Phil Hanson (racing driver) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Phil Hanson
Hanson in 2020
Nationality	British
Born	(1999-07-05) 5 July 1999 (age 26) Sunningdale, Berkshire, United Kingdom
FIA WEC career
Debut season	2019–20
Current team	AF Corse
Racing licence	FIA Bronze (2016) FIA Silver (2017–2020) FIA Gold (2021–)
Car no.	38
Former teams	Tockwith Motorsports, United Autosports, Hertz Team Jota
Starts	39 (39 entries)
Wins	8
Podiums	14
Poles	1
Fastest laps	1
Best finish	1st (LMP2) in 2019–20
Previous series
2017–23 2016–17, 18–19, 23 2016	European Le Mans Series Asian Le Mans Series Dunlop Endurance Championship
Championship titles
2019–20 2020 2018–19 2016–17 2016	FIA WEC – LMP2 ELMS – LMP2 AsLMS – LMP2 AsLMS – LMP3 Britcar Endurance Championship
Awards
2016–17	AsLMS - Rookie of the Year

Philip Beauchamp Hanson (born 5 July 1999) is a British race car driver. He currently drives in the FIA World Endurance Championship for the AF Corse team. Hanson is known for his success in sports car racing, where cars are designed for high speed and long distances.

He has won many championships. These include the Dunlop Endurance Championship in 2016 and the Asian Le Mans Series twice. In 2020, he had a fantastic year, winning the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race in his class. That same year, he also won the FIA World Endurance Championship in the LMP2 category. This made him the youngest driver ever to win a WEC title.

Early Life and Career

From Karts to Cars

Born in Sunningdale, Berkshire, Hanson started his racing journey in go-karts. At just 15, he won his first title, the Whilton Mill Club Championship. The next year, in 2015, he won the Super One British X30 Junior Karting Championship.

In 2016, Hanson moved up to sports car racing. He drove in the Britcar Endurance Championship with teammate Nigel Moore. The pair won the championship in the final race of the season. That same year, Hanson and Moore also won a British LMP3 Cup race. LMP3 cars are a type of purpose-built race car.

At the end of the year, they competed in the Asian Le Mans Series and won the LMP3 class championship.

Endurance Racing Success

Moving up to LMP2

In 2017, Hanson raced in the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time. At only 18, he became the youngest driver to finish the race that year. He and his teammates finished 9th in the LMP2 class. LMP2 cars are even faster and more powerful than LMP3 cars.

He also raced in a few FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and European Le Mans Series (ELMS) events that year.

Joining a Top Team

Phil Hanson and co-driver Filipe Albuquerque raced to victory at Spa Francorchamps in 2018.

For the 2018 season, Hanson joined a major team called United Autosports. He raced a full season in the ELMS. He also competed in famous American races like the 24 Hours of Daytona, where his teammates included Formula 1 star Fernando Alonso. In the ELMS, Hanson finished fifth overall after getting three podiums, including two wins.

In the winter of 2018-2019, Hanson won another championship. He and his teammate Paul di Resta won the LMP2 title in the Asian Le Mans Series.

A Championship-Winning Year

2020 was a huge year for Hanson. He raced in the FIA World Endurance Championship with teammates Filipe Albuquerque and Paul di Resta. The team had an amazing winning streak. They won in Bahrain, Austin (USA), and Spa (Belgium).

The biggest win came at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Winning this legendary race helped them secure the LMP2 world championship. This made Hanson the youngest WEC champion in history. He also won the European Le Mans Series title that same year, making it a double success.

Defending the Title

In 2021, Hanson and his team returned to the WEC to defend their title. They started strong with wins at Spa and Monza. However, a mechanical problem during the 24 Hours of Le Mans cost them a lot of time. This hurt their chances for the championship, and they finished fourth overall.

He also had a strong season in the ELMS, finishing second in the championship with one race win.

Recent Seasons

Hanson racing at the 2023 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.

The 2022 season was challenging, with some bad luck preventing the team from getting on the podium in the WEC. However, Hanson still found success in the ELMS, winning a race at Spa-Francorchamps.

In 2023, Hanson had a much better year in the WEC. He and his teammates finished on the podium several times and ended the season in third place. In the ELMS, he had an excellent end to the season with two wins, finishing as the runner-up in the championship.

Racing in the Top Class

Driving a Hypercar

In 2024, Hanson moved up to the highest category in endurance racing, called Hypercar. These are the fastest and most advanced cars in the WEC. He drove a Porsche 963 for the Hertz Team Jota. He also raced in the top class in the American IMSA series.

Racing for Ferrari

For the 2025 season, Hanson joined the famous AF Corse team to drive their #83 Ferrari Hypercar. Alongside teammates Robert Kubica and Yifei Ye, Hanson achieved a dream by winning the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans overall. This made him one of a small group of British drivers to win the famous event.

Racing record

Racing career summary

† As Hanson was a guest driver, he was not able to score championship points.
^* Season still in progress.

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2017	Tockwith Motorsports	Nigel Moore Karun Chandhok	Ligier JS P217-Gibson	LMP2	351	11th	9th
2018	United Autosports	Paul di Resta Filipe Albuquerque	Ligier JS P217-Gibson	LMP2	288	DNF	DNF
2019	United Autosports	Paul di Resta Filipe Albuquerque	Ligier JS P217-Gibson	LMP2	365	9th	4th
2020	United Autosports	Paul di Resta Filipe Albuquerque	Oreca 07-Gibson	LMP2	370	5th	1st
2021	United Autosports USA	Fabio Scherer Filipe Albuquerque	Oreca 07-Gibson	LMP2	328	40th	18th
2022	United Autosports USA	Filipe Albuquerque Will Owen	Oreca 07-Gibson	LMP2	366	14th	10th
2023	United Autosports	Filipe Albuquerque Frederick Lubin	Oreca 07-Gibson	LMP2	321	21st	11th
2024	Hertz Team Jota	Jenson Button Oliver Rasmussen	Porsche 963	Hypercar	311	9th	9th
2025	AF Corse	Robert Kubica Yifei Ye	Ferrari 499P	Hypercar	387	1st	1st

See also

In Spanish: Philip Hanson para niños