Daniel Abt

Daniel Johannes Abt (born 3 December 1992) is a German former racing driver. He has competed in such series as the German Formula Three Championship, the GP3 Series, the GP2 Series, and won the 2009 ADAC Formel Masters championship. He competed in the first four rounds of the 2019–20 Formula E season with ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport, however he was dismissed from the team after being found to be using a ringer driver in the sport's subsequent virtual races.[1] He completed the remainder of the season at Nio 333 FE Team replacing Ma Qinghua. He is currently on a hiatus from competitive racing, having chosen to take up a broadcasting role with Sat.1 as part of their Formula E coverage.

Daniel Abt
NationalityGermany German
Born (1992-12-03) 3 December 1992
Kempten, Germany
Formula E career
Debut season2014–15
Racing licence FIA Gold
Car number66
Former teamsAudi Sport ABT Schaeffler, Nio 333 FE Team
Starts69
Championships0
Wins2
Podiums10
Poles2
Fastest laps8
Best finish5th in 2017–18
Finished last season21st
Previous series
201314
2012
2011
2010
200809
GP2 Series
GP3 Series
Formula 3 Euro Series
German Formula Three
ADAC Formel Masters
Championship titles
2009ADAC Formel Masters

Career

ADAC Formel Masters

Abt was born in Kempten, Bavaria. In 2008, Abt switched to formula racing and competed in the ADAC Formel Masters for his father's team, Abt Sportsline. He started from the pole position four times and clinched a third and two second places as his best results. Finishing the season in eighth place of the standings he was defeated by his team-mate Markus Pommer, who finished fifth overall with one victory to his credit. In 2009, Abt contested his second season in the ADAC Formel Masters for Abt Sportsline and with eight race wins commandingly clinched the champion's title ahead of Klaus Bachler. He took seven pole positions and a total of ten podium results. With 224 points against 90 points he clearly prevailed in the internal duel against his team-mate René Binder.

Formula Three

After running in the German Formula Three Championship as a guest entrant for Performance Racing in 2009, he switched to the series in 2010 joining the championship-winning Van Amersfoort Racing team.[2] During the season Abt prevailed against his team-mates Stef Dusseldorp and Willi Steindl and had chances of winning the championship title up to the last race weekend. In the end, he had to admit defeat to Tom Dillmann with a score of 112 points against 120 points, and with two race wins and a total of ten podium places finished as the overall runner-up. After the season, he competed for Signature at the prestigious Macau Grand Prix. Abt was leading the race ahead of his team-mates Edoardo Mortara and Laurens Vanthoor but lost control of his vehicle and retired after an accident.[3]

In 2011, Abt joined the Formula 3 Euro Series grid for Signature,[4] finishing the season in seventh place after taking four third places as his best results. In the team, he was defeated by Marco Wittmann and Vanthoor, who achieved second and sixth place. Ahead of Carlos Muñoz, who finished in position eight of the standings, Abt was the third-best driver of his team. In addition, Abt was entitled to points in the 2011 FIA Formula 3 International Trophy where he achieved fourth place. At the end of the year, he tested for Audi in a DTM car.[5]

GP3 and GP2

After setting the fastest time on several occasions in GP3 tests for Lotus GP at the end of 2011,[6] the racing team that had provided the champion and the runner-up the year before, the team gave him a cockpit for the 2012 GP3 Series season.[7]

On 19 December 2012 Abt got a contract to join ART Grand Prix in the GP2 Series in 2013 together with James Calado. Abt struggled as a rookie and finished the season in 22nd with only eleven points to his name, but remained in the championship for 2014 by moving to the German Hilmer Motorsport squad alongside fellow GP3 runner-up Facu Regalia.

Formula E (2014–2020)

Abt driving in the 2014 Punta del Este ePrix

On 13 February 2014 Abt was confirmed to also be racing in the inaugural Formula E season with his family associated team Audi Sport ABT alongside Audi's World Endurance Championship driver Lucas di Grassi.

