André Negrão (born 17 June 1992) is a Brazilian racing driver.[1] He most recently drove for Alpine in the Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2023, and spent a total of seven seasons with the team during his tenure.[2][3] Negrão is a former LMP2 champion in the series, and is also a two-time LMP2 class winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, winning in 2018 and 2019.[4]

André Negrão
Negrão in 2023
NationalityBrazil Brazilian
Born (1992-06-17) 17 June 1992 (age 32)
São Paulo, Brazil
FIA World Endurance Championship career
Debut season2017
Current teamAlpine Elf Team
Racing licence FIA Gold
Car number36
Best finish1st in 2018–19
Previous series
2017
20182020
2016
201415
201113, 15
2010
2010
2010
2010
2009
2009
2009
2008
2008
WEC
European Le Mans Series
Indy Lights
GP2 Series
Formula Renault 3.5 Series
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0
Formula Renault 2.0 NEC
Formula Abarth
British Formula Renault 2.0
Italian Formula Renault 2.0
Swiss Formula Renault 2.0
South American Formula Three
Portuguese Formula Renault 2.0
Formula Renault 2.0 WEC
Championship titles
2018–19FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Drivers
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years2018 /2019
Best finish1th (2018/2019)
Class wins2 (2018, 2019)

Early career

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Negrão was born in Campinas, in São Paulo state. He started his trajectory in motorsports when he was 12 years old, although his family has a tradition in Brazilian motorsports. Guto, his father, Xandy, his uncle, and Xandinho, his cousin, are race drivers too.

When Negrão accompanied his cousin at Granja Viana's 500 Miles Kart, in 2003, he started his career in motorsports.[5] After some seasons in karting, Negrão was Brazilian Kart's runner-up in 2006,[6] and started in European motorsports two years later, in Formula Renault 2.0. He also ran in the Formula Renault Winter Series in the same year, finishing 3rd.[7]

One year later, André Negrão raced in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, and the Italian and Swiss championships' division, as well as some South American Formula 3 rounds.[4] In 2010, he competed in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and British Formula Renault, in addition to racing in Italian Formula Abarth and the Formula 3 Brazil Open.[4]

Negrão stepped up to the World Series by Renault 3.5 in 2011,[8] remaining in 2012 and 2013, and then returning in 2015. In 2014 and 2015, he ran in GP2, the current Formula 2. One year later, Negrão raced in Indy Lights and received a test in IndyCar.

Sportscar career

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In 2017, Alpine invted the Brazilian to move to the WEC.[4]

Negrão won twice the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans, the main endurance race of the world, in the LMP2 class in 2018 and 2019, beside Nicolas Lapierre and Pierre Thiriet. They also won the 2018–19 WEC super-season in the same class.[9]

In 2021, Negrão drove in Hypercar, WEC's new main class, with Alpine Elf Matmut. He shared the Alpine A480 with French drivers Matthieu Vaxivière and Nicolas Lapierre and finished third in the championship.[2][3]

For the 2022 season, Negrão, Lapierre and Vaxivière returned to Alpine to race in the WEC. The squad began the season well, winning the season opener in Sebring before finishing second at Spa.[10] Problems with the car meant that Negrão and his teammates would only take fourth place in the 24 Hours of Le Mans,[11] although a victory in Monza put the team into the lead of the championship.[12] Despite finishing on the podium in the final two races, Alpine placed second behind the Toyota Nr. 7 car, with a power reduction as a result of the BoP system having played a part in the team's lack of pace at the end of the year.[13][14]

Negrão and Alpine returned to the LMP2 class in 2023, as the Brazilian was partnered by experienced Mexican Memo Rojas and British rookie Olli Caldwell.[15][16] The trio struggled, finishing 11th and last in the teams' standings with a best race finish of eighth.

