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Career Overview
Justin Wilson started racing Karts in 1988 before he was nine years old. After showing startling natural ability and subsequently, determination and dedication he achieved much success. At fifteen he graduated earlier than is normal to Formula ‘A’, and finished 5th in the British Championship. Then, with a regulation change allowing 16 year olds to race cars, Formula Vauxhall Junior beckoned.
In 1994, aged 16 years and 3 months, he made history by winning his first ever race, becoming the first 16 year old to win a motor race. He went on in 1995 to win the Junior Challenge Cup, take third place in the Formula Vauxhall Junior Championship, win the BRDC Chris Bristow Trophy, for the most promising Driver to race on the Silverstone National Circuit and was chosen as one of the six finalists’ in the McLaren Autosport BRDC Driver of the Year Award.
In the winter of 1995 Justin came third in the Formula Vauxhall Winter Series and was selected by Paul Stewart Racing for a full assault on the 1996 Formula Vauxhall British Championship.
Still only 17 years of age Justin won his first Formula Vauxhall Championship round on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit beating his team-mate into second place and taking fastest lap. Other statistics in 1996 include 1 lap record, 2 pole positions, 3 fastest laps, 1 first place, 5 seconds and 3 thirds.
The 1997 season had begun in the best possible way at Donington Park, a dominant victory, with Justin setting the fastest lap of the race and from pole position, the rest of the field simply trailed in his wake. The rest of his season was one of mixed fortunes. This was emphasised by the British Grand Prix-supporting FOEUS round. Challenging for 3rd place, and podium glory, a faulty battery brought his charge to a halt, the car coasting to retirement.
1998 proved a turning point for Justin after signing up for the inaugural Formula Palmer Audi Championship. After a shaky start, scoring no points in the first two races, Justin’s experience and cool temperament shone through. He gradually climbed the points table to 12th out of the 26 drivers by mid season and 3rd with 7 races remaining. 6 wins from the last 7 races secured the championship with a pair of dominant performances at Donington scoring pole positions, fastest laps and setting a new lap record. Justin’s prize for winning the FPA series was a fully funded season in the F1 feeder category and Grand Prix support series, the FIA International F3000 Championship.
1999 proved to be a challenging rookie season in the FIA International Formula 3000 category with Team Astromega. With a new car design, 42 drivers attempted to qualify for every race. Justin was one of only seven to qualify on the grid for all ten rounds. He finished in the points on two occasions, the first time being his debut race at Imola and then the second time he was unfortunate to miss the podium after a last lap incident with his namesake Max Wilson.
2000 saw Justin switch teams to Nordic Racing, which ultimately proved beneficial to both parties. With knowledge of the circuits and better understanding of set-up, Justin started to earmark himself as a challenger. He finished the season fifth in the championship only one point behind the driver in fourth, with two podiums - 3rd at the Silverstone GP and 2nd at A1 Ring GP with points scored in five of the eight races completed. Justin had firmly established himself as a favourite for the 2001 title and he would not disappoint.
Justin remained with Nordic Racing for the 2001 season and started the year, as he would finish it, spraying champagne. The series visited Brazil for the first time and in the opening round at Interlagos Justin claimed his maiden win. He didn’t have to wait long until his second win as he triumphed at the A1 Ring in Austria in Round 4. Podium finishes in Spain, Monaco, France, Britain and Germany coupled with another victory in Hungary in Round 10 of the championship meant that Justin headed to Belgium and the sweeping Spa-Francorchamps circuit with the championship all but won. He duly delivered with a fine second place finish to become the first British driver to win the FIA International F3000 Championship. On top of this, in a championship where the winner usually has to fight to the very last race, Justin’s domination of the series allowed him to wrap up the title with one round to go. He would finish the season with a second place finish at Monza in Italy.
Justin’s consistency saw him break Juan Pablo Montoya’s records for points accumulated and number of podium finishes in a single season. Justin’s points tally of 71 from 12 rounds left him 32 points clear of second and third place men Mark Webber and Tomas Enge. He was subsequently invited to test with the Jordan-Honda Formula One team where he impressed immediately in difficult conditions against the team’s regular driver Jean Alesi. Further F1 tests have followed with Jordan and Minardi.
