Tom Dillmann: From German F3 Champion to Back-to-Back Le Mans Winner

Tom Aston Dillmann is a French racing driver born in Mulhouse in 1989. He won the German Formula Three Championship in 2010 and the Formula V8 3.5 title in 2016, and he has since built his reputation in sportscars with Inter Europol Competition, winning the LMP2 class at Le Mans in 2025 and 2026.

Where did Dillmann's career start?

Dillmann is the son of Gerard Dillmann, a former racing driver who also worked as a mechanic and team manager. The young Tom won the regional Alsace soapbox championship in 1999, which was his first taste of competition.

From 2000 to 2002 he raced go-karts in the minime and junior classes, winning a regional title and finishing fourth in the French championship. His father built a prototype at the same time, and Tom tested it on circuit and on ice, powered by a motorbike engine.

A French driver who went from German Formula Three champion to back-to-back LMP2 winner at Le Mans.

How did his Formula Renault years go?

In 2004 the family outfit Tom Team ran him in Belgium's Formula Renault 1600 series. He ended fifth there after three podiums, one of them a win at Spa-Francorchamps, and he also took a podium in the Formula Junior 1600 Spain series.

In 2005 he moved into the Formula Renault Eurocup with a three-car Prema Powerteam line-up, alongside Kamui Kobayashi and Patrick Rocha. He later moved to Cram Competition for two meetings. Having scored no points by that stage, he stepped down from the drive, judging that he lacked experience.

In 2006 he returned to the Eurocup with SG Formula. He scored his first podium with second at Misano, and he added two more second places at the season finale in Barcelona, finishing behind champion Filipe Albuquerque each time. He ended the year eighth in the Eurocup, and tenth in the French championship after two late wins at Le Mans and Magny-Cours.

How did Dillmann reach Formula 3?

Before the 2007 season Dillmann joined the Red Bull Junior Team, alongside the French driver Jean-Karl Vernay. Red Bull's backing took him into the Formula 3 Euro Series with ASM, where his team-mates included Romain Grosjean, Nico Hulkenberg and Kamui Kobayashi.

A pre-season testing accident fractured his sternum and a vertebra, so he sat out the opening meeting. He recovered to finish ninth overall with three podiums. Once the season ended he was signed as a rookie for A1 Team Switzerland, racing for them at Taupo and at Eastern Creek in 2008.

What were the 2008 and 2009 seasons like?

For 2008 Dillmann stayed in the Euro Series, again with Red Bull's support, and rejoined SG Formula as they stepped up to the series for the first time. Testing at Estoril produced the quickest lap of the first day, yet the opening races were weak, and the Red Bull seat went with them.

He returned at the Nurburgring with Jo Zeller Racing. On Saturday he qualified third and finished third, then came fifth on the Sunday. He left the team after that meeting and finished 18th in the championship. He then spent the rest of 2008 in the Italian Formula Three Championship with Europa Corse, ending seventh overall.

He started 2009 without a drive. He then took over Kevin Mirocha's seat at HBR Motorsport for the Euro Series, where his best result was fourteenth at the Nurburgring. He also raced for Prema Powerteam at Dijon. Alongside those commitments, he signed with Neuhauser Racing for the last three rounds of the German series. He took pole for one race, won the second race at Oschersleben and the Sachsenring, and ended sixth in the standings, from just six starts.

How did Dillmann win the 2010 German Formula Three title?

In 2010 he competed full-time in the German Formula Three series with HS Technik. He won the second race at the season-opener at Oschersleben, but he was demoted to seventh after a penalty for a jump start. His first two victories came at the Sachsenring, where he won both races and took the championship lead.

The title fight with Van Amersfoort Racing's Daniel Abt went back and forth. Abt moved ahead at Assen, but Dillmann regained the lead with a double win at the Nurburgring. He held a nine-point lead going into the final meeting at Oschersleben. He finished second to Abt in the first race there to close the gap to seven points, and Abt then failed to score in the final race after a broken lambda sensor.

Dillmann had retired earlier in that race with a fuel pump failure, but the result made him the first French driver to win the German Formula Three title. The success earned him an invitation to a Formula Renault 3.5 test at Motorland Aragon in October 2010, where he set the third-quickest time and was the fastest of the newcomers while driving for ISR Racing.

What happened in his 2011 Formula 3 and GP3 seasons?

In 2011 Dillmann contested two Formula 3 Euro Series meetings, at Hockenheim for Carlin and at the Red Bull Ring for Motopark. His strongest finish was third in race three at the Red Bull Ring, which was his first Euro Series podium since 2008. He also raced the Zolder round of the German series in its Trophy class for older machinery, winning one race.

That same year he joined the Carlin GP3 team, partnering Conor Daly and Leonardo Cordeiro. He qualified on pole for the first race at the Istanbul opener, and he recovered from a poor start to finish third. Carlin then dropped him. He moved to Addax Team at the Hungaroring and stayed into the Valencia round, scoring points at three successive meetings. He finished the GP3 season fourteenth.

How did his GP2 career unfold?

After the 2011 GP3 season he tested a GP2 car for iSport International, which led to a ride in the non-championship GP2 Final at Yas Marina. He finished sixth and third in the two races. Only James Calado, among GP3 graduates, did better in those races, and Pirelli paid him 10,000 euros.

He then joined Rapax for the 2012 season, and his first GP2 win came in the sprint race at Bahrain, the third round of the season. He lost his seat for Silverstone to Daniel de Jong, returned at Hockenheim, and then lost it again in Hungary because of budget problems. He finished 15th, the best-placed driver who did not run the whole year.

