Robert Wickens

Robert Wickens
Robert Wickens
Born	March 13, 1989 (age 37); Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Professional racing driver
Years active	2001–present
Known for	Competing in IMSA SportsCar Championship, 2011 Formula Renault 3.5 Series champion, 2018 IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year

Robert Tyler Wickens (born March 13, 1989) is a Canadian professional racing driver hailing from Guelph, Ontario. He currently competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship's Sprint Cup, representing DXDT Racing. Wickens secured second place in both the 2009 FIA Formula Two Championship and the 2010 GP3 Series. Returning to Formula Renault 3.5, he captured the 2011 title with Carlin Motorsport, backed by Marussia. Subsequently, he transitioned into DTM racing with the HWA Team.

Following his departure from DTM in 2017, Wickens joined Schmidt Peterson Motorsports for the 2018 IndyCar Series. He earned pole position during his debut at the St. Petersburg Grand Prix. Unfortunately, his season was cut short after a serious accident at Pocono Raceway left him with paraplegia. Despite this setback, Wickens remained optimistic about his recovery, reporting some regained sensation and movement in his legs and setting a goal to walk again within two years.

In 2022, Wickens made a full-time return to competitive racing in the Michelin Pilot Challenge with Bryan Herta Autosport. Piloting a Hyundai outfitted with customized hand controls in the TCR class, he went on to win the 2023 TCR drivers' championship alongside teammate Harry Gottsacker.

Karting

Wickens began his karting journey in 2001, achieving victories in events such as the Junior Heavy Marigold Fall Classic and Junior Lite Iron Man Enduro. He claimed the Sunoco Ron Fellows Karting Championship three times (2002, 2003, 2005) across multiple categories. Additionally, he secured race wins in competitions including ASN Canadian National Formula Junior, SKUSA ProMoto Tour, BeaveRun, 80cc Junior OKRA Grand National, and Junior Heavy Mosport Grand Prix.

Formula BMW

At sixteen years old, Wickens embarked on his formula racing career in 2005 by joining Formula BMW USA with Team Apex Racing USA. That season, he achieved five podium finishes—two of which were victories—and concluded third overall while earning rookie of the year honors. He also placed sixth at the Formula BMW World Final.

In 2006, Wickens remained with Team Apex Racing USA before transferring to EuroInternational after being selected for the Red Bull Junior Team. Throughout that year, he secured three wins and seven podiums on his way to clinching the championship title. He again competed in the Formula BMW World Final and participated as a guest driver during the Nürburgring Formula BMW ADAC round supporting the 2006 European Grand Prix. Later that season, he took part in Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 events with Motopark Academy.

Champ Car Atlantic

Wickens progressed to the Champ Car Atlantic series in 2007 with Red Bull/Team Forsythe. He earned one victory along with three additional podiums and finished third overall behind Raphael Matos and Franck Perera.

Formula Renault 3.5 Series

After participating in four races late in 2007, Wickens advanced to compete full-time in the 2008 Formula Renault 3.5 Series for Carlin Motorsport. He claimed a win at Silverstone and wrapped up the season twelfth in the standings with a total of 55 points.

Formula 3 Euro Series

In 2008, Wickens joined Signature-Plus for competition in the Formula 3 Euro Series but missed several rounds during the campaign. His top performances included victories in rain-affected second races at Norisring and Bugatti Circuit; both events awarded half points due to shortened race distances. The following year, he switched to Kolles & Heinz Union but only contested two rounds without scoring points.

FIA Formula Two Championship

In 2009, Wickens stood out as the only North American competitor in the FIA Formula Two Championship, piloting car number 12. He dominated the season opener by leading every lap from pole position, becoming the first driver since 1984 to claim victory in an international Formula Two event. He also triumphed in the second race, briefly ascending to the top of the championship standings. Although his campaign was later hampered by five retirements and mechanical difficulties, Wickens ultimately finished second overall, trailing champion Andy Soucek by 51 points. In November 2009, he revealed confidential discussions with multiple Formula 1 teams, underscoring his distinctive status as the sole North American rookie possessing a valid FIA superlicence.

GP3 Series

Wickens competed in the 2010 GP3 Series with Status Grand Prix. After securing third on the grid at Barcelona and capitalizing on Nigel Melker’s early retirement in race one, he achieved a second-place finish. Starting seventh in the subsequent race, he advanced to fourth position, which temporarily elevated him to the lead in the drivers’ championship.

