trademark quattro permanent all-wheel drive system. It was introduced by the German car manufacturer Audi AG in 2006.
The car is exclusively designed, developed, and manufactu ...
at the
Blancpain GT Series
GT World Challenge Europe (known as the Blancpain GT Series between 2014 and 2019) is a sports car racing series organised by SRO Motorsports Group. It features grand tourer racing cars modified from production road cars complying with the FIA's G ...
, partnering with
Laurens Vanthoor
Laurens Vanthoor (; born 8 May 1991) is a Belgian professional racing driver currently racing for Porsche Motorsport as a factory driver in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. He currently resides in Waiblingen outside of Stuttgart.
...
and
Jean-Karl Vernay
Jean-Karl "J. K." Vernay (born 31 October 1987) is a French professional racing driver. He was 2010 Indy Lights and 2017 TCR International Series champion. He has won races at the World Touring Car Cup, where he finished fifth in 2018 and won the ...
.
Formula E
2015–16 season
On 24 August 2015, it was announced that Frijns would partner fellow former Sauber test driver
Simona de Silvestro at
Andretti Andretti is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include:
Surname
* Mario Andretti (born 1940), Italian-born American father of the prominent Andretti racing family:
** Michael Andretti (born 1962), son of Mario
*** Marco A ...
for the
2015–16 Formula E season. He came 10th in his
first race and scored a podium in Putrajaya. Frijns finished in the points in the following two races making him the first Formula E rookie to finish his first four races in the top 10. After four races, Frijns had scored all of Andretti's points tally of 21. He finished 12th in the standings.
2016–17 season
Frijns was retained by Andretti for the
2016-17 Formula E season and partnered
Antonio Felix da Costa.
2018–19 season
After one season absent, Frijns joined
Envision Virgin Racing
The Envision Racing Formula E Team is a British motor racing team based at Silverstone Park and majority-owned by Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Envision Energy that competes in Formula E.
Currently, the two drivers are Nick Cassidy and Sé ...
for the
2018-2019 Formula E season, partnered by
Sam Bird
Sam Jamie Bird (born 9 January 1987) is a British professional racing driver who currently drives for Jaguar TCS Racing in the FIA Formula E World Championship.
Career
Formula BMW
Bird made his name in single seater racing in the Formula B ...
. The Envision Virgin Racing team, suffered a difficult start to the season in
Ad Diriyah, with Frijns starting from 20th position on the grid, just behind teammate Bird. Frijns managed to make his way up to 12th. He took his first podium for the team at the
Marrakesh E-Prix, coming very close to overtaking
Mahindra Racing's Jérome d'Ambrosio, but ultimately finishing second. Frijns drove a controlled race in
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
, finishing in fifth, whilst Bird took the race victory. A forgettable weekend came next in
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
, starting 20th, after both
Envision Virgin Racing
The Envision Racing Formula E Team is a British motor racing team based at Silverstone Park and majority-owned by Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Envision Energy that competes in Formula E.
Currently, the two drivers are Nick Cassidy and Sé ...
cars hit problems in qualifying, battling his way up to 11th. Teammate
Sam Bird
Sam Jamie Bird (born 9 January 1987) is a British professional racing driver who currently drives for Jaguar TCS Racing in the FIA Formula E World Championship.
Career
Formula BMW
Bird made his name in single seater racing in the Formula B ...
, took the chequered flag first in Formula E's 50th ePrix 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 Delt ...
, but was denied the win after being found guilty of hitting
André Lotterer
André Lotterer (born 19 November 1981) is a German professional racing driver currently racing for Avalanche Andretti Formula E in the FIA Formula E Championship. He is best known for his success in endurance racing with the works Audi team, ...
, dropping Bird down to 6th place.
Venturi's Edoardo Mortara
Edoardo "Edo" Mortara (born 12 January 1987) is a Swiss-Italian- French professional racing driver for Maserati MSG Racing. Born in Geneva, Switzerland, he holds triple nationality from all three countries. He is a former Formula Three Eurose ...
inherited the race victory, promoting
Lucas di Grassi
Lucas Tucci di Grassi (born 11 August 1984) is a Brazilian professional racing driver who competes in the FIA Formula E World Championship for Mahindra Racing. He became the FIA Formula E Champion in 2016–2017, achieved three overall podium ...
into second and crucially Frijns to third, for his second podium finish of the 2018-19 season. For the next race in
Sanya
Sanya (; also spelled Samah) is the southernmost city on Hainan Island, and one of the four prefecture-level cities of Hainan Province in South China.
According to the 2020 census, the total population of Sanya was 1,031,396 inhabitants, li ...