2014–15

Having driven to 3rd on the podium in the inaugural Formula E race, Abt was penalised for illegal modifications on his car resulting being pushed down to 10th position. Abt achieved one podium finish, pole position and fastest lap in the 2014–15 season with 32 points and 11th place in the championship. Abt failed to live up to expectations in his debut season having scored 101 less than teammate Lucas Di Grassi having lacked consistency.

2017–18

Abt won his first race in Formula E in the 2018 Mexico City ePrix, after 38 race starts.

2019–20

In May 2020, Abt was suspended by the Audi team after a professional gamer played under his name in an esports version of the Formula E series. The announcement of his sacking came shortly after.[8]

About a month later, Abt signed for the Nio 333 FE Team, replacing Ma Qinghua after travel restrictions disallowed the latter to travel to Berlin.[9]

Hiatus from racing (2021–present)

In November 2020, Abt revealed that he had received an offer to race in the 2020-21 season of Formula E, but he declined it in favour of temporarily stepping away from motorsports. Instead, he joined Sat.1 as a TV expert and co-commentator for the channel's Formula E coverage that season. Abt was adamant that it wouldn't be "a goodbye to motorsports", but he felt that sitting out of doing any official racing for a year was "the right way" for him and that he was "looking forward to it so much."[10]

Additional information

From 2008 to 2010, Abt was a candidate of the Deutsche Post Speed Academy.[11] As the Academy's overall winner in 2009 and 2010 he became "Germany's motorsport talent of the year."[12][13] Since 2010, Abt has also been a member of Volkswagen's talent promotion programme.[2]

Personal life

Besides Daniel Abt, other members of his family are involved in motorsport. His father, Hans-Jürgen, is the owner and principal of the Abt Sportsline team which is active in the DTM and other series. His family also owns a German auto tuning company which primarily works on Audis. His uncle, Christian Abt, is a racing driver as well and was active in the DTM for a number of years.

Abt is managing director of Abt Lifestyle GmbH.

Racing record

Career summary

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2008 ADAC Formel Masters Team Abt Sportsline 16 0 1 1 3 91 8th
2009 ADAC Formel Masters Team Abt Sportsline 16 8 7 3 10 224 1st
German Formula 3 Championship Performance Racing 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2010 German Formula 3 Championship Van Amersfoort Racing 18 2 6 5 10 112 2nd
Macau Grand Prix Signature 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2011 Formula 3 Euro Series Signature 27 0 0 1 4 150 7th
Macau Grand Prix 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Masters of Formula 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 6th
FIA Formula 3 International Trophy 8 0 0 0 0 44 4th
2012 GP3 Series Lotus GP 16 2 1 0 7 149.5 2nd
Formula Renault 3.5 Series Tech 1 Racing 6 0 0 0 0 0 34th
German Formula 3 Championship Van Amersfoort Racing 3 0 0 0 1 18 14th
Macau Grand Prix Carlin 1 0 0 0 0 0 12th
2013 GP2 Series ART Grand Prix 22 0 0 0 0 11 22nd
2014 GP2 Series Hilmer Motorsport 20 0 0 0 0 27 16th
2014–15 Formula E Audi Sport ABT 11 0 1 1 1 32 11th
2015 FIA World Endurance Championship Rebellion Racing 4 0 0 0 0 2 28th
24 Hours of Le Mans 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 18th
2015–16 Formula E ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport 10 0 0 0 3 68 7th
2016 ADAC GT Masters Bentley Team ABT 13 0 1 0 1 45 19th
24H Series C. Abt Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2016–17 Formula E ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport 12 0 0 1 0 67 8th
2017–18 Formula E Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 12 2 1 3 4 120 5th
2018–19 Formula E Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 13 0 0 2 2 95 7th
2019–20 Formula E Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 5 0 0 1 0 8 21st
Nio 333 FE Team 6 0 0 0 0