With no F1 drives available for Justin in the 2002 season he chose to compete in the inaugural Telefonica World Series by Nissan. Competing with the Racing Engineering squad Justin endured a slow start to the season but soon established himself amongst the front-runners claiming two wins and six podium finishes from the final eight races. Justin finished the season fourth overall in the Drivers Standings on 171 points, courtesy of wins in Valencia and Interlagos, one second place finish, also at Interlagos and five third place finishes at Jarama, Monza, Catalunya, Valencia and Curitiba.
The 2003 season saw Justin take his place at the pinnacle of motorsport when he competed for the Minardi F1 and Jaguar Racing teams in the FIA Formula One Championship. Justin scored a World Championship Point for Jaguar at the US Grand Prix at Indianapolis.
Unable to bring sufficient sponsorship to retain a top-line Formula One drive in 2004, Justin looked for alternative opportunities in global open wheel racing.
He joined Mi-Jack Conquest Racing for the Champ Car World Series in 2004. With no previous circuit knowledge and a Lola chassis that was also new to the team, Justin quickly established himself as one of the fastest Champ Car drivers. Over the 14-race 2004 season, he scored 8 top ten finishes, with the highlights at Long Beach (where he stormed through the field from 11th to 6th), Monterrey (where he finished 6th with tyre problems, after qualifying 3rd), Portland (5th, after coming out on top of a tense battle with RuSPORT's A.J. Allmendinger) and Mexico City (qualified 3rd and finished 4th).
Having made his mark in Champ Cars as a smooth, yet aggressive racer, Justin signed for RuSPORT in November 2004 to continue in Champ Cars in 2005, partnering A.J. Allmendinger who had taken the Rookie of the Year title at RuSPORT in 2004. Further development by RuSPORT over the winter paid dividends and Justin was consistently on the pace in 2005. He began the season with a run of fourth place finishes in Long Beach, Monterrey and Milwaukee, satisfied but a tad frustrated at having been so close to bagging his first Champ Car podium. An engine problem while leading comfortably at Portland, followed by a qualifying off at Cleveland followed, but it all came good in Toronto where he took his first Champ Car victory after a memorable move on Oriol Servia. The second half of the season brought mixed success, salvaging fourth place from near disaster in Edmonton and another fourth San Jose, a 3rd place finish in Montreal and - of course - his commanding victory in Mexico City the highlights. In the season finale Justin qualified on pole, led 65 of the 70 laps and stamped his mark on the race by setting a lap 0.8 seconds faster than any other driver in the closing stages. His string of two wins, a further podium and five other fourth place finishes earned him 3rd place in the 2005 Champ Car World Series driver standings.
Justin remained at RuSPORT in 2006, and as the team developed and they returned together to many of the same tracks, RuSPORT was able to raise the bar in terms of its competitiveness. Overall, the pace still wasn't quite there to match Newman-Haas at their best, but it was a further step in the right direction. The year started well, with 2nd at Long Beach and three further 2nd place finishes and one 5th in the next four races. Mechanical failure cost Justin a win at Cleveland, and though he took pole in Toronto the car couldn't sustain that one lap pace over the course of the race and Justin finished 4th. One of the season highlights was undoubtedly Edmonton, where Justin scored an emphatic victory over Newman-Haas' Sebastien Bourdais, to lay the ghosts of 2005 to rest. A third place finish followed in San Jose a week later.