, Frijns had run in the top 10 for the entirety of the race and was set for big points, until a tangle with
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 Formula ...
on the penultimate lap, ended Frijns' race after crashing heavily into Lucas di Grassi. Frijns finished P4, for the
Rome ePrix
The Rome ePrix is an annual race of the single-seater, electrically powered Formula E championship held at the Circuito Cittadino dell'EUR in Rome, Italy. The race became official when local government unanimously approved of the race. It f ...
, making use of Attack Mode to pass
Buemi and
Oliver Rowland
Oliver Rowland (born 10 August 1992) is a British racing driver. He is currently competing full-time in Formula E driving for Mahindra Racing. He has previously competed for Manor Motorsport in the 2018 WEC season, and he was also previously t ...
. For the
Paris ePrix
The Paris ePrix is an annual race of the single-seater, electrically powered Formula E championship, held in Paris, France. It was first raced in the 2015-16 season.
Circuit Circuit des Invalides
The track is in length and features 14 turns ...
, Frijns started from 3rd on the grid, behind Buemi and Rowland, but when both drivers hit trouble, he took the lead and dominated in tricky conditions, mastering torrential rain and hailstones.
André Lotterer
André Lotterer (born 19 November 1981) is a German professional racing driver currently racing for Avalanche Andretti Formula E in the FIA Formula E Championship. He is best known for his success in endurance racing with the works Audi team, ...
closed in on Frijns, who had a damaged front wing, towards the end of the race, but the Dutch driver did enough to hold on and win the ePrix. On the cool-down lap, Frijns stopped at a marshall's post to pick up a Dutch flag, which he revealed had been pre-agreed. At the next race in
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
, Frijns had started towards the back of the grid, but made several overtakes, most notably one on
Alex Lynn
Alexander George Lynn (born 17 September 1993) is a British racing driver. He most recently competed in Formula E, driving for Mahindra Racing in the 2021 season, winning the second race of his home ePrix in London. Lynn has also competed full- ...
at Tabac, to get him into a top 10 position. He pushed his luck with the overtaking however and tried an ambitious move on
Alexander Sims into Ste. Devote. It didn't pay off and it ended Frijns' race. In
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, Frijns had technical issues in the group qualifying stages and started plum-last in 22nd. Whilst he made progress, it wasn't enough for points and he languished in 13th. At the next race in
Bern
german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese
, neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen
, website ...
, Frijns was hit by
Jérome d'Ambrosio, before they even got to the first corner. Frijns speared across the track and into
Alex Lynn
Alexander George Lynn (born 17 September 1993) is a British racing driver. He most recently competed in Formula E, driving for Mahindra Racing in the 2021 season, winning the second race of his home ePrix in London. Lynn has also competed full- ...
and was forced to retire with broken suspension.
d'Ambrosio D'Ambrosio or d'Ambrosio is an Italian surname.
It also may refer to:
* Alfredo D'Ambrosio (1871–1914), Italian violinist and composer
* Antonino D'Ambrosio (born 1971), Italian-American author, filmmaker, producer, and visual artist
* Brian An ...
would receive a penalty for the collision. For the finale weekend in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, Frijns would be challenging for the title, however in race 1, he was victim to the bumper-car style driving of his Formula E counterparts and was forced to retire from the race. For the second race, Frijns made it into the Superpole shootout and qualified second behind
Alexander Sims. At the start of the race, Frijns lost second to Sébastien Buemi, but overtook the Nissan and the
BMW i Andretti drivers to take his second ever Formula E victory. The win put him 4th in the drivers championship after a last-lap crash between
Mitch Evans
Mitchell William Evans (born 24 June 1994) is a New Zealand professional racing driver. He currently drives for the Jaguar TCS Racing team in Formula E. In 2012, he won the GP3 Series and he raced in the GP2 Series for four years, achieving ...
and
Lucas di Grassi
Lucas Tucci di Grassi (born 11 August 1984) is a Brazilian professional racing driver who competes in the FIA Formula E World Championship for Mahindra Racing. He became the FIA Formula E Champion in 2016–2017, achieved three overall podium ...
, also helping the
Envision Virgin team take 3rd in the constructors championship from
Nissan e.Dams.
2019–20 season
Frijns remained with
Envision
Envision may refer to:
Organizations
* Envision EMI, a management company based in Virginia, USA
* Envision Energy, a wind turbine manufacturer and energy technology company based in Shanghai, China
* Envision Financial, a financial institution ...
for the
2019–20 Formula E season alongside
Sam Bird
Sam Jamie Bird (born 9 January 1987) is a British professional racing driver who currently drives for Jaguar TCS Racing in the FIA Formula E World Championship.