Formula Renault 3.5 Series

In 2011, Wickens clinched the championship title in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series by narrowly outperforming teammate Jean-Éric Vergne in a closely contested final race.

Formula One

Wickens joined Virgin Racing as an official reserve driver in June 2011. He made his debut during straight-line testing at Variano, covering over 200 km in the MVR-02. At the 2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, he participated in the opening free practice session. Following the season’s conclusion, Wickens took part in young driver tests for both Marussia Virgin Racing and Lotus Renault GP.

DTM

On April 3, 2012, Mercedes reintroduced their Mercedes-Benz Junior Team program—known for nurturing talents such as Michael Schumacher. Wickens joined this initiative alongside Roberto Merhi and Christian Vietoris for the 2012 DTM season, with Schumacher providing mentorship. This appointment made Wickens one of two Canadian drivers competing in DTM, alongside Bruno Spengler.

IndyCar

In June 2017, Wickens was called upon by Schmidt Peterson Motorsports to compete at the Kohler Grand Prix held at Road America, substituting for Mikhail Aleshin who faced visa complications. By October of that year, Wickens secured a full-time seat for the 2018 IndyCar season.

During his qualifying debut at the 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, he earned pole position. Leading most of that race, an incident late on involving Alexander Rossi ended his lead and allowed Sébastien Bourdais to take victory.

In May 2018, Wickens was honored as Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year after leading two laps and finishing ninth overall. By July, he had recorded five top-five finishes including fifth place at the Iowa Corn 300 and third at the Honda Indy Toronto. Later that month, he achieved a runner-up finish at Mid-Ohio behind Rossi, elevating him to sixth place in the championship rankings.

Pocono accident

On August 19, 2018, during the 2018 ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway, Wickens was involved in a severe crash. Following a restart on lap seven, contact between Wickens and Ryan Hunter-Reay caused Wickens’ car to vault over Hunter-Reay’s vehicle and collide with the catchfence. Although the car disintegrated upon impact, its safety cell remained intact. The collision initiated a multi-car accident involving Hunter-Reay, Wickens’ teammate James Hinchcliffe, Takuma Sato, and Pietro Fittipaldi. All drivers received on-site medical evaluations without immediate further treatment required.

The race was halted while emergency crews extracted Wickens from his vehicle and airlifted him to Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest. He sustained fractures to both legs, spine, right forearm, and suffered a pulmonary contusion. On August 20, spinal surgery was performed to stabilize a thoracic fracture using titanium rods and screws; subsequent operations addressed fractures to his arm and legs. On August 31, he was transferred to Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital for additional leg surgery. By September 7, his injuries included multiple fractures across spine, neck, legs, hands, ribs along with pulmonary contusion. While undergoing rehabilitation in Colorado, Wickens disclosed that he had become paraplegic due to these injuries.

Critical factors contributing to his survival included his head’s positioning which avoided direct impact with solid structures and the extensive disintegration of his car which absorbed much of the crash energy.

Following this incident, Wickens’ No. 6 car was withdrawn from competition at the Bommarito Automotive Group 500, while teammate Hinchcliffe was cleared to continue racing. The No. 6 returned at Portland with substitute driver Carlos Muñoz. Team owners Sam Schmidt and Ric Peterson affirmed: "the 6 is his when he comes back." For the 2019 season, their second car was renumbered as No. 7 with Marcus Ericsson behind the wheel. The No. 6 briefly reappeared in 2022 with Juan Pablo Montoya at Indianapolis before returning full-time in 2023.

Despite missing IndyCar’s final three rounds in 2018 due to injury recovery, Wickens still secured that year’s Rookie of the Year accolade.

Recovery

On 21 November 2018, Wickens uploaded a video showing himself walking with the support of a machine during his rehabilitation, highlighting his leg movements.

By 30 January 2019, he shared another clip of himself riding a stationary bike without assistance.

On 8 July 2019, Wickens revealed that he would participate in the parade lap at the Honda Indy Toronto using hand-operated controls.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Wickens took part in the INDYCAR iRacing Challenge, where his best result was a fifth-place finish at Motegi. Additionally, he competed in the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual event with Mahle Racing in the GTE category, concluding 16th in class and 45th overall.

