Ben Hanley

Benjamin Michael Hanley (born 22 January 1985) is a British racing driver competing in the European Le Mans Series for United Autosports in LMP2. A Formula Renault 3.5 Series runner-up and Renault F1 junior in his youth, he entered sports car racing in 2016 after a long hiatus. He raced two seasons part-time in the IndyCar Series, and also raced in the FIA WEC's LMP1 class for DragonSpeed and Ginetta.

Career Early career Hanley began his motorsport career in karting, where he experienced significant success on the international stage. His transition to single-seaters saw him compete in various junior formulae, including the Formula Renault UK and Eurocup championships. His early speed marked him as a promising talent and caught the attention of the Renault Driver Development Programme, which backed him from 2006 to 2008.

Formula Renault 3.5 and GP2 Series Under Renault's guidance, Hanley stepped up to the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, where he quickly established himself as a frontrunner. In the 2007 season, he secured the runner-up position in the overall championship standings, finishing just behind Álvaro Parente.

For the 2008 season, Hanley graduated to the GP2 Series, the primary feeder category to Formula One, driving for the Barwa International Campos Team. However, after the first three rounds of the season (culminating at the Monaco round), he parted ways with the team by mutual consent. Hanley was immediately thrown a lifeline by the Durango team to race at Magny-Cours. Despite showcasing his pace, his GP2 campaign was ultimately hampered by early-season reliability issues and a lack of sustained funding.

In 2010, while competing in Superleague Formula, Hanley served as the official Dallara GP2/11 test driver for Dallara and Pirelli.

Return to karting Following his departure from the GP2 Series, Hanley took an extended hiatus from professional car racing. He returned to his roots in karting, where he competed at the highest levels of CIK-FIA events for several years. This five-year break from car racing ultimately worked to his advantage later in his career, permitting him to re-enter professional sportscars under an adjusted FIA driver grading.

Endurance racing Hanley at the wheel of DragonSpeed's BR Engineering BR1 at the 2018 6 Hours of Silverstone. In late 2015, Hanley was one of six young drivers invited by Audi Sport to test its Audi RS5 DTM challenger at Circuito de Jerez.

Hanley's career was revitalized when he joined DragonSpeed, led by Elton Julian, to compete in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) and the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). He was instrumental in DragonSpeed's progression up the endurance ladder, taking overall victories in ELMS, including a notable LMP2 win at Spa in 2016 alongside Henrik Hedman and Nicolas Lapierre.

Hanley was also scheduled to make his Formula E debut at the upcoming 2016 Berlin ePrix due to Oliver Turvey's Super GT commitments. However, the Super GT event was postponed because of the Kumamoto earthquakes, and Turvey was reinstated into his NEXTEV TCR seat.

Hanley made his official WEC debut at Spa in 2017 when he was drafted in by the TDS Racing LMP2 squad to replace the injured Matthieu Vaxivière. With DragonSpeed, he later competed in the premier LMP1 class as a privateer entrant and achieved massive success in the LMP2 ranks, notably winning the class at the prestigious 2020 Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Hanley racing for United Autosports in LMP2 at the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans.

In recent years, Hanley has continued to be a highly sought-after prototype driver. For the 2023 WEC season, he was signed by United Autosports to substitute for Filipe Albuquerque in select races. United Autosports subsequently confirmed him for a full LMP2 championship tilt in the 2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship alongside Ben Keating.

In 2026, Hanley was confirmed as a development driver for the McLaren MCL-HY, the new top-class prototype developed by McLaren and United for the 2027 FIA World Endurance Championship.

IndyCar Series Hanley made his NTT IndyCar Series debut alongside DragonSpeed in 2019. Despite the team being a part-time newcomer with limited testing, Hanley showcased strong performances. He competed in the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, where he advanced to the second round of qualifying, started 12th, and finished 18th. He also raced at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.

The highlight of his 2019 IndyCar campaign was successfully qualifying for the 103rd Indianapolis 500. Having never raced on an oval before, Hanley secured the 27th starting position, pushing his Chevrolet-powered Dallara to a 227.482 mph average. He was classified 32nd in the race following a mechanical failure. Hanley returned for the 2020 Indianapolis 500, again partnering with DragonSpeed.

Racing record

Career summary † As Hanley was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points. ‡ Points only counted towards the Michelin Endurance Cup, and not the overall LMP2 Championship. Season still in progress.

Complete Formula Renault 2.0 Italia results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 DC Points 2005 Cram Competition ZOL1 ZOL2 VAL1 VAL2 LMS1 LMS2 BIL1 BIL2 OSC1 OSC2 DON1 DON2 EST1 EST2 MNZ1 MNZ2 NC† 0

† As Hanley was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points

Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 DC Points 2005 Cram Competition ZOL1 ZOL2 MON1 VAL1 VAL2 LMS1 LMS2 BIL1 BIL2 OSC1 OSC2 DON1 DON2 EST1 EST2 MNZ1 MNZ2 39th 0 2006 Cram Competition ZOL1 ZOL2 MON1 IST1 IST2 MIS1 MIS2 SPA1 SPA2 NÜR1 NÜR2 DON1 DON2 LMS1 LMS2 CAT1 CAT2 8th 55 2007 Prema Powerteam MNZ1 MNZ2 NÜR1 NÜR2 MON1 HUN1 HUN2 SPA1 SPA2 DON1 DON2 MAG1 MAG2 EST1 EST2 CAT1 CAT2 2nd 102

