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James Rossiter

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For the American politician, see James Patrick Rossiter.

James Rossiter
Rossiter in Monaco in 2022
NationalityUnited Kingdom British
Born (1983-08-25) 25 August 1983 (age 41)
Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
Related toJeremy Rossiter (father)
Super GT career
Debut season2013
Former teamsTOM'S, Team LeMans, Team Impul
Starts48
Wins6
Poles4
Fastest laps3
Best finish3rd in 2013 and 2014
Previous series
2012-22
2013-19
2013-18
2011–13
2011
2008
2006
2005
2004
2002–03		World Endurance Championship
Super GT
Super Formula
24 Hours of Le Mans
Le Mans Series
American Le Mans Series LMP2
Formula Renault 3.5 Series
Formula 3 Euro Series
British Formula 3
British Formula Renault

James Rossiter (born 25 August 1983) is a former professional racing driver, British motorsport executive and Team Principal of Maserati MSG Racing in Formula E.[1]

He was a Test Driver for BAR, Honda, Super Aguri and Force India in Formula One and was due to drive for the proposed US F1 Team in the 2010 season.[2][3] Before joining Maserati, Rossiter was the Sporting Director and Reserve Driver for DS Techeetah and raced for Peugeot Sport in the FIA World Endurance Championship.[4]

Career

Karting

Born in Oxford, England, Rossiter started his motor racing career in karting at the age of 14. Competing in TKM and Rotax Max karts, he stepped up to single-seater competition after only three years, testing a Formula Palmer Audi at the Bedford Autodrome in 2001.

Formula Renault and Formula 3

Rossiter took the first steps in his professional career in 2002 by joining Falcon Motorsport to compete in the Formula Renault UK championship. Securing a best finish of fourth at Thruxton, he finished 13th in the Drivers’ Standings with 103 points but returned for the 2003 season, switching to Fortec Motorsport.

Hitting his competitive stride immediately, Rossiter finished third behind Mike Conway and Lewis Hamilton at the season opener at Snetterton and scored a further nine podiums, including one win, over the remainder of the season. He finished third overall behind Hamilton and Alex Lloyd and was recognised by a leading journalist as “the only driver to take the fight to Lewis Hamilton”.

In 2004, Rossiter continued his relationship with Fortec Motorsport but graduated to the British Formula 3 championship.[5] He scored three victories and 12 podiums during the season to finish third in the Drivers’ Championship behind Nelson Piquet Jr. and Adam Carroll, while also receiving the Rookie of the Year Award.[6]

With further performances at the Macau Grand Prix and Masters of Formula 3 events in 2004, Rossiter received the BRDC John Cooper Award and was selected as the winner of the BAR young F1 driver search from a group of upcoming racing drivers.[7]

In 2005, Rossiter graduated to international competition, racing in the Formula 3 Euro Series for Signature-Plus. He finished the season in seventh in the Drivers’ Championship with one win and three podiums before switching to Formula Renault 3.5 for 2006, in which he was 14th.

Formula One

After being selected as the winner of the BAR young F1 driver search in 2004, Rossiter continued to perform development work for the team throughout the 2005 season.[8] He was retained for 2006 following Honda’s acquisition of the team and in 2007, worked primarily with the Super Aguri F1 team, spearheaded by Aguri Suzuki and Mark Preston.[9][10]

In 2008, Rossiter was again retained by Honda as the team’s primary test and development driver for its Formula One program. Working in Japan, he played a key role in the development of the Honda RA109 which would become Jenson Button's World Championship-winning Brawn BGP 001 in 2009.

Following Honda’s withdrawal from Formula One, Rossiter focussed on securing a drive with one of four new teams entering the sport for the 2010 season. He was signed by the US F1 Team to partner José María López but was not officially confirmed prior to the team’s collapse.[11][12]

Rossiter was instead poised to join the IndyCar Series, driving for KV Racing Technology after testing for the team at Barber Motorsports Park although the team re-signed Mario Morales, which left him without a drive. He subsequently joined Sky Sports as a commentator for their IndyCar coverage.[13]

After three years away from Formula One, Rossiter returned in 2012 by joining Force India as a test and simulator driver. He drove the team’s 2013 car, the VJM06, at the first pre-season test at Jerez and was set to make his first practice appearance at the British Grand Prix to replace Adrian Sutil, although this was cancelled due to wet weather.[14]

Super GT and Super Formula

Rossiter during qualifying at Motegi in 2014.

