Phil Hanson: From LMP2 Champion to Le Mans Winner With Ferrari

Phil Hanson is a British sports car driver who races in the FIA World Endurance Championship for AF Corse as a Ferrari factory driver. Born in 1999, he came up through the LMP2 ranks, won the WEC and European Le Mans titles in 2020, and took the overall victory at the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Who is Phil Hanson?

Philip Beauchamp Hanson was born on 5 July 1999 in Sunningdale, Berkshire. He is a British driver who was named a Ferrari factory driver in January 2026 on a multi-year deal, after building his career in sports car racing rather than single-seaters.

His father, Richard Peter Hanson, co-founded the private equity firm Doughty Hanson and Co. Hanson won his first championship at the age of 15, the Whilton Mill Club Championship with the BKC Racing team, and in 2015 he took the Super One British X30 Junior Karting Championship, again with BKC Racing.

A youngest-ever WEC title in 2020 was followed by an overall Le Mans win in 2025.

How did his early sports car racing go?

Hanson made his sports car debut in the 2016 Britcar Endurance Championship with Tockwith Motorsport, alongside Nigel Moore. The pair clinched the title at the Brands Hatch season finale, tying on 170 points with another crew and winning on the number of class victories, and Hanson later took a victory at Snetterton in the LMP3 Cup, a format new to British circuits at the time.

The same pair finished the year in the LMP3 class of the Asian Le Mans Series in a Ligier JS P3. They won races at Fuji and Sepang and claimed the LMP3 class championship, giving Hanson his first prototype title.

How did he rise through LMP2?

Hanson made his Le Mans debut in 2017, finishing ninth in the LMP2 class and 11th overall, which made him the youngest overall finisher in that race. He then joined United Autosports for a full European Le Mans Series campaign in 2018, finishing fifth in the standings with three podiums, including wins at Spa and Portimao.

The 2017 season had been a smaller programme. He made three appearances in the European Le Mans Series early in the year and three in the FIA World Endurance Championship, at Spa, Le Mans and the Nurburgring. His partners at Le Mans were Nigel Moore and Karun Chandhok, in a Ligier-Gibson JS P217.

Before the 2018 season he raced at the 24 Hours of Daytona with Fernando Alonso and Lando Norris, and he took part in two IMSA races at Sebring and Watkins Glen. At Le Mans that year he shared a car with Paul di Resta and Filipe Albuquerque, but the trio's race ended after a crash involving di Resta.

In the 2018-19 Asian Le Mans Series he drove a United-entered Ligier JS P2 with di Resta. The pair finished on the podium at every round and took the LMP2 title by 11 points. In the European series in 2019 he partnered Albuquerque for the whole season, starting in a Ligier JS P217 before the team moved to an Oreca 07 for the last three rounds. A win and a runner-up finish there moved them up to fourth overall.

What did 2020 bring?

In 2020 Hanson won the FIA World Endurance Championship with United Autosports, partnered by Albuquerque and di Resta, and took the European Le Mans Series title with Albuquerque. The WEC crown was settled by a class win at the postponed 24 Hours of Le Mans, which made him the youngest ever WEC champion.

The WEC season built toward that finish. After a retirement at the opening round at Silverstone, the trio finished third at both Fuji and Shanghai, then won at Bahrain, Austin and Spa-Francorchamps. Hanson stayed with the team in the European series, where he and Albuquerque won at Spa, Le Castellet and Monza. Third places in the first and last races of the year added to their total, and the title was secured one race before the end of the season.

How did the 2021 to 2023 seasons go?

In 2021 Hanson defended the WEC title with Albuquerque and new silver-ranked driver Fabio Scherer, and the FIA upgraded him to gold. He won at Spa and again at Monza, and finished fourth in the drivers' standings after two fourth places at Bahrain closed the year.

The season opened with real promise, as an opening stint by Hanson helped the team to a dominant win at Spa. A podium at Portimao followed, where Albuquerque and Scherer had to be replaced because of COVID-19. The 24 Hours of Le Mans proved a setback, because an alternator failure cost the team around 90 minutes of repair time in the early hours and left the car 18th at the finish. In the European series that year he raced for the WRT team with Tom Gamble and Jonathan Aberdein, winning the final race at the Algarve and finishing second in the championship.

The 2022 WEC season was winless. A collision at the start of Le Mans, caused by Rene Rast, and an acceleration sensor problem at Monza left the team without podiums. In the European series Hanson, Gamble and Duncan Tappy finished second at Imola and won at Spa-Francorchamps, which gave the team third in the standings.

In 2023 he returned to United for a sixth season, racing in the WEC and the European series. With Albuquerque and Frederick Lubin he finished second at Sebring and at Portimao, and the team led the championship going into Le Mans before a major error by Lubin caused heavy damage and an eleventh place. The European campaign included a pole position and win at Aragon, and a pair of wins at Portimao that earned runner-up honours, 13 points behind the Algarve Pro crew.

What did his step up to Hypercar involve?

For 2024 Hanson moved up to the Hypercar class of the WEC with Hertz Team Jota, driving a Porsche 963 alongside Oliver Rasmussen and Jenson Button. He also became the designated third driver for JDC-Miller MotorSports in IMSA, where he outqualified the works Porsches at Sebring and Watkins Glen.

His best IMSA result came at Indianapolis, where two disqualifications promoted the No. 85 car to third. The WEC campaign was harder. The team failed to score in the opening three races, and Hanson retired at Spa after Rene Rast tagged him into an accident with a GT car. Ninth at Le Mans was followed by a seventh at Sao Paulo, which brought the first privateer class victory of their WEC run.

The No. 38 crew finished each of the next three races in the points but still ended the year 19th in the drivers' standings, losing the privateer title to the sister car.

Did he win the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans?

Yes. Driving the No. 83 Ferrari for AF Corse with Robert Kubica and Ye Yifei, Hanson won the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans overall. The result was settled by a clean final run from Kubica, and it made Hanson the 35th British driver to triumph at the event.

Hanson joined the No. 83 Ferrari for the 2025 WEC season, replacing Robert Shwartzman. The season started strongly at Qatar, where he led until Miguel Molina passed him with four hours to go, and the crew finished second. At Imola the team had been running second during the opening hour but dropped to fourth after a longer pit stop in hour four.

Le Mans was the high point. Hanson made a mistake during the night that allowed James Calado to take the lead, and Calado took the lead again from him in the early morning hours. A clean run to the flag by Kubica then secured the victory for the No. 83 crew.

The rest of the year was more mixed. At Spa the team had to pit twice in the opening hour to fix a turbo issue, and at Austin a pit stop problem and a penalty dropped them to seventh. The team finished eighth at Sao Paulo and ninth at Fuji despite serious contact from an Aston Martin Valkyrie. A fifth place at Bahrain secured second in the drivers' championship, and the car also won every race in the two-car privateer World Cup class.

What is his position in 2026?

The Ferrari factory role was made official in January 2026, under a contract lasting several seasons. He continues to race in the WEC for AF Corse, and his 2025 record includes an overall Le Mans win and second place in the drivers' championship.

Career summary

Results for the lower-tier European and Asian series reflect the final standings in each season. The table shows the headline result rather than every round.

Where does his career stand?

Hanson's record includes a WEC title, a European Le Mans Series title, a Le Mans overall win and a Ferrari factory contract. Each came after a long apprenticeship in LMP2 and LMP3, where he won races in several series before stepping up to the top class.

His early success in LMP3 and his youngest-ever WEC title sit alongside a Hypercar period in which results were more mixed, including a privateer title lost to a sister car. The 2026 WEC season is still running, and his results over the coming rounds will show how the factory role takes shape.