After Portland, RuSPORT had replaced A.J. Allmendinger with 2002 champion Cristiano da Matta, and A.J. moved on to Forsythe Championship Racing. A few days after the San Jose race, Cristiano suffered serious head injuries when he collided with a deer at the open Champ Car test in Road America. He has since staged a remarkable recovery, but RuSPORT ran only one car for Justin for the next few races and that took the wind out of their sails to some extent. Nevertheless, things were looking good in Montreal, a race that Justin looked set to win before circumstances saw him dropped to the back of the pack. He ran wide on the exit at the final chicane and hit the wall while trying to make his way back through the field. With new team-mate Ryan Briscoe in place for the last two races, the team headed to Surfers Paradise Australia with a spring in their step. Not for long in Justin's case, though. Clouting a chicane tyre stack during pre-qualifying warm-up he broke the scaphoid bone in his right wrist and immediately headed to Indianapolis to Dr Terry Trammel's clinic to have it pinned. It was touch and go as to whether he would race in the final race in Mexico City, but with the aid of a carbon fibre cast and a large quantity of true grit he not only turned up, but took pole and led most of he race before losing out to victory on the final lap. It was a good way to finish a difficult year. The stats for 2006 were impressive - one win, five 2nd place finishes and one 3rd - but tinged with disappointment.
With the newly launched Panoz DP01 the main weapon at everyone's disposal for 2007, those teams that were best organised could make an early advantage. Justin's season didn't start off in quite the manner expected. RuSPORT essentially became a one car team, co-operating through an operational merger with Rocketsports for most of the season. A transmission failure at Las Vegas was followed by a more positive outing at Long Beach (4th). A potential podium at Houston was lost when Team Australia's Will Power made an ill-advised move and cut Justin's rear tyre, but by Portland the team had found more pace from the car and Justin took pole and 2nd place. As the series headed north through Cleveland and into Canada, Justin delivered podiums in Toronto and Edmonton. In San Jose an outstanding pole position was cruelly translated into 13th, when Dan Clarke rammed Justin while behind the safety car. If that was the "we was robbed" incident of 2007, Elkhart Lake marked the low water point in terms of on-track performance. The car's handling was visibly poor throughout the weekend, qualifying 10th. Champ Car's European trip brought more success, with 5th place in Zolder and the season's only victory on the tight, twisty TT Assen circuit in Holland. Another podium in Surfers Paradise was something of a relief for Justin, who had never gone well here previously, but the eagerly anticipated season finale in Mexico City - where RuSPORT had excelled in the past - ended on rather a dull note after a fuel pressure problem put a severe damper on the #9 car's race pace.
In February 2008, a new chapter opened in Justin's racing career when he joined Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. Hot on the heels of that announcement was the news that the Indy Racing League and Champ Car had unified. Justin drove the #2 McDonalds Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing entry, partnering young American driver Graham Rahal. On the ovals the team generally struggled as it got to grips with the new Dallara chassis, but in spite of typical qualifying positions in the high teens or even 20s, Justin scored top-10 finishes at Kansas, the Milwaukee Mile and Richmond and thoroughly enjoyed the season finale around Chicagoland Speedway where he finished 11th. The main season highlights came from the more familiar road and street course events and included qualifying 2nd at St Petersburg where he led the race in commanding style in the wet before pit strategy forced him back down the field. Justion was to start from the front row again at Watkins Glen, and from pole position at Long Beach, but mechanical reliability forced retirements at both events. Everything came together finally at the Raceway at Belle Isle in Detroit, where Justin scored his maiden IndyCar Series victory. He dedicated the win to Paul Newman.
Justin had hoped to stay with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing into 2009, but the global economic downturn made it exceptionally difficult to raise sponsorship and in the end the team was forced to let Justin go elsewhere. Dale Coyne Racing was to be his next berth in the IndyCar Series and Justin developed an excellent relationship with the small team and with ex-Ganassi engineer Bill Pappas in particular. The ovals were still the weakest part of the overall package, but even here Justin found himself qualifying in the mid pack, with highlights including a 15th place starting place at the Indianapolis 500. As in 2008, however, at the road and street course events where Justin and the engineering team could make more of a difference, Justin shone. The rest of the paddock was stunned to find Justin contending for victory at the season opener in St Petersburg, where he started on the front row and eventually finished 3rd. Qualifying 5th at Long Beach and 4th at Toronto further raised his and the team's profiles as road and street racers to watch, but it was Watkins Glen which was to be the highlight of the season and a heart-warming moment for the Series as a whole, when Justin took the team's first victory in commanding fashion at the famous upstate New York road course.
For 2010 Justin moves on to Dreyer and Reinbold Racing where he's looking forward to working with fellow Briton Mike Conway.