Career
Formula BMW
Bird made his name in single seater racing in the Formula B ...
again. Frijns started the season well taking 5th place after driving through the field in the first race of the
2019 Diriyah ePrix, but crashed out of the second race to record a DNF. During qualifying at the next race at
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
, Frijns spun spectacularly whilst on his fast lap & consigned himself to the back of the grid. He struggled in the race & finished a lowly 15th. He returned to form at
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
& was running high up in the points & in podium contention until he was wiped out by the
Mercedes EQ
Mercedes-EQ is a series of battery electric vehicles manufactured by Mercedes-Benz. The first model was previewed at the Paris Motor Show in 2016 with the Generation EQ concept vehicle. Mercedes-Benz intends to produce ten EQ models by 2022, thre ...
car of
Nyck de Vries
Hendrik Johannes Nicasius "Nyck" de Vries (; born 6 February 1995) is a Dutch racing driver who is currently serving as the reserve driver for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team. He is confirmed to be driving full-time in Formula 1 at Scuderia A ...
who was using Fanboost to attack
Antonio Felix Da Costa. Frijns continued, albeit well down the order & was eventually disqualified having finished out of the top 10 anyway. In the next race in
Marrakesh
Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...
, Frijns made progress up the field but only finished 12th. He ended the season in 12th with 58 points.
2020–21 season
Frijns remained with
Envision
Envision may refer to:
Organizations
* Envision EMI, a management company based in Virginia, USA
* Envision Energy, a wind turbine manufacturer and energy technology company based in Shanghai, China
* Envision Financial, a financial institution ...
for the
2020–21 season, alongside a new teammate,
Nick Cassidy
Nick Cassidy (born 19 August 1994) is a New Zealand racing driver, currently competing in Formula E for Envision Racing, and in the World Endurance Championship and Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters with AF Corse. He has won the 2017 championship in ...
. He scored his first points of the season in round 2 in Diriyah with a pole position and a second place finish. He would match the second in monaco, taking it at the line from
António Félix da Costa
António Maria de Mello Breyner Félix da Costa (born 31 August 1991) is a Portuguese professional racing driver for the Porsche Formula E Team and the 2019–20 Formula E Drivers' Champion.
He won the Macau Grand Prix invitational Formula Thre ...
and finishing 0.024s infront. There were 2 fastest laps in the first Valencia and second London races, and finished the championship in 5th on 89 points.
2021–22 season
Frijns stayed with
Envision
Envision may refer to:
Organizations
* Envision EMI, a management company based in Virginia, USA
* Envision Energy, a wind turbine manufacturer and energy technology company based in Shanghai, China
* Envision Financial, a financial institution ...
alongside
Nick Cassidy
Nick Cassidy (born 19 August 1994) is a New Zealand racing driver, currently competing in Formula E for Envision Racing, and in the World Endurance Championship and Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters with AF Corse. He has won the 2017 championship in ...
for the
2021–22 season. Frijns finished 7th in the championship, with four podiums and 126 points.
2022–23 season
After four straight seasons with
Envision
Envision may refer to:
Organizations
* Envision EMI, a management company based in Virginia, USA
* Envision Energy, a wind turbine manufacturer and energy technology company based in Shanghai, China
* Envision Financial, a financial institution ...
, Frijns switched to new team
ABT Sportsline, teaming up with
Nico Müller
Nico Müller (born 25 February 1992 in Thun) is a Swiss professional racing driver. He is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Peugeot Sport.
Career
Karting
Müller began his karting career in 2004 and the followi ...
for the
2022–23 season.
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
On 29 January 2018, it was announced that Frijns will drive for
Audi Sport in the
2018 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, replacing
Mattias Ekström
Mattias Ekström (born 14 July 1978 in Falun, Sweden) is a racing driver from Sweden. He competed in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters for Audi from 2001 until his retirement in 2018, and has been competing in the FIA World Rallycross Championship ...
, who elected to focus solely on the
FIA World Rallycross Championship
The FIA World Rallycross Championship (official abbreviation is World RX) is a rallycross series organised by the FIA in conjunction with series promoter Rallycross Promoter GmbH (founded by Red Bull and KW25). From the inaugural season in 2014 ...
.
2019
Frijns partnered Nico Müller for the 2019 season at Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline & finished 5th overall in the drivers championship down to his consistency more than results, having stood on the podium 5 times without a win.
2020
In 2020 Frijns stayed at Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline once again partnering
Nico Müller
Nico Müller (born 25 February 1992 in Thun) is a Swiss professional racing driver. He is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Peugeot Sport.
Career
Karting
Müller began his karting career in 2004 and the followi ...
. The 2020 season was his most successful season as of yet and saw Frijns take his maiden win in the DTM at his home circuit in Assen. He took a further two wins and 10 podiums to finish the season in third position right behind his teammate. At the end of the season Audi decided to end its official engagement in the DTM which resulted in Frijns leaving the championship.