Nearly 1,000 days following his Pocono crash, on 5 May 2021, Wickens made a comeback to racing by testing the #54 Hyundai Veloster N TCR for Bryan Herta Autosport at Mid-Ohio. Utilizing hand controls similar to those used by paralyzed driver Michael Johnson, Wickens adapted swiftly and demonstrated competitive speed.

Return to racing

Wickens declared his return to competitive racing on 14 January 2022, announcing his participation in the 2022 Michelin Pilot Challenge with Bryan Herta Autosport, marking his first race since the Pocono incident. At Daytona, alongside co-driver Mark Wilkins, he achieved a podium finish by placing third. On 25 June 2022, they clinched victory in the TCR category at Watkins Glen International, representing Wickens' first win since 2017, followed by an additional triumph at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. He ultimately secured sixth place in the Touring Car (TCR) Drivers' standings for the season.

Continuing with Bryan Herta Autosport in 2023 alongside teammate Harry Gottsacker, Wickens consistently reached podium positions and ultimately captured the TCR championship during the final race at Road Atlanta.

During the opening race of the 2024 Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie held at the Nordschleife, Wickens was involved in a crash while driving a Hyundai Elantra N in the four-hour competition. He was hospitalized but remained conscious and was kept under precautionary observation, as confirmed by Bryan Herta Autosport.

Personal life

Wickens is the son of Tim and Lisa and has an elder brother named Trevor, who managed Prime Powerteam, a karting outfit based in Hamilton. Inspired by the movie Days of Thunder, Wickens developed an early passion for motorsports. On 28 September 2019, he married Karli Woods, a Canadian YouTuber and cosplayer from Toronto, in Carmel, Indiana. The couple welcomed their first child, Wesley Joseph, in July 2022.

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2005	Formula BMW USA	Team Apex Racing USA	14	2	1	2	5	122	3rd
2005	Formula BMW World Final	Team Autotecnica	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	6th
2006	Formula BMW USA	EuroInternational Team Apex Racing USA	14	3	3	3	7	149	1st
	Formula BMW ADAC	ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg	2	0	0	0	0	N/A	NC†
	Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0	Motopark Academy	2	0	0	0	0	N/A	NC†
	Formula BMW World Final	EuroInternational	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	8th

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position

2009 FIA Formula Two Championship season | Motorsport Vision | 16 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 64 | style="background:#DFDFDF;"|'2nd'|

2009 Formula 3 Euro Series | Kolles & Heinz Union | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC|

2009 British Formula 3 International Series | Carlin Motorsport | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 16th|

2009 Atlantic Championship season | Genoa Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 14th|

- !2010-2018 summary-!

- !2010 GP3 Series - Status Grand Prix - Results-!

- !2011 Formula Renault and F1 Test Driver - Carlin Motorsport, Marussia Virgin Racing-!

- !2012-2016 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters - Mücke Motorsport, HWA Team, Mercedes-Benz DTM Team HWA I-!

- !2017-2018 IMSA SportsCar, IndyCar, DTM - Starworks Motorsport, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Mercedes Me-!

- !2022-2025 Michelin Pilot Challenge, Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie, IMSA SportsCar Championship - Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian, Target Competition, DXDT Racing-!

^† As Wickens participated as a guest driver, he was not eligible to earn points.
^* Season currently underway.

Full Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 results

(legend) (Races shown in bold represent pole positions; races in italics denote fastest laps)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final Position	Points Scored
2006	Motopark Academy	ZOL 1	ZOL 2	IST 1	IST 2	MIS 1	MIS 2	NÜR 1 18	NÜR 2 17	DON 1	DON 2	LMS 1	LMS 2	CAT 1	CAT 2	36th	0

American open-wheel racing record

(legend)

Atlantic Championship

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Overall Rank	Total Points
2007	Red Bull Forsythe Racing	LVG 2	LBH 3	HOU 10	POR 1	POR 4	CLE 5	MTT 5	TOR 7	EDM 4	EDM 10	' 'SJO 3	ROA 7	3rd	255
2009	Genoa Racing										style="background:#DFFFDF;" \| MOS 4		style="background:#CFCFFF;" \| 14th	style="background:#CFCFFF;" \| 12

IndyCar Series

( legend)