Racing record

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Career summary

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Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2008 Formula Renault 2.0 WEC Epsilon Sport Team 3 0 0 0 0 0 51st
Portuguese Formula Renault 2.0 Winter Series 4 0 0 0 1 20 3rd
2009 Italian Formula Renault 2.0 Cram Competition 4 0 0 0 0 66 15th
Swiss Formula Renault 2.0 4 0 0 0 0 36 15th
Formula 3 Sudamericana Kemba Racing 3 0 0 0 0 4 12th
2010 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Cram Competition 16 0 1 0 1 25 13th
Formula Renault 2.0 NEC 2 0 0 0 1 36 23rd
Formula Abarth 4 0 0 0 1 23 14th
Formula Renault UK 2 0 0 0 0 8 32nd
Formula 3 Brazil Open Cesário Fórmula 1 0 1 0 1 N/A 2nd
2011 Formula Renault 3.5 Series International Draco Racing 14 0 0 0 0 20 20th
2012 Formula Renault 3.5 Series International Draco Racing 17 0 0 0 1 36 15th
Formula 3 Brazil Open Hitech Racing Brazil 1 0 0 0 1 N/A 2nd
2013 Formula Renault 3.5 Series International Draco Racing 17 0 1 0 1 51 10th
2014 GP2 Series Arden International 20 0 0 0 0 31 12th
2015 GP2 Series Arden International 21 0 0 0 0 5 20th
Formula Renault 3.5 Series International Draco Racing 4 0 0 0 0 4 21st
2016 Indy Lights Schmidt Peterson Motorsports 18 0 0 0 5 268 7th
2017 FIA World Endurance Championship – LMP2 Signatech Alpine Matmut 8 1 3 0 5 132 5th
24 Hours of Le Mans – LMP2 1 0 0 0 1 N/A 3rd
2018 European Le Mans Series – LMP2 Signatech Alpine Matmut 1 0 0 0 0 10 18th
24 Hours of Le Mans – LMP2 1 1 0 0 1 N/A 1st
2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship – LMP2 Signatech Alpine Matmut 8 1 1 0 8 181 1st
2019 24 Hours of Le Mans – LMP2 Signatech Alpine Matmut 1 1 0 0 1 N/A 1st
2019–20 FIA World Endurance Championship – LMP2 Signatech Alpine Elf 8 0 0 0 2 109 8th
2020 European Le Mans Series – LMP2 Richard Mille Racing Team 2 0 0 0 0 18 14th
24 Hours of Le Mans – LMP2 Signatech Alpine Elf 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 4th
Alpine Elf Europa Cup Racing Technology 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC†
2021 FIA World Endurance Championship – Hypercar Alpine Elf Matmut 6 0 0 0 6 128 3rd
24 Hours of Le Mans – Hypercar 1 0 0 0 1 N/A 3rd
2022 FIA World Endurance Championship – Hypercar Alpine Elf Team 6 2 0 0 5 144 2nd
24 Hours of Le Mans – Hypercar 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 5th
2023 FIA World Endurance Championship – LMP2 Alpine Elf Team 7 0 0 0 0 23 18th
24 Hours of Le Mans – LMP2 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 9th

As Negrão was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

Complete Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 results

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(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 Pos Points
2010 Cram Competition ALC
1

Ret
ALC
2

Ret
SPA
1

Ret
SPA
2

3
BRN
1

11
BRN
2

Ret
MAG
1

11
MAG
2

9
HUN
1

Ret
HUN
2

18
HOC
1

Ret
HOC
2

9
SIL
1

10
SIL
2

13
CAT
1

13
CAT
2

9
13th 25

Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results

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

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Pos Points
2011 International Draco Racing ALC
1

14
ALC
2

9
SPA
1

DNS
SPA
2

11
MNZ
1

10
MNZ
2

10
MON
1

Ret
NÜR
1

6
NÜR
2

12
HUN
1

20
HUN
2

Ret
SIL
1

Ret
SIL
2

16
LEC
1

15
LEC
2

6
CAT
1
CAT
2
20th 20
2012 International Draco Racing ALC
1

8
ALC
2

10
MON
1

Ret
SPA
1

12
SPA
2

12
NÜR
1

19
NÜR
2

3
MSC
1

13
MSC
2

4
SIL
1

Ret
SIL
2

16
HUN
1

15
HUN
2

Ret
LEC
1

Ret
LEC
2

22
CAT
1

14
CAT
2

8
15th 36
2013 International Draco Racing MNZ
1

11
MNZ
2

13
ALC
1

Ret
ALC
2

8
MON
1

12
SPA
1

7
SPA
2

Ret
MSC
1

7
MSC
2

6
RBR
1

9
RBR
2

11
HUN
1

21†
HUN
2

6
LEC
1

3
LEC
2

11
CAT
1

Ret
CAT
2

Ret
10th 51
2015 International Draco Racing ALC
1
ALC
2
MON
1
SPA
1
SPA
2
HUN
1
HUN
2
RBR
1
RBR
2
SIL
1
SIL
2
NÜR
1
NÜR
2
BUG
1

12
BUG
2

Ret
JER
1

8
JER
2

12
21st 4

Complete GP2 Series results

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(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 18 19 20 21 22 DC Points
2014 Arden International BHR
FEA

20
BHR
SPR

18
CAT
FEA
CAT
SPR
MON
FEA

Ret
MON
SPR

15
RBR
FEA

16
RBR
SPR

14
SIL
FEA

20
SIL
SPR

16
HOC
FEA

18
HOC
SPR

21
HUN
FEA

15
HUN
SPR

Ret
SPA
FEA

9
SPA
SPR

8
MNZ
FEA

5
MNZ
SPR

5
SOC
FEA

6
SOC
SPR

6
YMC
FEA

Ret
YMC
SPR

24
12th 31
2015 Arden International BHR
FEA

9
BHR
SPR

8
CAT
FEA

23†
CAT
SPR

21
MON
FEA

21
MON
SPR

17
RBR
FEA

16
RBR
SPR

21
SIL
FEA

20
SIL
SPR

15
HUN
FEA

20
HUN
SPR

21
SPA
FEA

20
SPA
SPR

14
MNZ
FEA

14
MNZ
SPR

18
SOC
FEA

15
SOC
SPR

11
BHR
FEA

17
BHR
SPR

20
YMC
FEA

9
YMC
SPR

C
20th 5

Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

American open-wheel racing results

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Indy Lights

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Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Rank Points
2016 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports STP
6
STP
5
PHX
6
ALA
8
ALA
11
IMS
9
IMS
16
INDY
15
RDA
10
RDA
2
IOW
13
TOR
11
TOR
2
MDO
2
MDO
3
WGL
3
LAG
9
LAG
6
7th 268