In 2013, Rossiter joined TOM'S to race full-time in the Super GT championship. As team-mate to ex-F1 driver Kazuki Nakajima, he won the second race of the season at Fuji and the penultimate race at Autopolis. He finished third in the standings, nine points behind champions Kohei Hirate and Yuji Tachikawa and also ran a part-time campaign in Super Formula, taking a best result of sixth.

Rossiter ran full-time in both Super GT and Super Formula in 2014 with TOM’S and Kondō Racing. He finished third in Super GT with a pair of wins at Suzuka and Buriam and took a best finish of second at Super Formula’s season opener and was sixth in the standings.

He continued his dual racing program throughout 2015 and 2016 and scored one win and four podiums with TOM’S in Super GT before racing solely in the series in 2017 after leaving Kondō Racing. He secured his final win in the series at Autopolis and finished fifth in the championship.

In 2018, Rossiter ran full-time in Super Formula with TOM’S and part-time in Super GT. He switched to Team Impul to race solely in Super GT in 2019 and scored his final podium at Okayama by finishing third.

World Endurance Championship

Before joining the FIA World Endurance Championship, Rossiter took his first steps in sportscar racing in 2008 by competing part-time in the American Le Mans Series with Andretti Green Racing. He won alongside team-mate Franck Montagny at Belle Isle and later raced at the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans with Jetalliance Racing, driving a Lotus Evora.

In 2012, he joined Lotus in the World Endurance Championship’s LMP2 class. He secured a best finish of ninth at Bahrain and started from pole position at Shanghai. He continued to drive for the team part-time in 2013 and 2014.

Rossiter rejoined the ByKolles operation in 2016 and ran part-time over the next three seasons, making six appearances in LMP1 alongside one LMP2 start for G-Drive Racing in 2017.[15]

On 8 February 2021, Rossiter was named as the simulator and reserve driver for Peugeot Sport's return to the World Endurance Championship in the Hypercar class. He was later promoted to a full-time race seat following Kevin Magnussen's return to Formula One with Haas in 2022.[16]

Rossiter finished fourth on the Peugeot 9X8's debut at Monza and finished fifth at Fuji. On 7 October 2022, Rossiter confirmed his departure from Peugeot and announced his retirement from professional competition to join Maserati MSG Racing in Formula E as Team Principal.[17]

Formula E

In 2017, Rossiter represented Venturi Racing at Formula E pre-season testing at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain, alongside Edoardo Mortara, Maro Engel and Michael Benyahia.[18]

DS Techeetah

After missing out on a drive for the 2017-18 season, Rossiter reunited with former Super Aguri Technical Director, Mark Preston, to drive for DS Techeetah in Formula E’s first Rookie Test, at which he set the fifth-fastest time.

Rossiter was named as Techeetah’s Development Driver for the 2018-19 season and, working with DS Automobiles, played a key role in the development of the team’s championship-winning DS E-TENSE FE19 package.[19] He returned to the cockpit for Formula E’s 2019 Rookie Test and set the second-fastest time behind Nico Müller.[20]

Following Formula E’s fifth season, Rossiter became Techeetah’s Reserve Driver and was also appointed to the role of Sporting Director after the departure of predecessor Pedro de la Rosa. At the 2020 Marrakesh ePrix, Rossiter replaced full-time driver Jean-Éric Vergne for FP1, when the reigning champion was feeling unwell.[21]

The team went on to win both the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships in the 2019-20 season. Rossiter remained in the position of Reserve Driver and Sporting Director throughout the 2020/21 and 2021/22 campaigns before leaving the team.