Year	Team	Chassis	Car No.	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Final Standing	Points Total

|-

| 2017
! rowspan=2 nowrap | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
! rowspan=2 nowrap | Dallara DW12
! 7  
! rowspan=2 | Honda  
|  STP  
|  LBH  
|  ALA  
|  PHX  
|  IMS  
|  INDY  
|  DET  
|  DET  
|  TXS  
|  ROA 
PO  
|  IOW  
|  TOR  
|  MOH  
|  POC  
|  GTW  
|  WGL  
|  SNM  
! NC  
! –

|-

| 2018
! 6  
|
style="background:#EFCFFF;" | STP 
18
|
style="background:#DFDFDF;"   PHX 
2
|
style="background:#CFCFFF;"   LBH 
22
|
style="background:#DFFFDF;"   ALA 
4
|
style="background:#FFDF9F;"   IMS 
3
|
style="background:#CFEAFF;"   INDY 
9
|
style="background:#CFEAFF;"   DET 
8
|
style="background:#CFEAFF;"   DET 
6
|
style="background:#EFCFFF;"   TXS 
19
|
style="background:#DFFFDF;"   RDA 
5
|
style="background:#DFFFDF;"   IOW 
5
|
style="background:#FFDF9F;"   TOR 
3
|
style="background:#DFDFDF;"   MOH 
2
|
style="background:#EFCFFF;"   POC 
19
|
|
|
!style="background:#CFCFFF;"   11th   
!style="background:#CFCFFF;"   391

|}

Indianapolis 500

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Team
2018	Dallara	Honda	18	9	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports

Full Formula Renault 3.5 Series Results

(key) (Races shown in bold denote pole position) (Races in italics represent fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Final Position	Points
2007	Carlin Motorsport	MNZ 1	MNZ 2	NÜR 1	NÜR 2	MON 1	HUN 1	HUN 2	SPA 1	SPA 2	DON 1	DON 2	MAG 1	MAG 2	EST 1 12	EST 2 10	CAT 1 7	CAT 2 11	25th	6
2008	Carlin Motorsport	MNZ 1 Ret	MNZ 2 Ret	SPA 1 14	SPA 2 Ret	MON 1 19	SIL 1 9	SIL 2 1	HUN 1 Ret	HUN 2 8	NÜR 1 13	NÜR 2 18	style="background:#CFCFFF;" \| LMS 1 14	style="background:#CFCFFF;" \| LMS 2 22	style="background:#FFDF9F;" \|EST 1 3	style="background:#CFCFFF;" \|EST 2 12	style="background:#FFDF9F;" \| CAT 1 3	style="background:#FFDF9F;" \|CAT 2 3	12th	55
2011	Carlin Motorsport	ALC 1 2	ALC 2 5	SPA 1 1	SPA 2 2	MNZ 1 Ret	MNZ 2 Ret	MON 1 2	NÜR 1 1	NÜR 2 2	HUN 1 5	HUN 2 7	style = "background : #FFFFBF"	SIL 1	Template:Small │ 1 \|-	style = "background : #FFFFBF"	SIL 2	Template:Small │ 1 \|-	style = "background : #DFDFDF"	LEC 1	Template:Small │ 2 \|-	style = "background : #CFCFFF"	LEC 2	Template:Small │ 19 \|-	style = "background : #FFFFBF"	CAT 1	Template:Small │ 1 \|-	style = "background : #EFCFFF"	CAT 2	Template:Small │ Ret \|- ! style ="text-align:center; background:#FFFFBF;" colspan=17 \| Champion	241

Full A1 Grand Prix Outcomes

(legend) (Entries in bold denote pole position) (Entries in italics signify fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	Final Position	Points Scored
2007–08	Canada	NED SPR	NED FEA	CZE SPR	CZE FEA	MYS SPR 3rd	MYS FEA Retired	CHN SPR 15th	CHN FEA Retired	NZL SPR Retired	NZL FEA 2nd	AUS SPR 3rd	AUS FEA 6th	RSA SPR Winner	RSA FEA 12th	MEX SPR 7th	MEX FEA 5th	CHN SPR 2nd	CHN FEA 20th	GBR SPR	GBR FEA	9th overall	75 points

Full Formula 3 Euro Series Results

(legend)