Career Overview
Justin Wilson started racing Karts in 1988 before he was nine years old. After showing startling natural ability and subsequently, determination and dedication he achieved much success. At fifteen he graduated earlier than is normal to Formula ‘A’, and finished 5th in the British Championship. Then, with a regulation change allowing 16 year olds to race cars, Formula Vauxhall Junior beckoned. In 1994, aged 16 years and 3 months, he made history by winning his first ever race, becoming the first 16 year old to win a motor race. He went on in 1995 to win the Junior Challenge Cup, take third place in the Formula Vauxhall Junior Championship, win the BRDC Chris Bristow Trophy, for the most promising Driver to race on the Silverstone National Circuit and was chosen as one of the six finalists’ in the McLaren Autosport BRDC Driver of the Year Award.
In the winter of 1995 Justin came third in the Formula Vauxhall Winter Series and was selected by Paul Stewart Racing for a full assault on the 1996 Formula Vauxhall British Championship.Still only 17 years of age Justin won his first Formula Vauxhall Championship round on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit beating his team-mate into second place and taking fastest lap. Other statistics in 1996 include 1 lap record, 2 pole positions, 3 fastest laps, 1 first place, 5 seconds and 3 thirds.
The 1997 season had begun in the best possible way at Donington Park, a dominant victory, with Justin setting the fastest lap of the race and from pole position, the rest of the field simply trailed in his wake. The rest of his season was one of mixed fortunes. This was emphasised by the British Grand Prix-supporting FOEUS round. Challenging for 3rd place, and podium glory, a faulty battery brought his charge to a halt, the car coasting to retirement. 1998 proved a turning point for Justin after signing up for the inaugural Formula Palmer Audi Championship. After a shaky start, scoring no points in the first two races, Justin’s experience and cool temperament shone through. He gradually climbed the points table to 12th out of the 26 drivers by mid season and 3rd with 7 races remaining. 6 wins from the last 7 races secured the championship with a pair of dominant performances at Donington scoring pole positions, fastest laps and setting a new lap record. Justin’s prize for winning the FPA series was a fully funded season in the F1 feeder category and Grand Prix support series, the FIA International F3000 Championship.
1999 proved to be a challenging rookie season in the FIA International Formula 3000 category with Team Astromega. With a new car design, 42 drivers attempted to qualify for every race. Justin was one of only seven to qualify on the grid for all ten rounds. He finished in the points on two occasions, the first time being his debut race at Imola and then the second time he was unfortunate to miss the podium after a last lap incident with his namesake Max Wilson.2000 saw Justin switch teams to Nordic Racing, which ultimately proved beneficial to both parties. With knowledge of the circuits and better understanding of set-up, Justin started to earmark himself as a challenger. He finished the season fifth in the championship only one point behind the driver in fourth, with two podiums - 3rd at the Silverstone GP and 2nd at A1 Ring GP with points scored in five of the eight races completed. Justin had firmly established himself as a favourite for the 2001 title and he would not disappoint.
Justin remained with Nordic Racing for the 2001 season and started the year, as he would finish it, spraying champagne. The series visited Brazil for the first time and in the opening round at Interlagos Justin claimed his maiden win. He didn’t have to wait long until his second win as he triumphed at the A1 Ring in Austria in Round 4. Podium finishes in Spain, Monaco, France, Britain and Germany coupled with another victory in Hungary in Round 10 of the championship meant that Justin headed to Belgium and the sweeping Spa-Francorchamps circuit with the championship all but won. He duly delivered with a fine second place finish to become the first British driver to win the FIA International F3000 Championship. On top of this, in a championship where the winner usually has to fight to the very last race, Justin’s domination of the series allowed him to wrap up the title with one round to go. He would finish the season with a second place finish at Monza in Italy.
Justin’s consistency saw him break Juan Pablo Montoya’s records for points accumulated and number of podium finishes in a single season. Justin’s points tally of 71 from 12 rounds left him 32 points clear of second and third place men Mark Webber and Tomas Enge. He was subsequently invited to test with the Jordan-Honda Formula One team where he impressed immediately in difficult conditions against the team’s regular driver Jean Alesi. Further F1 tests have followed with Jordan and Minardi.