Complete ADAC Formel Masters results

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

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Pos Points
2008 Team Abt Sportsline OSC1
1

17
OSC1
2

8
NÜR1
1

9
NÜR1
2

20
ASS
1

7
ASS
2

8
NÜR2
1

2
NÜR2
2

Ret
LAU
1

3
LAU
2

4
SAC
1

2
SAC
2

Ret
OSC2
1

7
OSC2
2

4
HOC
1

4
HOC
2

Ret
8th 91
2009 Team Abt Sportsline OSC1
1

1
OSC1
2

2
ASS
1

EX
ASS
2

EX
NÜR1
1

1
NÜR1
2

1
HOC
1

5
HOC
2

1
LAU
1

Ret
LAU
2

1
NÜR2
1

1
NÜR2
2

1
SAC
1

2
SAC
2

1
OSC2
1

8
OSC2
2

9
1st 224

Complete Formula 3 Euro Series results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 DC Points
2011 Signature Dallara F308/057 Volkswagen LEC
1

Ret
LEC
2

11
LEC
3

9
HOC
1

4
HOC
2

7
HOC
3

6
ZAN
1

Ret
ZAN
2

8
ZAN
3

5
RBR
1

6
RBR
2

3
RBR
3

4
NOR
1

10
NOR
2

10
NOR
3

3
NÜR
1

12
NÜR
2

7
NÜR
3

7
SIL
1

5
SIL
2

5
SIL
3

5
VAL
1

10
VAL
2

10
VAL
3

7
HOC
1

5
HOC
2

3
HOC
3

6
7th 150

Complete GP3 Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 D.C. Points
2012 Lotus GP CAT
FEA

13
CAT
SPR

6
MON
FEA

6
MON
SPR

3
VAL
FEA

6
VAL
SPR

2
SIL
FEA

4
SIL
SPR

Ret
HOC
FEA

7
HOC
SPR

2
HUN
FEA

2
HUN
SPR

11
SPA
FEA

1
SPA
SPR

5
MNZ
FEA

1
MNZ
SPR

2
2nd 149.5

Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results

(key)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Pos Points
2012 Tech 1 Racing ALC
1
ALC
2
MON
1
SPA
1
SPA
2
NÜR
1
NÜR
2
MSC
1
MSC
2
SIL
1
SIL
2
HUN
1

18
HUN
2

24
LEC
1

Ret
LEC
2

18
CAT
1

16
CAT
2

Ret
34th 0

Complete GP2 Series results

(key)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 D.C. Points
2013 ART Grand Prix SEP
FEA

