Robert Wickens

Robert Wickens
Wickens at the 2011 Nürburgring World series by Renault round
Nationality	Canadian
Born	(1989-03-13) March 13, 1989 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
DTM career
Debut season	2012
Current team	HWA AG
Car no.	6
Former teams	Mücke Motorsport
Starts	66
Wins	5
Poles	4
Fastest laps	4
Best finish	4th in 2016
Finished last season	4th (124 pts)
Previous series
2011 2010 2009 2009 2008–09 2007–08 2007 2007–08 2006 2006 2005–06	Formula Renault 3.5 Series GP3 Series FIA Formula Two British Formula 3 Formula Three Euroseries A1 Grand Prix Champ Car Atlantic World Series by Renault Formula BMW ADAC Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Formula BMW USA
Championship titles
2011 2006	Formula Renault 3.5 Series Formula BMW USA
Awards
BBC Rising Star Award, INSIDE TRACK Canadian Racing Competing At The Highest Levels of International Competition

Robert Tyler Wickens (born March 13, 1989) is a Canadian racing driver, currently driving in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters for the HWA Team.^[1] Wickens is also a part of the revitalized Mercedes-Benz Junior Team, together with Christian Vietoris and Roberto Merhi. In 2009 he finished in second place in the FIA Formula Two Championship, and in 2010 he was runner-up in the GP3 Series. In his return to Formula Renault 3.5, where he competed in 2008, he won the 2011 season championship with Carlin Motorsport, with backing of Marussia. Wickens then left the series to race in the DTM.

Career

Karting

Wickens started his karting career in 2001 with wins in the Junior Heavy Marigold Fall Classic and the Junior Lite Iron Man Enduro. He was three-time champion of the Sunoco Ron Fellows Karting Championship in 2002, 2003, and 2005 in various classes. He also won races in ASN Canadian National Formula Junior, SKUSA ProMoto Tour, BeaveRun, PA, 80cc Junior OKRA Grand National, and Junior Heavy Mosport Grand Prix.

Formula BMW

In 2005, when he was sixteen years old, Wickens started his formula racing career. Thanks to Junior Scholarship from BMW, he participated in Formula BMW USA for Team Apex Racing USA. He scored five podiums including two wins, which brought him third place and best rookie's title. Also he competed in Formula BMW World Final, where he finished sixth.

He remained in the series in 2006 for the same team, but after few races switched to the EuroInternational, because he became a Red Bull Junior Team driver.^[2] The Canadian amassed three wins, seven podiums and won the championship. Besides repeat appearance in Formula BMW World Final, Wickens was guest driver at the Nürburgring Formula BMW ADAC round, which was a support race for the Formula One European Grand Prix. After three months he again appeared at Nürburg to competing in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 for Motopark Academy.

Champ Car Atlantic

Wickens driving for the Red Bull Junior Team at Houston during the 2007 Champ Car Atlantic season.

In 2007 Wickens moved to the Champ Car Atlantic for Red Bull/Team Forsythe. He took one win and another three podiums and was third in season standings, yielding Raphael Matos and Franck Perera.

Formula Renault 3.5 Series

After four races at the end of the 2007 season,^[3] Wickens moved up to the Formula Renault 3.5 Series for the 2008 season, with Carlin Motorsport.^[4] He claimed one win at Silverstone^[5] and finished season on the twelfth place with 55 points.

Formula Three Euroseries

Apart from involvement in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, in 2008 Wickens competed in Formula Three Euroseries with Signature-Plus, missing the Hockenheim, Mugello and Brands Hatch rounds. His best results came at the second, rainy races on the Norisring and Bugatti Circuit, where he won. Both times, due to insufficient distance covered, half points were awarded. He continued his participation in 2009, but switched to Kolles & Heinz Union and only competed in the Hockenheim and Dijon rounds, failing to score a point.

FIA Formula Two Championship

Wickens was the only North American driver in the revamped FIA Formula Two Championship for the 2009 season, driving car number 12.^[6] Wickens dominated the opening race of the series, leading every lap from pole position to become the first driver since Philippe Streiff in September 1984 to win an international Formula Two race. He repeated that in race two, to lead the championship. However, those were his only two wins of the season, as he struggled with reliability later in the season. Despite five retirements, Wickens ended up as the runner-up in the championship, albeit 51 points behind runaway champion Andy Soucek.

In November 2009 Wickens revealed that he had held "off the record" talks with several Formula 1 teams, and believe that his chances of driving in Formula 1 were increased by the fact that he is the only potential rookie North American driver who currently holds a valid FIA superlicence.^[7]

In June 2011 it was announced that Wickens had been signed to the Virgin Racing team as a reserve driver but that he would continue to race in the GP3 series.

GP3 Series

In 2010 Wickens raced in the GP3 Series with Status Grand Prix.^[8] After getting third place in Barcelona qualifying,^[9] a good start and Nigel Melker retiring on the opening lap upped him to second place in the first race.^[10] In the second race he started from seventh place and made his way up to fourth, which allowed him to lead the driver's standings.^[11]

Formula Renault 3.5 Series

Robert Wickens at the 2011 Nürburgring World series by Renault round

Wickens was crowned the champion of the series in 2011, after edging out teammate Jean-Éric Vergne at the final race.

DTM

Wickens, Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters 2014 - Hockenheimring

On April 3, 2012, Mercedes announced the revival of the Mercedes-Benz Junior Team that has guided several notable drivers in their racing careers like Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Karl Wendlinger and Michael Schumacher. With that announcement came the news that Robert Wickens, together with the reigning Formula 3 Euroseries champion Roberto Merhi and DTM-sophomore Christian Vietoris, would become a part of the new Junior Team and that the three of them would drive for the Junior Team in the 2012 DTM season. In addition to that, 7-time F1 World Champion Michael Schumacher will be involved with the three drivers by serving as a mentor. Wickens' entry into the DTM meant that he would be one of two Canadians in the drivers field, together with Bruno Spengler.^[12]

Racing record

Career summary

^† As Wickens was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

Complete A1 Grand Prix results

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

Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results

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

Complete Formula Three Euroseries results

(key)

Complete Formula Two results

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

Complete GP3 Series results

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

American open–wheel racing results

(key)

Atlantic Championship

Complete Formula One participations

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

Complete DTM results

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

^† Driver retired, but was classified as they completed 75% of the winner's race distance.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robert Wickens.

• Official website robertwickens.com
• Robert Wickens at redbull-juniorteam.com
• Career statistic driverdb.com