With no F1 drives available for Justin in the 2002 season he chose to compete in the inaugural Telefonica World Series by Nissan. Competing with the Racing Engineering squad Justin endured a slow start to the season but soon established himself amongst the front-runners claiming two wins and six podium finishes from the final eight races. Justin finished the season fourth overall in the Drivers Standings on 171 points, courtesy of wins in Valencia and Interlagos, one second place finish, also at Interlagos and five third place finishes at Jarama, Monza, Catalunya, Valencia and Curitiba.The 2003 season saw Justin take his place at the pinnacle of motorsport when he competed for the Minardi F1 and Jaguar Racing teams in the FIA Formula One Championship. Justin scored a World Championship Point for Jaguar at the US Grand Prix at Indianapolis.
Unable to bring sufficient sponsorship to retain a top-line Formula One drive in 2004, Justin looked for alternative opportunities in global open wheel racing.
He joined Mi-Jack Conquest Racing for the Champ Car World Series in 2004. With no previous circuit knowledge and a Lola chassis that was also new to the team, Justin quickly established himself as one of the fastest Champ Car drivers. Over the 14-race 2004 season, he scored 8 top ten finishes, with the highlights at Long Beach (where he stormed through the field from 11th to 6th), Monterrey (where he finished 6th with tyre problems, after qualifying 3rd), Portland (5th, after coming out on top of a tense battle with RuSPORT's A.J. Allmendinger) and Mexico City (qualified 3rd and finished 4th).
Having made his mark in Champ Cars as a smooth, yet aggressive racer, Justin signed for RuSPORT in November 2004 to continue in Champ Cars in 2005, partnering A.J. Allmendinger who had taken the Rookie of the Year title at RuSPORT in 2004. Further development by RuSPORT over the winter paid dividends and Justin was consistently on the pace in 2005. He began the season with a run of fourth place finishes in Long Beach, Monterrey and Milwaukee, satisfied but a tad frustrated at having been so close to bagging his first Champ Car podium. An engine problem while leading comfortably at Portland, followed by a qualifying off at Cleveland followed, but it all came good in Toronto where he took his first Champ Car victory after a memorable move on Oriol Servia. The second half of the season brought mixed success, salvaging fourth place from near disaster in Edmonton and another fourth San Jose, a 3rd place finish in Montreal and - of course - his commanding victory in Mexico City the highlights. In the season finale Justin qualified on pole, led 65 of the 70 laps and stamped his mark on the race by setting a lap 0.8 seconds faster than any other driver in the closing stages. His string of two wins, a further podium and five other fourth place finishes earned him 3rd place in the 2005 Champ Car World Series driver standings.
Justin remained at RuSPORT in 2006, and as the team developed and they returned together to many of the same tracks, RuSPORT was able to raise the bar in terms of its competitiveness. Overall, the pace still wasn't quite there to match Newman-Haas at their best, but it was a further step in the right direction. The year started well, with 2nd at Long Beach and three further 2nd place finishes and one 5th in the next four races. Mechanical failure cost Justin a win at Cleveland, and though he took pole in Toronto the car couldn't sustain that one lap pace over the course of the race and Justin finished 4th. One of the season highlights was undoubtedly Edmonton, where Justin scored an emphatic victory over Newman-Haas' Sebastien Bourdais, to lay the ghosts of 2005 to rest. A third place finish followed in San Jose a week later. After Portland, RuSPORT had replaced A.J. Allmendinger with 2002 champion Cristiano da Matta, and A.J. moved on to Forsythe Championship Racing. A few days after the San Jose race, Cristiano suffered serious head injuries when he collided with a deer at the open Champ Car test in Road America. He has since staged a remarkable recovery, but RuSPORT ran only one car for Justin for the next few races and that took the wind out of their sails to some extent. Nevertheless, things were looking good in Montreal, a race that Justin looked set to win before circumstances saw him dropped to the back of the pack. He ran wide on the exit at the final chicane and hit the wall while trying to make his way back through the field. With new team-mate Ryan Briscoe in place for the last two races, the team headed to Surfers Paradise Australia with a spring in their step. Not for long in Justin's case, though. Clouting a chicane tyre stack during pre-qualifying warm-up he broke the scaphoid bone in his right wrist and immediately headed to Indianapolis to Dr Terry Trammel's clinic to have it pinned. It was touch and go as to whether he would race in the final race in Mexico City, but with the aid of a carbon fibre cast and a large quantity of true grit he not only turned up, but took pole and led most of he race before losing out to victory on the final lap. It was a good way to finish a difficult year. The stats for 2006 were impressive - one win, five 2nd place finishes and one 3rd - but tinged with disappointment.
