Andre Negrao

Andre Negrao is a Brazilian racing driver who currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship, driving an Alpine A470 LMP2 prototype for Signatech Alpine Matmut team, winning the FIA WEC LMP2 championship title in 2018-2019 season, in which he won two times at 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Earlier in a career, Negrao made his way through several international single-seater ladder competitions (Indy Lights, GP2 Series, Formula Renault 3.5 Series, Formula Renault Eurocup) but without some notable results.

Andre Negrao

Starting a career in Formula Renault

Born in June 1992 in Sao Paulo, Andre Negrao started his racing career as the 16-year-old kid in Europe, competing in 2008 in selected rounds of the Portuguese Formula Renault and Formula Renault WEC (West European Cup). In 2009, he raced again in different championships (Italian Formula Renault, Swiss Formula Renault, Formula 3 Sudamericana) but didn't spend a full season in any of those competitions.

Then, in 2010, he joined Italian team Cram Competition for the full season in the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup. His best results were pole position at Aragon and third place at Spa. He finished the season 13th in the points. Outside FR Eurocup, his most notable result was the second place in the inaugural Formula 3 Brazil Open race at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace.

Andre Negrao in 2013

Three seasons in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series

In 2011, Negrao made a step up to the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, driving for International Draco Racing. In his rookie season, he scored no podiums or wins to finish 20th in the points. Next year, he stayed with the same team and improved his results, finishing best in the third place at Nurburgring. At the end of the season, he was 15th in the points.

The third season in the FR 3.5 Series followed in 2013. He was on a podium once in seventeen races, finishing third at Circuit Paul Ricard. At the end of the season, he was tenth in the points.

Two seasons in the GP2 Series

In 2014, the next step in Negrao's career was the GP2 Series,  the junior competition just one step below Formula 1. He was driving for Arden International, finishing in the points six times in twenty races to be 12th in the final standings.

He stayed with Arden in the 2015 GP2 Series. He grabbed points just three times, finishing the season 20th in the points.

North American adventure in the Indy Lights series

Faced with no free seats in the GP2 Series in 2016, Negrao decided to try his luck in North America, joining Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in the Indy Lights Series.

He was pretty good at the wheel of the #17 car, scoring five podiums in eighteen races. He was a runner-up three times and finished third in two races. At the end of the season, he was seventh in the overall standings and third among rookies.

Andre Negrao in 2017

Switching to sports car racing, joining Signatech Alpine in 2017

After one season in North America, Negrao realized that there is no way up in the single-seater racing and he changed a racing discipline, switching to sports car racing with prototypes. He joined French team Signatech Alpine Matmut in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He was the member of the #35 crew in three races and then moved to the#36 Alpine A470 in the next five races.

In his debut at 24 Hours of Le Mans, he finished fourth overall and third in the LMP2 class in the #35 car, sharing it with Nelson Panciatici and Pierre Ragues. Later in the season, he was on a podium four more times, including a victory at Circuit of the Americas. At the end of the season, he was fifth in the final standings of the Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Drivers.

World champion with two wins at Le Mans 24 Hours

Negrao stayed with Signatech Alpine Matmut in the 2018-2019 FIA WEC super season, joining Nicolas Lapierre and Pierre Thiriet in the #36 Alpine A470-Gibson. They were on a podium eight times in eight races, scoring two victories in the greatest race of all – at Le Mans 24 Hours. They won at Circuit de la Sarthe both in June 2018 and June 2019.

Andre Negrao (left) with his teammates Nicolas Laiperre and Pierre Thiriet

Photos: Andre Negrao Racer,