FIA World Endurance Championship
2021
On 21 January 2021,
Team WRT
W Racing Team (WRT) is a Belgian auto racing team founded in 2009 by engineer and former head of Volkswagen Motorsport René Verbist, racing driver Vincent Vosse, and entrepreneur Yves Weerts. Since 2010 the team campaigns Audi R8 LMSs in severa ...
announced it would enter an
Oreca 07
The Oreca 07 is a Le Mans Prototype built by French manufacturer Oreca to meet the 2017 FIA and ACO LMP2 regulations. It made its official race debut in the opening round of the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the 24 Hours of Dayto ...
in the
FIA World Endurance Championship
The FIA World Endurance Championship is an auto racing world championship organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The series supersedes the ACO's former Intercont ...
with Robin Frijns as one of its drivers. It was later announced he would share the car with
Charles Milesi
Charles Milesi (born 4 March 2001) is a French racing driver. He is the son of Patrice Milesi who is also a racing driver.
Career
Early career
After success in karting, Milesi's driving career began in 2017 in Formula Renault. For two years, he ...
and
Ferdinand Habsburg. After a difficult first race the team won the three last races, including the
2021 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 89th 24 Hours of Le Mans (French: ''89e 24 Heures du Mans'') was a 24-hour automobile endurance race for Le Mans Prototype (LMP) and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance (LMGTE) cars held between 21 and 22 August 2021, at the ...
, claiming the World Championship on their debut. Frijns was at the wheel of the car at the 24 Hours of Le Mans when the sister car stopped on the final lap while leading the race. He subsequently inherited the lead and was able to fend off the chasing Oreca 07 from Tom Blomqvist and win the race by just over 7 tenths of a second.
2022
For the 2022 season Frijns remained at Team WRT, partnering
Rene Rast and
Sean Gelael
Muhammad Sean Ricardo Gelael (born 1 November 1996) is an Indonesian racing driver currently competing with WRT in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He competed in GP2 Series from 2015 to 2016, and the FIA Formula 2 Championship from 2017 ...
. The season started out strongly, as after a second place in the
1000 Miles of Sebring
The 1,000 Miles of Sebring is a Sports car racing, sports car race that is held at the Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II Air Base, in Sebring, Florida, Sebring, Florida, USA. It was cre ...
Frijns and his teamamtes won the
6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps
The 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (formerly the 1000 Kilometres of Spa-Francorchamps) is an endurance race for sports cars held at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.
History
The Spa 24 Hours had been introduced in 1924, and other races f ...
, taking the championship lead in the process. However, despite the Dutchman taking pole for 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 racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...
at the following round, the team would be forced to retire from the race after Frijns crashed during the 18th hour. Another setback came at the subsequent
6 Hours of Monza
The 6 Hours of Monza (formerly the 1000 Kilometres of Monza and known after 1966 as "Trofeo Filippo Caracciolo") is an endurance race, mainly for sports cars, which is held at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Italy.
Overview
Despi ...
, as a twelfth place meant that the team once again would miss out on points. Despite a strong end to the season, in which Frijns and his comrades took victories at
Fuji Fuji may refer to:
Places China
* Fuji, Xiangcheng City (付集镇), town in Xiangcheng City, Henan
Japan
* Mount Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan
* Fuji River
* Fuji, Saga, town in Saga Prefecture
* Fuji, Shizuoka, city in Shizuoka Prefectur ...
, where Frijns experienced an issue with the team radio during the second part of the race, meaning that he couldn't communicate with his engineer, and
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 ...
, the point-less middle part of the campaign meant that the team missed out on the championship to
Jota
Jota may refer to:
__NOTOC__
* Iota (Ι, ι), the name of the 9th letter in the Greek alphabet;
* (figuratively) ''Something very small'', based on the fact that the letter Iota (lat. i) is the smallest character in the alphabet;
* The name of the ...
, finishing second in the standings.
Racing record
Career summary
† As Frijns was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
Complete Formula BMW Europe results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete GP2 Series results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete Formula One participations
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicates fastest lap)
Complete Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup results
Complete Formula E results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.
Complete Bathurst 12 Hour results
Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frijns, Robin
1991 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Maastricht
Dutch racing drivers
Formula BMW Europe drivers
Formula Renault 2.0 NEC drivers
Formula Renault Eurocup drivers
FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy drivers
World Series Formula V8 3.5 drivers
GP2 Series drivers
Blancpain Endurance Series drivers
24 Hours of Spa drivers
Formula E drivers
24 Hours of Daytona drivers
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters drivers
24H Series drivers
ADAC GT Masters drivers
Stock Car Brasil drivers
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers
FIA World Endurance Championship drivers
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
Josef Kaufmann Racing drivers
Fortec Motorsport drivers
Hilmer Motorsport drivers
W Racing Team drivers
Andretti Autosport drivers
Audi Sport drivers
Abt Sportsline drivers
Envision Virgin Racing drivers
Jota Sport drivers
Phoenix Racing drivers
Nürburgring 24 Hours drivers