Maserati MSG Racing

On 7 October 2022, Rossiter joined Maserati MSG Racing as Team Principal following the departure of former team boss Jérôme d'Ambrosio and confirmed his retirement from professional driving.[22]

Racing record

Career summary

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2002 Formula Renault UK Falcon Motorsport 11 0 0 0 0 103 13th
2003 Formula Renault UK Fortec Motorsport 16 1 1 0 10 347 3rd
2004 British Formula 3 International Series Fortec Motorsport 24 3 4 3 12 228 3rd
Masters of Formula 3 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 4th
FIA European Formula Three Cup 1 0 0 1 0 N/A 13th
Macau Grand Prix Signature Team 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
Bahrain Superprix 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 4th
Formula One Lucky Strike BAR Honda Test driver
2005 Formula 3 Euro Series Signature-Plus 20 1 0 0 3 51 7th
Masters of Formula 3 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
Formula One Lucky Strike BAR Honda Test driver
2006 Formula Renault 3.5 Series Pons Racing 17 0 0 0 1 33 14th
Formula One Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team Test driver
2007 Formula One Super Aguri F1 Test driver
2008 American Le Mans Series - LMP2 Andretti Green Racing 3 1 0 0 1 39 22nd
Formula One Honda Racing F1 Team Test driver
2011 Le Mans Series - GTE Pro Lotus Jetalliance 3 0 0 0 0 0 51st
24 Hours of Le Mans - GTE Pro 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 7th
American Le Mans Series - GT 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2012 FIA World Endurance Championship Lotus 6 0 0 0 0 4.5 44th
Formula One Sahara Force India F1 Team Test driver
2013 Super GT Petronas Team TOM'S 8 2 1 0 3 60 3rd
Super Formula 3 0 0 0 0 2.5 16th
FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2 Lotus 3 0 0 0 0 8 25th
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
Formula One Sahara Force India F1 Team Test driver
2014 Super GT Lexus Team Petronas TOM'S 8 2 2 0 2 68 3rd
Super Formula Kondō Racing 9 0 0 0 1 22 9th
FIA World Endurance Championship Lotus 2 0 0 0 0 0.5 25th
2015 Super GT Lexus Team Petronas TOM'S 8 1 0 0 2 49 7th
Super Formula Kondō Racing 8 0 0 0 0 5 12th
2016 Super GT Lexus Team KeePer TOM'S 8 0 1 0 2 38 9th
Super Formula Kondō Racing 9 0 0 0 0 12 10th
FIA World Endurance Championship ByKolles Racing Team 2 0 0 0 0 8.5 24th
2017 Super GT Lexus Team au TOM'S 8 1 0 1 1 53 5th
FIA World Endurance Championship ByKolles Racing Team 2 0 0 0 0 9 29th
FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2 G-Drive Racing 1 0 0 0 0 8 26th
2017–18 Formula E Venturi Formula E Team Test driver
Techeetah
2018 Super Formula Vantelin Team TOM'S 6 0 0 1 0 0 17th
Super GT Lexus Team au TOM'S 1 0 0 0 0 8 18th
Lexus Team LeMans Wako's 1 0 0 0 0
2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship ByKolles Racing Team 2 0 0 0 0 10 26th
Formula E DS Techeetah Development driver
2019 Super GT Team Impul 7 0 0 0 1 17.5 13th
2019–20 Formula E DS Techeetah Reserve driver
2020–21 Formula E DS Techeetah Reserve driver
2022 FIA World Endurance Championship - Hypercar Peugeot TotalEnergies 2 0 0 0 0 22 8th

Complete Formula 3 Euro Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate 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 20 DC Points
2005 Signature-Plus Dallara F305/025 Mercedes HOC
1
4 		HOC
2
1 		PAU
1
3 		PAU
2
4 		SPA
1
2 		SPA
2
8 		MCO
1
4 		MCO
2
4 		OSC
1
15 		OSC
2
13 		NOR
1
Ret 		NOR
2
7 		NÜR
1
10 		NÜR
2
Ret 		ZAN
1
Ret 		ZAN
2
10 		LAU
1
18 		LAU
2
14 		HOC
1
5 		HOC
2
9 		7th 51

Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series 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 17 DC Points
2006 Pons Racing ZOL
1
5 		ZOL
2
Ret 		MON
1
2 		IST
1
Ret 		IST
2
5 		MIS
1
9 		MIS
2
6 		SPA
1
Ret 		SPA
2
24 		NÜR
1
Ret 		NÜR
2
Ret 		DON
1
Ret 		DON
2
Ret 		LMS
1
16 		LMS
2
17 		CAT
1
9 		CAT
2
Ret 		14th 33

Complete American Le Mans Series results

Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Rank Points
2008 Andretti Green Racing LMP2 Acura ARX-01b Acura 3.4L V8 SEB STP LBH UTA LIM MDO RDA
7 		MOS
4 		DET
1 		PET MON 22nd 39

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2011 Austria Lotus Jetalliance Switzerland Jonathan Hirschi
United Kingdom Johnny Mowlem 		Lotus Evora GTE GTE
Pro 		295 22nd 7th
2013 Germany Lotus France Christophe Bouchut
United States Kevin Weeda 		Lotus T128 LMP2 17 DNF DNF

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

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

Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rank Points
2012 Lotus LMP2 Lola B12/80 Lotus 3.6 L V8 SEB SPA
29 		LMS SIL
Ret 		SÃO
13 		BHR
9 		FUJ
12 		SHA
Ret 		44th 4.5
2013 Lotus LMP2 Lotus T128 Praga Judd 3.6 L V8 SIL SPA
6 		LMS
Ret 		SÃO COA
DNS 		FUJ
10 		SHA BHR 25th 8
2014 Lotus LMP1 CLM P1/01 AER P60 Turbo V6 SIL SPA LMS COA
15 		FUJ
Ret 		SHA BHR SÃO 25th 0.5
2016 ByKolles Racing Team LMP1 CLM P1/01 AER P60 2.4 L Turbo V6 SIL
14 		SPA
6 		LMS NÜR MEX COA FUJ SHA BHR 24th 8.5
2017 ByKolles Racing Team LMP1 ENSO CLM P1/01 Nismo VRX30A 3.0 L Turbo V6 SIL
Ret 		SPA
6 		LMS NÜR MEX COA 29th 9
G-Drive Racing LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 FUJ
6 		SHA BHR 26th 8
2018–19 ByKolles Racing Team LMP1 ENSO CLM P1/01 Nismo VRX30A 3.0 L Turbo V6 SPA LMS SIL FUJ
5 		SHA
Ret 		SEB SPA LMS 26th 10
2022 Peugeot TotalEnergies Hypercar Peugeot 9X8 Peugeot 2.6 L Turbo V6 SEB SPA LMS MNZ
4 		FUJ
5 		BHR 8th 22

Complete Super GT results

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

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 DC Points
2013 Lexus Team Petronas TOM'S Lexus SC430 GT500 OKA
12 		FUJ
1 		SEP
11 		SUG
10 		SUZ
3 		FUJ
12 		AUT
1 		MOT
5 		3rd 60
2014 Lexus Team Petronas TOM'S Lexus RC F GT500 OKA
13 		FUJ
9 		AUT
5 		SUG
4 		FUJ
5 		SUZ
1 		BUR
1 		MOT
10 		3rd 68
2015 Lexus Team Petronas TOM'S Lexus RC F GT500 OKA
14 		FUJ
3 		CHA
8 		FUJ
7 		SUZ
1 		SUG
13 		AUT
5 		MOT
Ret 		7th 49
2016 Lexus Team KeePer TOM'S Lexus RC F GT500 OKA
2 		FUJ
3 		SUG
8 		FUJ
12 		SUZ
Ret 		CHA
9 		MOT
Ret 		MOT
5 		9th 38
2017 Lexus Team au TOM's Lexus LC 500 GT500 OKA
5 		FUJ
5 		AUT
1 		SUG
7 		FUJ
4 		SUZ
9 		BUR
5 		MOT
14 		5th 53
2018 Lexus Team au TOM's Lexus LC 500 GT500 OKA FUJ
4 		18th 8
Lexus Team LeMans Wako's SUZ
12 		CHA FUJ SUG AUT MOT
2019 Team Impul Nissan GT-R GT500 OKA
3‡ 		FUJ
12 		SUZ
10 		BUR
8 		FUJ
5 		AUT SUG
14 		MOT
Ret 		13th 17.5

‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.