Ret
SEP
SPR

16
BHR
FEA

14
BHR
SPR

7
CAT
FEA

11
CAT
SPR

8
MON
FEA

16
MON
SPR

22
SIL
FEA

15
SIL
SPR

Ret
NÜR
FEA

21
NÜR
SPR

18
HUN
FEA

24†
HUN
SPR

14
SPA
FEA

16
SPA
SPR

16
MNZ
FEA

17
MNZ
SPR

22
MRN
FEA

13
MRN
SPR

DSQ
YMC
FEA

9
YMC
SPR

5
22nd 11
2014 Hilmer Motorsport BHR
FEA

13
BHR
SPR

13
CAT
FEA

Ret
CAT
SPR

12
MON
FEA

Ret
MON
SPR

17
RBR
FEA

17
RBR
SPR

23
SIL
FEA

10
SIL
SPR

11
HOC
FEA

20
HOC
SPR

15
HUN
FEA

5
HUN
SPR

5
SPA
FEA

8
SPA
SPR

5
MNZ
FEA

Ret
MNZ
SPR

10
SOC
FEA

Ret
SOC
SPR

13
YMC
FEA
YMC
SPR
16th 27

Complete Formula E results

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

Year Team Chassis Powertrain 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pos Points
2014–15 Audi Sport ABT Spark SRT01-e SRT01-e BEI
10
PUT
10
PDE
15
BUE
13†
MIA
3
LBH
15
MCO
Ret
BER
14
MSC
5
LDN
Ret
LDN
11
11th 32
2015–16 ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport Spark SRT01-e ABT Schaeffler FE01 BEI
11
PUT
7
PDE
8
BUE
13
MEX
7
LBH
3
PAR
10
BER
2
LDN
Ret
LDN
2
7th 68
2016–17 ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport Spark SRT01-e ABT Schaeffler FE02 HKG
Ret
MRK
6
BUE
7
MEX
7
MCO
7
PAR
13†
BER
6
BER
4
NYC
14†
NYC
Ret
MTL
4
MTL
6
8th 67
2017–18 Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler Spark SRT01-e Audi e-tron FE04 HKG
5
HKG
DSQ
MRK
10
SCL
Ret
MEX
1
PDE
14
RME
4
PAR
7
BER
1
ZUR
13
NYC
2
NYC
3
5th 120
2018–19 Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler Spark SRT05e Audi e-tron FE05 ADR
8
MRK
10
SCL
3
MEX
10
HKG
4
SYX
5
RME
18†
PAR
3
MCO
15
BER
6
BRN
6
NYC
6
NYC
5
7th 95
2019–20 Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler Spark SRT05e Audi e-tron FE06 DIR
Ret
DIR
6
SCL
14
MEX
Ret
MRK
14
21st 8
Nio 333 FE Team Nio FE-005 BER
18
BER
16
BER
15
BER
18
BER
Ret
BER
20

Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2015 Switzerland Rebellion Racing Switzerland Alexandre Imperatori
Austria Dominik Kraihamer
Rebellion R-One-AER LMP1 336 18th 9th

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rank Points
2015 Rebellion Racing LMP1 Rebellion R-One AER P60 2.4 L Turbo V6 SIL SPA LMS
17
NÜR
Ret
COA
14
FUJ
16
SHA BHR 28th 2

References

  1. "Daniel Abt: Audi sack Formula E driver for esports cheating". Sky Sports. 26 May 2020.
  2. "Daniel Abt: 2010 als VW-Junior in der Formel 3" [Daniel Abt: 2010 as a Volkswagen Junior in Formula 3]. Motorsport-Total.com (in German). sport media group GmbH. 27 November 2009. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  3. Ziegler, Stefan (21 November 2010). "Mortara bezwingt Macao: Zweiter Sieg in Folge!" [Mortara conquers Macau: Second win in a row!]. Motorsport-Total.com (in German). sport media group GmbH. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  4. "Abt steigt in die Formel-3-Euroserie auf" [Abt graduates into the Formula 3 Euro Series]. Motorsport-Total.com (in German). sport media group GmbH. 27 October 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  5. "Abt and Vanthoor test DTM Audi". Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. ITR e.V. 19 December 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  6. "Daniel Abt sets pace on first day of GP3 post-season testing". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 23 November 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  7. "Daniel Abt sets pace on first day of GP3 post-season testing". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 18 January 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  8. "Audi sack Formula E's Daniel Abt for esports driver impersonation". BBC. 26 May 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  9. "Abt to contest Berlin rounds with NIO 333 after Audi dismissal". GPToday.net. 1 July 2020. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
  10. Thukral, Rachit (30 November 2020). "Abt to sit out 2021 after turning down Formula E drive". motorsport.com. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  11. „2008: Premiere in the formula car“ Archived 2012-07-24 at archive.today (danielabt.de 25 May 2010)
  12. "Abt ist "Deutschlands Motorsport-Talent des Jahres"" [Abt is "Germany's Motorsport Talent of the Year"]. Motorsport-Total.com (in German). sport media group GmbH. 30 November 2009. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  13. „Daniel Abt: Der Sieger 2010“ Archived 2014-03-12 at the Wayback Machine (speed-academy.de 14 Februar 2011)
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