Robert Doornbos

Robert Doornbos
Nationality	Dutch
IndyCar Series career
Debut season	2009
Current team	HVM Racing
Car number	33
Former teams	Newman/Haas/Lanigan
Starts	9
Wins	0
Poles	0
Fastest laps	0
Previous series
2008–09 2008 2008 2007 2005–06 2004–07 2004 2003 2002–03 2001–02 2001, 2003 2000 2000 1999	A1 Grand Prix Superleague Formula Rolex Sports Car Series Champ Car World Series Formula One Formula One testing International Formula 3000 Formula Three Euroseries Italian Formula Three Championship German Formula Three Championship British Formula Three Championship Formula Ford 1800 Benelux Formula Ford Zetec Netherlands Formula Vauxhall Lotus Winter Series

Formula One World Championship career
Active years	2005–2006
Teams	Minardi, Red Bull Racing
Entries	11
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	2005 German Grand Prix
Last entry	2006 Brazilian Grand Prix

Robert Michael Doornbos () (born September 23, 1981 in Rotterdam, Netherlands) is a Dutch racing driver. He has been test and third driver for the Jordan and Red Bull Racing Formula One teams, as well as driving for Minardi and Red Bull Racing in 2005 and 2006. Doornbos then drove for Minardi Team USA in the 2007 and final season of the Champ Car World Series. He competed in the Superleague Formula racing series in 2008, and is currently driving for the Netherlands team in A1 Grand Prix's 2008-2009 season. In 2009, Doornbos is driving in the IndyCar Series. He began the season with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, but switched to HVM Racing after the race in Kentucky Speedway.

Tennis Player to Racing Driver

Doornbos' first sport was tennis, and he competed at semi-professional national level in the Netherlands. His interest in motorsport grew after he was invited to the 1998 Belgian Grand Prix as a guest of WilliamsF1. It was 1997 Formula One Champion Jacques Villeneuve who suggested that he should go for a series such as Formula Ford, as he was too big and too old to race karts. He gave up tennis and focused on racing, joining the JR racing team for the 1999 Opel Lotus UK Winter series. He had a successful season, finishing second in the championship after taking four pole positions, four fastest laps and four wins. In 2000, he competed in the Formula Ford Zetec Benelux series, finishing 2nd in the Belgian championship and 5th overall with one pole, three fastest laps and six podiums.

Formula 3 career

Returning to the UK in 2001, Doornbos contested the Scholarship class of the British Formula Three championship with FGR Racing. He finished the year fifth in the championship, taking two poles, two wins and nine podiums. He drew attention to himself with a second place finish in the Formula 3 support race to the British Grand Prix. He then moved to the German Formula 3 championship with Team Ghinzani. He picked up four podiums, but no win. The year also featured a sixth place finish in the prestigious Macau Grand Prix. Continuing with the team in 2003, Doornbos competed in the European Formula 3 Championship, visiting the podium seven times. He took pole position at Spa-Francorchamps for the F3 Masters event, and finished 2nd in Korea.

Formula 3000

With support from Red Bull, Doornbos joined reigning International Formula 3000 champions Arden International for the 2004 FIA International Formula 3000 Championship. Partnered with Vitantonio Liuzzi, Doornbos claimed Rookie of the Year after finishing third in the championship. During the year, he took a fastest lap and four podium finishes, including a race win at Spa-Francorchamps.

Formula One

Test Driver - Jordan

Prior to the 2004 Chinese Grand Prix, it was announced that Doornbos would be the official Friday test driver for the Jordan F1 team, replacing Timo Glock, who had been promoted to race duties in place of Giorgio Pantano, whose sponsorship money had "dried up". Doornbos impressed as test driver for the final few races of the season, and was reappointed with the newly-sold Jordan team for the 2005 season.

Doornbos at the 2005 United States Grand Prix

Doornbos completed Friday testing duties for Jordan in all but two of the first 11 events of the year, with French Renault F1 test driver Franck Montagny testing at the European Grand Prix, and Jordan being banned from using a third car at the Canadian Grand Prix after using too many tyres at the previous race.

Race Driver - Minardi

On July 19 Doornbos was appointed as a Minardi race driver for the 2005 German Grand Prix onwards, replacing Austrian Patrick Friesacher, who had encountered sponsorship issues. In his first Formula One race, he collided with Jacques Villeneuve, the man who gave advice to Doornbos to start his career as a race driver. Doornbos raced a total of eight Grand Prix for the team, his best result being a 13th position in the Turkish and Belgian Grands Prix.

Doornbos and teammate Christijan Albers became the first all-Dutch team line-up since Carel Godin de Beaufort and Ben Pon drove together for the Ecurie Maarsbergen team at the 1962 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. The teammates, however, were not the best of friends, which made the internal competition only more interesting. As Doornbos became more adapted to the car, he came closer to his teammate and in the last few races, was often the faster of the two.