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

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Year Entrant Class Car Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rank Points
2017 Signatech Alpine Matmut LMP2 Alpine A470 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SIL SPA
6
LMS
3
NÜR
Ret
MEX
2
COA
1
FUJ
2
SHA
2
BHR
4
5th 132
2018–19 Signatech Alpine Matmut LMP2 Alpine A470 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SPA
2
LMS
1
SIL
3
FUJ
3
SHA
3
SEB
2
SPA
2
LMS
1
1st 181
2019–20 Signatech Alpine Elf LMP2 Alpine A470 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SIL
2
FUJ
6
SHA
4
BHR
4
COA
6
SPA
Ret
LMS
3
BHR
5
8th 109
2021 Alpine Elf Matmut Hypercar Alpine A480 Gibson GL458 4.5 L V8 SPA
2
ALG
3
MNZ
2
LMS
3
BHR
3
BHR
3
3rd 128
2022 Alpine Elf Team Hypercar Alpine A480 Gibson GL458 4.5 L V8 SEB
1
SPA
2
LMS
4
MNZ
1
FUJ
3
BHR
3
2nd 144
2023 Alpine Elf Team LMP2 Alpine A470 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SEB
Ret
ALG
10
SPA
8
LMS
7
MNZ
8
FUJ
11
BHR
10
18th 23

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

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Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2017   Signatech Alpine Matmut   Nelson Panciatici
  Pierre Ragues
Alpine A470-Gibson LMP2 362 4th 3rd
2018   Signatech Alpine Matmut   Nicolas Lapierre
  Pierre Thiriet
Alpine A470-Gibson LMP2 367 5th 1st
2019   Signatech Alpine Matmut   Nicolas Lapierre
  Pierre Thiriet
Alpine A470-Gibson LMP2 368 6th 1st
2020   Signatech Alpine Elf   Thomas Laurent
  Pierre Ragues
Alpine A470-Gibson LMP2 367 8th 4th
2021   Alpine Elf Matmut   Nicolas Lapierre
  Matthieu Vaxivière
Alpine A480-Gibson Hypercar 367 3rd 3rd
2022   Alpine Elf Team   Nicolas Lapierre
  Matthieu Vaxivière
Alpine A480-Gibson Hypercar 362 23rd 5th
2023   Alpine Elf Team   Olli Caldwell
  Memo Rojas
Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 322 19th 9th

Complete European Le Mans Series results

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Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rank Points
2018 Signatech Alpine Matmut LMP2 Alpine A470 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 LEC
5
MNZ RBR SIL SPA ALG 18th 10
2020 Richard Mille Racing Team LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 LEC
5
SPA
6
LEC MNZ ALG 14th 18

References

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  1. ^ "FIA World Endurance Championship". fiawec.com. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  2. ^ a b "André Negrão é trunfo da Renault na tentativa do título Mundial e de Le Mans". F1Mania (in Brazilian Portuguese). 16 March 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Signatech anuncia André Negrão para temporada do WEC". Torcedores | Notícias sobre Futebol, Games e outros esportes (in Brazilian Portuguese). 28 March 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d "André Negrão | Racing career profile | Driver Database". driverdb.com. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  5. ^ "André Negrão faz sua estréia no Paulista Light – RBC". F1Mania (in Brazilian Portuguese). 1 April 2004. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Kart: André Negrão é vice-campeão brasileiro Júnior" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Conheça a trajetória dos brasileiros que triunfaram em Le Mans". motorsport.uol.com.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  8. ^ "André Negrão faz boa estréia na Espanha". F1Mania (in Brazilian Portuguese). 16 April 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  9. ^ "André Negrão assina coluna no Motorsport.com e desvendará mundo do Endurance". motorsport.uol.com.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  10. ^ Lloyd, Daniel. "Alpine Wins Red Flag-Affected 1000 Miles of Sebring – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  11. ^ Lloyd, Daniel. "Alpine "Happy Le Mans is Behind Us" as Focus Shifts to Title Race – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  12. ^ Euwema, Davey. "Alpine Drivers Extend Points Lead with 6H Monza Win – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  13. ^ Lloyd, Daniel. "Alpine Power Reduced in Fuji Hypercar BoP – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  14. ^ "2022 Hypercar Review: Toyota Take It, But Pushed All The Way". fiawec.com. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  15. ^ "Alpine announces two-car LMP2 driver lineup for WEC 2023". Motorsport Week. 6 February 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  16. ^ Lloyd, Daniel. "Alpine Confirms Driver Lineup for Transition Season in LMP2 – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
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Sporting positions
Preceded by FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Drivers
2018–19
With: Nicolas Lapierre & Pierre Thiriet
Succeeded by