For 2013 he joined the Motopark-run Russian Time team alongside Sam Bird. He collected two poles and two fastest laps, ending tenth, eight spots adrift of Bird. In 2014 he lost the Russian Time seat after the team principal died in January. He then contested eight rounds with Arden International and Caterham, a sprint podium at Catalunya and a feature-race fastest lap at the Hungaroring were among the highlights.

How did the Formula 3.5 seasons go?

In 2015 Dillmann joined the Formula V8 3.5 series with Jagonya Ayam with Carlin. He ended the final round at Jerez on pole, and finished seventh overall with no wins.

In 2016 he switched to AVF. He won two races, took five poles and set two fastest laps, and he clinched the title in the last round, seven points clear of Louis Deletraz.

What was his Formula E career?

Dillmann took part in pre-season testing with Team Aguri in August 2015, alongside the former GP2 driver Stefano Coletti. In April 2017 he took part in free practice with Venturi at the Mexico City ePrix, standing in for Stephane Sarrazin. Later that month Venturi confirmed he would race for the first time at Paris, taking the seat Maro Engel had held.

For the 2018-19 season he joined Nio full-time. He failed to score a point and finished 23rd in the standings. Since May 2021 he has been the simulator and reserve driver for Jaguar Racing Formula E.

How did his World Endurance Championship career begin?

His WEC entry began in 2015 with two outings for Signatech Alpine from the 6 Hours of Shanghai, and he took a win in his first race in the series. He had a single campaign with Extreme Speed Motorsports in 2016, and in 2018 he moved to ByKolles Racing for their LMP1 programme.

His ByKolles seasons were hard. He took part in eight of the sixteen races across 2018-19 and 2019-20, with a best result of fourth, and the car was known for poor reliability and performance.

In January 2023 it was announced that he would contest the full 2023 World Endurance Championship with the renamed squad Vanwall Racing Team, in the Hypercar category. He drove alongside Esteban Guerrieri and Jacques Villeneuve. Despite a new car, the team's results did not improve, and Dillmann left the squad on June 16, 2023. He was replaced by Joao Paulo de Oliveira.

What were his early Le Mans attempts like?

Dillmann's first four attempts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans came in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2023, and none of them ended in a finish. Teammates crashed, engines and gearboxes failed, and a rear wing came off, which left him with nothing to show for those years.

That changed in 2025, when he came back to the Circuit de la Sarthe running for Inter Europol Competition in LMP2. He and his teammates Jakub Smiechowski and Nick Yelloly won the race. From the morning onwards their car led, rarely more than twenty seconds ahead of VDS Panis Racing's number 48.

The final hour brought a drama. About 34 minutes from the finish, Yelloly was given a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane. A few minutes later the rival car suffered a suspension failure, and the Inter Europol car regained the lead and finished nearly two minutes clear.

How did the 2026 Le Mans defence go?

Dillmann repeated the win in 2026 with the same squad and crew, crossing the line ahead of the sister entry. He was the crew's quickest driver and logged more than 10 hours behind the wheel. The team used a different tyre strategy from its sister car, and both cars ran close together in the final hours while saving fuel for much of the race.

How did the Le Mans Cup and IMSA seasons go?

In 2021 Dillmann made a single start in the Michelin Le Mans Cup, finishing tenth at the Circuit de Catalunya for Muhlner Motorsport. In 2022 he joined the series for the full season with Racing Spirit of Leman, sharing the car with Alexander Mattschull. They won three races and claimed the overall championship.

At the start of 2024 he stepped back from the Vanwall Hypercar project and moved into LMP2 with Inter Europol Competition, competing in IMSA with Nick Boulle and Jakub Smiechowski. His debut for the Polish team came at the 24 Hours of Daytona, and he took the LMP2 title in that debut year.

What made the 2024 IMSA title possible?

Dillmann's American results built the title. The team won at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and finished on the podium at Watkins Glen and Indianapolis. Its only real low point was a seventh at Road America. Consistency across the season, backed by the team's PR1/Mathiasen entry, brought him the LMP2 crown.

How did the 2025 and 2026 IMSA seasons go?

The team's first self-run IMSA season ended third overall in 2025. The team won the 12 Hours of Sebring in the closing minutes, took three second places, and had low finishes in the other races because of technical problems. Dillmann, who drove with Jeremy Clarke and Bijoy Garg, finished 11th in the drivers' championship.

During the year a suspension failure at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, while he was leading, caused a serious accident. He needed surgery on his spine and missed the Road America round. In 2026 he is back with Inter Europol alongside Clarke and Garg, and the year opened with a second place at the 24 Hours of Daytona.

How has he fared in the European Le Mans Series and Asia?

His LMP2 programme with Inter Europol also included the European Le Mans Series. In 2024 he won at Circuit Paul Ricard, inheriting the win just before the finish. It was the only win of the season, but his consistency, with a seventh as the worst result, earned second place overall alongside Vladislav Lomko and Sebastian Alvarez.

In 2025 the battle with VDS Panis Racing continued, and the French team won the title. Dillmann, Smiechowski and Yelloly took five second places in six races to finish second in the standings. He also received the Goodyear Golden Wingfoot Award, which goes to the fastest driver of the series over the season.

In the Asian Le Mans Series he finished fifth overall with DKR Engineering in 2023-24, and fifth again with Proton Competition in 2024-25. In 2025-26, driving for Algarve Pro Racing, he took three second places and finished third overall, his best result in that series.

What were his key results season by season?