Red Bull

Doornbos driving for Red Bull Racing at the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix.

The Minardi team ceased to exist in its previous form at the end of 2005, being bought out by Red Bull and becoming their Scuderia Toro Rosso team. Doornbos was unable to find a race drive for 2006, but Christian Horner, his former F3000 boss, had since been appointed as Sporting Director of Red Bull Racing, where he was appointed the team's test and reserve driver.

He thus spent most of 2006 testing at the racetracks on Fridays, ready to step into a race drive if either David Coulthard or Christian Klien were unable to race. In his role as the Red Bull test driver, he once more showed his talents as a racing driver. In the majority of the Grand Prix tests on Fridays, he was to be found in the top 10, and a number of times he achieved a top 3 time.

At the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix, he was involved in a controversial incident with Fernando Alonso, which resulted in the Spaniard incurring a two-second qualifying penalty.

After the Italian Grand Prix, when Klien announced he would no longer be driving for Red Bull Racing, Doornbos was promoted to the second racing seat alongside Coulthard for the remaining three races. He entered with a bang by qualifying in the top 10 for his first race, in China. However, he touched Robert Kubica at the first corner during the race and the delay restricted him to 12th place at the finish.

He was subsequently signed as one of the team's test drivers for 2007, alongside Michael Ammermüller, with Coulthard and Mark Webber taking the race seats.

Formula One Demonstrations

In his role as Formula One test- and racing driver, Robert Doornbos has given several demonstrations, both on tracks during other race events, as well as on public road. In the Netherlands, he has driven a Formula 1 car on public roads twice. In 2005, he was one of the drivers of the Monaco aan de Maas event in his hometown of Rotterdam. On August 15 2006, he made the news with a fundraiser for the children of the 'Stichting Geluk en Vrijheid' (Foundation Happiness and Freedom). At a speed of 326 km/h (204 mph), he drove his Red Bull Formula One Car over the highway A7 on the Afsluitdijk in the Netherlands.

Champ Car World Series

After missing a racing seat for the 2007 Formula One season, Robert Doornbos signed a contract with Minardi Team USA for the 2007 Champ Car World Series season. He made a successful debut in the series in the first race of the season, the Vegas Grand Prix. After qualifying 3rd, Doornbos finished on the podium, taking 2nd place in the race. This made him the first rookie since Nigel Mansell in 1993 to make it to the podium in his first Champ Car race. A drive through penalty in 2007 Grand Prix of Cleveland quite possibly cost Robert a chance at his first Champ Car victory, but he still managed a fine second place behind Paul Tracy. One week later, however, Robert won the 2007 Mont-Tremblant Grand Prix in Canada and as a result took the joint lead of the championship with Sébastien Bourdais. After scoring this victory, the ESPN broadcast team dubbed him "Bobby D" - a nickname he reportedly enjoys. He later went on to win the 2007 San Jose Grand Prix after an accident during the first lap on turn one left him without his front wing. The accident inadvertently put him on an alternate pit strategy that he used to his advantage and secured the win. Although he impressed many fans and drivers alike with his personality and driving style, Doornbos would end up 3rd in points at season's end, although he did win Roshfrans Rookie of the Year. After the merger of the CCWS and the Indy Car Series was announced for 2008, the Minardi half of the team elected not to take part, reducing HVM Racing to a one-car team. This left Doornbos without a drive for 2008.

Superleague Formula

After failing to secure a seat with competitive teams in the unified IndyCar Series, and refusing to drive for uncompetitive teams, Doornbos opted to sit out the 2008 season in search for a competitive seat in 2009. It was announced on 21 May 2008 that Doornbos would drive for A.C. Milan in the Superleague Formula, a newly created racing series where the cars are sponsored by football clubs. The club's technical director is the son of Giancarlo Minardi, former owner of the Minardi Formula One team under its take over by Paul Stoddart. Doornbos finished 3rd in the inaugural 2008 season.

IndyCar Series

Doornbos contested the 2009 IndyCar Series season with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. Since he had no previous oval track racing experience, he has received coaching from fellow Dutchman Arie Luyendyk. Robert has finished no worse than 12th in his first three races but the highlight has been a second place start in his first oval track race at Kansas (helped by disqualifications of Dario Franchitti and Hélio Castroneves for dipping below the white line during qualifying). Lining up beside his team-mate Graham Rahal, Newman/Haas/Lanigan cars formed the front row for the first time since Milwaukee in 2006. He took the lead after the first round of pit stops, but on that first stop under yellow he bumped a stationary tire in the pit stall ahead of him. He was penalised to the rear of the field and was no longer a factor.

On August 4, 2009 Doornbos posted on his official website that he was leaving Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing effective immediately. He stated that there was the option for him to leave the team after 12 races and he decided to take it. He also said that he would like to stay in IndyCar and would announce his future plans shortly.