With the newly launched Panoz DP01 the main weapon at everyone's disposal for 2007, those teams that were best organised could make an early advantage. Justin's season didn't start off in quite the manner expected. RuSPORT essentially became a one car team, co-operating through an operational merger with Rocketsports for most of the season. A transmission failure at Las Vegas was followed by a more positive outing at Long Beach (4th). A potential podium at Houston was lost when Team Australia's Will Power made an ill-advised move and cut Justin's rear tyre, but by Portland the team had found more pace from the car and Justin took pole and 2nd place. As the series headed north through Cleveland and into Canada, Justin delivered podiums in Toronto and Edmonton. In San Jose an outstanding pole position was cruelly translated into 13th, when Dan Clarke rammed Justin while behind the safety car. If that was the "we was robbed" incident of 2007, Elkhart Lake marked the low water point in terms of on-track performance. The car's handling was visibly poor throughout the weekend, qualifying 10th. Champ Car's European trip brought more success, with 5th place in Zolder and the season's only victory on the tight, twisty TT Assen circuit in Holland. Another podium in Surfers Paradise was something of a relief for Justin, who had never gone well here previously, but the eagerly anticipated season finale in Mexico City - where RuSPORT had excelled in the past - ended on rather a dull note after a fuel pressure problem put a severe damper on the #9 car's race pace.
In February 2008, a new chapter opened in Justin's racing career when he joined Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. Hot on the heels of that announcement was the news that the Indy Racing League and Champ Car had unified. Justin drove the #2 McDonalds Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing entry, partnering young American driver Graham Rahal. On the ovals the team generally struggled as it got to grips with the new Dallara chassis, but in spite of typical qualifying positions in the high teens or even 20s, Justin scored top-10 finishes at Kansas, the Milwaukee Mile and Richmond and thoroughly enjoyed the season finale around Chicagoland Speedway where he finished 11th. The main season highlights came from the more familiar road and street course events and included qualifying 2nd at St Petersburg where he led the race in commanding style in the wet before pit strategy forced him back down the field. Justion was to start from the front row again at Watkins Glen, and from pole position at Long Beach, but mechanical reliability forced retirements at both events. Everything came together finally at the Raceway at Belle Isle in Detroit, where Justin scored his maiden IndyCar Series victory. He dedicated the win to Paul Newman.
Justin had hoped to stay with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing into 2009, but the global economic downturn made it exceptionally difficult to raise sponsorship and in the end the team was forced to let Justin go elsewhere. Dale Coyne Racing was to be his next berth in the IndyCar Series and Justin developed an excellent relationship with the small team and with ex-Ganassi engineer Bill Pappas in particular. The ovals were still the weakest part of the overall package, but even here Justin found himself qualifying in the mid pack, with highlights including a 15th place starting place at the Indianapolis 500. As in 2008, however, at the road and street course events where Justin and the engineering team could make more of a difference, Justin shone. The rest of the paddock was stunned to find Justin contending for victory at the season opener in St Petersburg, where he started on the front row and eventually finished 3rd. Qualifying 5th at Long Beach and 4th at Toronto further raised his and the team's profiles as road and street racers to watch, but it was Watkins Glen which was to be the highlight of the season and a heart-warming moment for the Series as a whole, when Justin took the team's first victory in commanding fashion at the famous upstate New York road course.
For 2010 Justin moves on to Dreyer and Reinbold Racing where he's looking forward to working with fellow Briton Mike Conway.