Year	Team	Chassis Model	Engine Manufacturer	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	Final Standing	Total Points
2008	Signature-Plus	Dallara F308/011	Volkswagen	HOC Race 1	HOC Race 2	MUG Race 1	MUG Race 2	PAU Race 1 9th	PAU Race 2 8th	NOR Race One 7th	NOR Race Two 2nd	ZAN Race One 8th	ZAN Race Two Retired	NÜR Race One 12th	NÜR Race Two 16th	BRH Race One	BRH Race Two	CAT Race One Retired	CAT Race Two 14th	LMS Race One 7th	LMS Race Two Winner	HOC Race One 23rd	HOC Race Two 8th	15th place	10.5 points
_2009_	>_Kolles & Heinz Union_	>_Dallara F309/001_	_Volkswagen_	_HOC Race One_ < br > _11th_	style = " background : #CFCFFF ; " >_HOC Race Two_ < br > _11th_	_LAU Race One_	_LAU Race Two_	_NOR Race One_	_NOR Race Two_	_ZAN Race One_	_ZAN Race Two_	_OSC Race One_	_OSC Race Two_	_NÜR Race One_	_NÜR Race Two_	_BRH Race One_	_BRH Race Two_	_CAT Race One_	_CAT Race Two_	_DIJ Race One_ < br > _14th_	_DIJ Race Two_ < br > _7th_	_HOC Race One _	_HOC Race Two _ !22nd place !0 points \|-

Full FIA Formula Two Championship Results

(key) (Entries in bold denote pole position) (Entries in italics signify fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final Position	Points Scored
2009	Motorsport Vision	VAL 1 1st	VAL 2 1st	BRN 1 9th	BRN 2 Retired	SPA 1 Retired	SPA 2 3rd	BRH 1 4th	BRH 2 2nd	DON 1 Retired	DON 2 Retired	OSC 1 8th	OSC 2 4th	IMO 1 4th	IMO 2 2nd	CAT 1 Retired	CAT 2 3rd	2nd	64

Full GP3 Series Results

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

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final Standing	Points Total
2010	Status Grand Prix	CAT Feature 2nd	CAT Sprint 4th	IST Feature 11th	IST Sprint 21st	VAL Feature 2nd	VAL Sprint 16th	SIL Feature 9th	SIL Sprint 5th	HOC Feature 1st	HOC Sprint 5th	HUN Feature 4th	HUN Sprint 2nd	SPA Feature 1st	SPA Sprint 11th	MNZ Feature 2nd	MNZ Sprint 1st	2nd	71

Full Formula One Appearances

(key) (Events in bold denote pole position) (Events in italics denote fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	WDC	Points
Template:F1	Marussia Virgin Racing	Virgin MVR-02	Cosworth CA2011 2.4 V8	AUS	MAL	CHN	TUR	ESP	MON	CAN	EUR	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	SIN	JPN	KOR	IND	ABU TD	BRA	–	–

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Results

(key) (Pole positions shown in bold) (Fastest laps shown in italics)

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
2012	Mücke Motorsport	DTM AMG Mercedes C-Coupé	HOC 14	LAU 22†	BRH 14	SPL 13	NOR 9	NÜR 7	ZAN Ret	OSC 7
VAL Ret	HOC Ret									16th	14
2013	HWA Team	DTM AMG Mercedes C-Coupé	HOC Ret	BRH 3	SPL 12	LAU 4	NOR 2	MSC 12
NÜR 1	OSC 22†
5th	70
12th	41
13th	61
4th	124
9th	119

^† Driver withdrew but was classified having completed more than three-quarters of the race distance.

Full IMSA SportsCar Championship Results

(legend) (Events highlighted in bold denote pole positions; those in italics signify fastest laps)

Year	Team	Category	Vehicle	Powertrain	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final Position	Total Points
2017	Starworks Motorsport	PC	Oreca FLM09	Chevrolet LS3 6.2 L V8	DAY 5	SEB	COA	DET	WGL	MOS	ELK	PET			23rd	26
2025	DXDT Racing	GTD	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	Chevrolet LT6 5.5 L V8	DAY	SEB	LBH 15	LGA 10	WGL	MOS 4	ELK	VIR	IMS	PET	23rd*	735*

^* Current season ongoing.

External links

Official website
Robert Wickens profile at Red Bull Junior Team