Complete GP2 Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 DC Pts 2008 Barwa International Campos Team CATFEA CATSPR ISTFEA ISTSPR MONFEA MONSPR 24th 1 Durango MAGFEA MAGSPR SILFEA SILSPR HOCFEA HOCSPR HUNFEA HUNSPR VALFEA VALSPR SPAFEA SPASPR MNZFEA MNZSPR

Complete GP2 Asia Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Euroseries 3000 results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Superleague Formula results

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

Super Final results (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 2010Olympiacos CFPSILASSMAGJARNÜRZOLBRHADRPORORDBEINAV

Complete European Le Mans Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rank Points 2016 DragonSpeed LMP2 Oreca 05 Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 SIL IMO RBR LEC SPA EST 4th 76 2017 DragonSpeed LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SIL MNZ RBR LEC SPA ALG 11th 40 2018 DragonSpeed LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 LEC MNZ RBR SIL SPA ALG 7th 50.5 2019 DragonSpeed LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 LEC MNZ CAT SIL SPA ALG 8th 47 2020 DragonSpeed LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 LEC SPA MNZ ALG 23rd 5.5 DragonSpeed withRacing Engineering LEC 2021 DragonSpeed USA LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 CAT RBR LEC MNZ SPA ALG 33rd 1 2022 Nielsen Racing LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 LEC IMO MNZ CAT SPA ALG 16th 15 2023 Nielsen Racing LMP2 Pro-Am Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 CAT LEC ARA SPA ALG ALG 4th 75 2024 United Autosports LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 CAT LEC IMO SPA MUG ALG 10th 29 2025 United Autosports LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 CAT LEC IMO SPA SIL ALG 14th 15 2026 United Autosports LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 CAT LEC IMO SPA SIL ALG2nd* 70* ‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed. Season still in progress.

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Class Make Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points 2017 DragonSpeed P Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY SEB LBH COA DET WGL MOS ELK LGA PET 39th 21 2019 DragonSpeed LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY SEB MDO WGL MOS ELK LGA PET 13th 30 2020 DragonSpeed USA LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY SEB ELK ATL PET LGA SEB 13th 35 2021 DragonSpeed USA LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY SEB WGL WGL ELK LGA PET NC† 0† 2023 CrowdStrike Racingby APR LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY SEB LGA WGL ELK IMS PET 2nd 1958 2024 United Autosports USA LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY SEB WGL MOS ELK IMS PET 5th 1962 2025 United Autosports USA LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY SEB WGL MOS ELK IMS PET 6th 1899 2026 United Autosports USA LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY SEB WGL MOS ELK IMS PET 22nd* 521* † Points only counted towards the Michelin Endurance Cup, and not the overall LMP2 Championship. Season still in progress.

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rank Points 2017 TDS Racing LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SIL SPA LMS 17th 53 G-Drive Racing NÜR CEFC Manor TRS Racing MEX COA FUJ SHA BHR 2018–19 DragonSpeed LMP1 BR Engineering BR1 Gibson GL458 4.5 L V8 SPA LMS SIL FUJ SHA SEB SPA LMS 28th 8.5 2019–20 Team LNT LMP1 Ginetta G60-LT-P1 AER P60C 2.4 L Turbo V6 SIL FUJ SHA BHR 15th 27.5 DragonSpeed LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 COA SPA LMS BHR NC† 0 2021 DragonSpeed USA LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SPA ALG MNZ LMS BHR BHR 11th 42.5 2022 Nielsen Racing LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SEB SPA LMS MNZ FUJ BHR NC† 0† 2023 United Autosports LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SEB ALG SPA LMS MNZ FUJ BHR 13th 38 † Not eligible for points.

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 2017 DragonSpeed - 10 Star Henrik Hedman Felix Rosenqvist Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 343 14th 12th 2018 DragonSpeed Henrik Hedman Renger van der Zande BR Engineering BR1-Gibson LMP1 244 DNF DNF 2019 DragonSpeed Henrik Hedman Renger van der Zande BR Engineering BR1-Gibson LMP1 76 DNF DNF 2020 DragonSpeed USA Henrik Hedman Renger van der Zande Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 361 16th 12th 2021 DragonSpeed USA Henrik Hedman Juan Pablo Montoya Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 356 15th 10th LMP2 Pro-Am 1st 2022 Nielsen Racing Matt Bell Rodrigo Sales Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 362 20th 16th 2023 Nielsen Racing Mathias Beche Rodrigo Sales Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 18 DNF DNF LMP2 Pro-Am 2024 United Autosports USA Filipe Albuquerque Ben Keating Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 272 42nd 13th LMP2 Pro-Am 6th 2025 United Autosports Oliver Jarvis Daniel Schneider Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 363 28th 11th LMP2 Pro-Am 6th 2026 United Autosports Oliver Jarvis Daniel Schneider Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 353 29th 15th LMP2 Pro-Am 7th

American open-wheel racing results (key)

IndyCar Series (key) Year Team No. Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Rank Points Ref 2019 DragonSpeed 81 Dallara DW12 Chevrolet STP COA ALA LBH IMS INDY DET DET TXS RDA TOR IOW MDO POC GTW POR LAG 30th 31 2020 TXS IMS ROA ROA IOW IOW INDY GTW GTW MDO MDO IMS IMS STP 33rd 14

Indianapolis 500 Year Chassis Engine Start Finish Team 2019 Dallara Chevrolet 27 32 DragonSpeed 2020 Dallara Chevrolet 33 23 DragonSpeed