On August 5, 2009 Doornbos signed with HVM Racing in the IndyCar Series for the remainder of the 2009 and to drive for the team through 2010.

Motorsports Career Results

Career summary

Season	Series	Team Name	Races	Poles	Wins	Points	Final Placing
1999	Formula Ford 1800 Benelux	Team JR Racing	?	4	4	?	2nd
	Formula Vauxhall Lotus Winter Series		?	?	?	?	2nd
2000	Formula Ford 1800 Benelux	?	?	?	?	58	5th
	Formula Ford Zetec Netherlands	?	?	?	?	61	6th
	Formula Ford Festival	Sweeney/Hopper Racing	1	0	0	N/A	NC
2001	British Formula Three	Fred Goddard Racing (National Class)	26	1	2	182	5th
	German Formula Three	JB Motorsport	6	0	0	0	NC
2002	German Formula Three	Team Ghinzani	18	0	0	17	11th
	Italian Formula Three		1	0	0	4	11th
	European Formula Three Cup		1	0	0	N/A	11th
	Macau Grand Prix		1	0	0	N/A	6th
	Korea Super Prix		1	0	0	N/A	8th
2003	Formula Three Euroseries	Team Ghinzani	20	0	0	40	9th
	Italian Formula Three		1	0	0	6	16th
	British Formula Three	Menu Motorsport	4	0	0	26	17th
	Macau Grand Prix		2	0	0	N/A	16th
	Korea Super Prix		1	0	0	N/A	2nd
	Masters of Formula Three	?	1	0	0	N/A	18th
2004	International Formula 3000	Arden International	10	0	1	44	3rd
2005	Formula One	Minardi	8	0	0	0	25th
	Formula One	Jordan	Test driver
2006	Formula One	Red Bull	3	0	0	0	24th
2007	Champ Car World Series	Minardi Team USA	14	0	2	268	3rd
2008	Superleague Formula	A.C. Milan	9	2	2	267	3rd (1)
2008–09	A1GP	Team Netherlands	6	1	1	75 (1)	4th (1)
2009	IndyCar Series	Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing	13	0	0	225	16th

(1) = Team standings

Complete International Formula 3000 results

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

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	Tyres	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	DC	Points
2004	Arden International	Lola B02/50	Zytek KV V8	A	SMR 3	ESP 14	MON 6	EUR 2	FRA 5	GBR 10	GER 4	HUN 7	BEL 1	ITA 3	3rd	44

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	WDC	Points
2004	Jordan Ford	Jordan EJ14	AUS	MAL	BHR	SMR	ESP	MON	EUR	CAN	USA	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	CHN TD	JPN TD	BRA TD		-	-
2005	Jordan Grand Prix	Jordan EJ15	AUS TD	MAL TD	BHR TD	SMR TD	ESP TD	MON TD	EUR	CAN	USA TD											25th	0
		Jordan EJ15B										FRA TD	GBR TD
	Minardi Cosworth	Minardi PS05												GER 18	HUN Ret	TUR 13	ITA 18	BEL 13	BRA Ret	JPN 14	CHN 14
2006	Red Bull Racing	Red Bull RB2	BHR TD	MAL TD	AUS TD	SMR TD	EUR TD	ESP TD	MON TD	GBR TD	CAN TD	USA TD	FRA TD	GER TD	HUN TD	TUR TD	ITA TD	CHN 12	JPN 13	BRA 12		24th	0

ChampCar

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Rank	Points
2007	Minardi Team USA	LVS 2	LBH 13	HOU 3	POR 3	CLE 2	MTT 1	TOR 6	EDM 11	SJO 1	ROA 14	ZOL 7	ASN 13	SRF 4	MXC Ret	3rd	268

Superleague Formula

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Rank	Pts.
2008	A.C. Milan Scuderia Playteam	DON Ret	DON DNS	NÜR 1	NÜR 6	ZOL Ret	ZOL 4	EST 2	EST 2	VAL 2	VAL Ret	JER 1	JER 10	3rd	317

IndyCar

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Rank	Points
2009	N/H/L Racing	STP 11	LBH 9	KAN 12	INDY Ret	MIL 14	TXS 11	IOW Ret	RIR 9	WGL 9	TOR Ret	EDM 9	KTY 19						16th	283
	HVM Racing													MDO 14	SNM 10	CHI 18	MOT 16	HMS Ret

Years	Teams	Races	Poles	Wins	Podiums (Non-win)	Top 10s (Non-podium)	Indianapolis 500 Wins	Championships
1	2	17	0	0	0	5	0	0

Indianapolis 500 results

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Team
2009	Dallara	Honda	23	28	N/H/L

External links

• The official website for Robert Doornbos
• Robert Doornbos profile and statistics
• Robert Doornbos career statistics at Driver Database
• Whatever happened to... Robert Doornbos? the red bullog