Ben Hanley


Benjamin Michael Hanley is a British racing driver who was a part of Renault F1 Team's Renault Driver Development Program from 2006 to 2008. He raced two seasons part time in the NTT IndyCar Series. Currently he is racing in the European Le Mans Series and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with United Autosports.

Career

Hanley had a successful career in karting, winning a number of championships and individual races and coming close to winning the Karting World Championship. He made his debut in Single-seater cars in the 2005 Formula Renault 2.0 Italia series, and finished third driving for Cram Competition. He then raced in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series in 2006 and in 2007 he finished as runner-up in the championship, driving for Prema Powerteam. He was signed to drive for Campos Racing in early 2008, partnering Vitaly Petrov. He also joined the team for the second round of the 2008 GP2 Asia Series, scoring a podium finish in his first GP2 race. After three races of the season Hanley and Campos parted company, but he secured a drive with Durango before the next race. He replaced Marcello Puglisi, who was in turn deputising for the injured Davide Valsecchi. However, this was only a one-off drive, as Valsecchi returned to racing action at the next round of the championship. He began 2009 without a drive, but joined the Euroseries 3000 mid-season and won during his first event in the category. He also returned to karting in 2009, finishing third in the Karting World Championship.

IndyCar

On 17 December 2018, it was announced that Hanley would compete in five IndyCar races, including the 103rd Indianapolis 500, with DragonSpeed in 2019. Only three of those races were fulfilled because of visa issues, and he could not compete in the Championship beyond the Indianapolis 500. The No. 81 qualified 27th and then Finished 32nd in the race after a mechanical issue.
In January 2020, it was confirmed that he would return with Dragonspeed. The team planned to enter 6 races, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic the St. Petersburg, Long Beach, Mid-Ohio and Laguna Seca races were cancelled, and the team did not field an entry for Texas. On 8 August, the team announced that Hanley would drive their entry for the Indianapolis 500, which was held on 23 August. With little preparation time, the team had numerous mechanical issues in practice, resulting in qualifying in the 33rd and last position. The car finished the race in 23rd place.
On 28 October 2020, the team shuttered their IndyCar Series program and sold their IndyCar assets to Meyer Shank Racing, citing the team "being taken back two years" due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Team Owner Elton Julian left open the possibility of returning to the series when "the next big thing happens for IndyCar" if the resources were available.

Racing record

Career summary

SeasonSeriesTeamRacesWinsPolesF/LapsPodiumsPointsPosition
2005Formula Renault 2.0 ItaliaCram Competition1762942643rd
2005Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0Cram Competition200010NC†
2005Formula Renault 3.5 SeriesCram Competition20000039th
2005Formula Renault UKTeam AKA200002128th
2006Formula Renault 3.5 SeriesCram Competition171032558th
2007Formula Renault 3.5 SeriesPrema Powerteam1720361022nd
2008GP2 Asia SeriesBarwa International Campos Team60001615th
2008GP2 SeriesBarwa International Campos Team60000124th
2008GP2 SeriesDurango20000024th
2009Euroseries 3000Fisichella Motor Sport61012236th
2010Superleague FormulaOlympiacos CFP1011336534th
2016European Le Mans Series - LMP2DragonSpeed61004764th
2017FIA World Endurance Championship – LMP2TDS Racing100005317th
2017FIA World Endurance Championship – LMP2G-Drive Racing100005317th
2017FIA World Endurance Championship – LMP2CEFC Manor TRS Racing500015317th
2017European Le Mans Series - LMP2DragonSpeed602214011th
2017IMSA SportsCar Championship - PrototypeDragonSpeed100002139th
201724 Hours of Le Mans – LMP2Dragonspeed - 10 Star10000N/A12th
2018European Le Mans Series - LMP2DragonSpeed6011250.57th
201824 Hours of Le MansDragonSpeed10000N/ADNF
2018–19FIA World Endurance ChampionshipDragonSpeed600008.528th
2019European Le Mans Series - LMP2DragonSpeed51101478th
2019IndyCar SeriesDragonSpeed300003130th
2019IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP2DragonSpeed101113013th
201924 Hours of Le MansDragonSpeed10000N/ADNF
2019–20FIA World Endurance ChampionshipTeam LNT4000127.515th
2019–20FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2DragonSpeed200000NC†
2020European Le Mans Series - LMP2DragonSpeed with Racing Engineering100005.523rd
2020European Le Mans Series - LMP2DragonSpeed300005.523rd
2020IndyCar SeriesDragonSpeed100001433rd
2020IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP2DragonSpeed USA220023513th
2021FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2DragonSpeed USA6000042.511th
2021European Le Mans Series - LMP2DragonSpeed USA30000133rd
2021IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP2DragonSpeed USA100000NC‡
202124 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2DragonSpeed USA10000N/A10th
2022Asian Le Mans Series - LMP2Nielsen Racing422041041st
2022European Le Mans Series - LMP2Nielsen Racing600001516th
202224 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2Nielsen Racing10000N/A16th
2023IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP2CrowdStrike Racing by APR7221519582nd
2023Asian Le Mans Series - LMP2Nielsen Racing40001396th
2023European Le Mans Series - LMP2 Pro-AmNielsen Racing60003754th
202324 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2Nielsen Racing10000N/ADNF
2023FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2United Autosports300013813th
2024European Le Mans Series - LMP2United Autosports601012910th
2024IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP2United Autosports USA7121119625th
2025IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP2United Autosports USA7010018996th
2025European Le Mans Series - LMP2United Autosports600001514th
2025–26Asian Le Mans Series - LMP2United Autosports
2026IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP2United Autosports USA1000023110th*

† As Hanley was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
‡ Points only counted towards the Michelin Endurance Cup, and not the overall LMP2 Championship.
* Season still in progress.