Complete Super Formula 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 DC Points
2013 Petronas Team TOM'S SUZ
11 		AUT FUJ MOT SUG SUZ
7 		SUZ
6 		16th 2.5
2014 Kondō Racing SUZ
2 		FUJ
6 		FUJ
17 		FUJ
8 		MOT
8 		AUT
5 		SUG
4 		SUZ
6 		SUZ
10 		6th 22
2015 Kondō Racing SUZ
16 		OKA
Ret 		FUJ
7 		MOT
12 		AUT
6 		SUG
14 		SUZ
Ret 		SUZ
Ret 		12th 5
2016 Kondō Racing SUZ
6 		OKA
9 		FUJ
5 		MOT
5 		OKA
9 		OKA
10 		SUG
8 		SUZ
12 		SUZ
15 		10th 12
2018 Vantelin Team TOM'S SUZ
11 		AUT
C 		SUG
Ret 		FUJ
19 		MOT
9 		OKA
11 		SUZ
Ret 		17th 0

References

  1. ^ Smith, Sam. "EX-F1 TEST DRIVER SIGNED TO LEAD MASERATI'S FORMULA E TEAM". the-race.com. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  2. ^ Straw, Edd. "British GP: James Rossiter to drive Force India in practice". Autosport.com. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  3. ^ Cooper, Adam. "US F1 had signed Rossiter as well as Lopez – but still the sums didn't add up". adamcooperf1.com. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  4. ^ Blackstock, Elizabeth. "Maserati Formula E Team to Be Headed by James Rossiter". jalopnik.com. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  5. ^ "James Rossiter signs Fortec F3 deal". au.motorsport.com. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  6. ^ "Brands Hatch: Race one summary, champion crowned". us.motorsport.com. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  7. ^ "BRDC rewards Button and Richards". grandprix.com. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  8. ^ van der Merwe, Alan. "Carroll fastest of the BAR young guns". crash.net. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  9. ^ Duffy, David. "Rossiter named as Honda test driver". oxfordmail.co.uk.
  10. ^ Duffy, David. "Rossiter joins Super Aguri". oxfordmail.co.uk. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  11. ^ "USF1 had actually signed two drivers". crash.net. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  12. ^ Cooper, Adam. USF1 Had Signed Rossiter As Well As Lopez Archived 3 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Speed Channel, 1 March 2010, Retrieved 1 March 2010
  13. ^ Watkins, Gary. "Autoweek.com". IndyCar: Lotus driver James Rossiter eyes race seat at KV Racing Technology. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  14. ^ "ROSSITER MISSES OUT ON PRACTICE CHANCE". eurosport.com. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  15. ^ "James Rossiter returns to ByKolles LMP1 squad for two WEC rounds". Autosport.com. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  16. ^ Thural, Rachit. "Peugeot reveals final 9X8 WEC Hypercar, Rossiter in for Monza". Autosport.com. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  17. ^ Golding, Nick. "Maserati MSG Racing Announce James Rossiter as Team Principal". thecheckeredflag.co.uk. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  18. ^ Smith, Luke. "Mortara joins Venturi for Formula E season four". crash.net. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  19. ^ "TECHEETAH Formula E Announces James Rossiter as Development Driver". dstecheetah.com. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  20. ^ Kalinauckas, Alex. "Muller tops Marrakesh Formula E test for Audi". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  21. ^ Fry, Frances. "ROSSITER SITS IN FOR VERGNE IN MARRAKESH FP1". e-racing.net. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  22. ^ "Maserati MSG Racing announces James Rossiter as team principal". FIA Formula E. 7 October 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
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