Neel Jani

Neel Jani is a racing driver from Switzerland who has competed in various categories of racing. His best results so far are the Le Mans 24h victory and the FIA WEC title in 2016, together with Porsche teammates Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb.

Earlier in a career, Jani was the A1 Grand Prix champion in 2007. Most recently, he raced with Rebellion Racing in the 2018/2019 FIA WEC season and then joined Porsche Formula E team for season 2019-2020.

Neel Jani

He was born in Rorschach, a small town in St.Gallen canton, on December 8, 1983, by an Indian father and Swiss mother. As Neel once said, his parents were his biggest support through the whole life and career and always encouraged him in his efforts to become a racing driver.

Brilliant results in Swiss Formula Lista rookie season

Neel’s first steps in the world of racing were made in 1996 when his father inducted him into the karting racing. Over four years, Jani moved through the ranks, winning many competitions and showing natural talent what allowed him to progress further, so in 2000 he moved to single-seaters racing, driving in the Swiss Formula Lista Junior Championship. Jani won the title in impressive style, winning 8 out of 12 races and finishing 2nd in four races.

Video - Neel Jani speaks about his career

Formula Renault runner-up and test with Sauber

In the following year, Neel had double duties. He has competed in Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup but also in the Italian Formula Renault Series. In 2002, Jani was a vice-champion of Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup after he has won three out of nine races. The next challenge in the career of talented Swiss driver was Formula Renault V6 Eurocup. He was 2003 season runner-up, but what was very important to Jani was the opportunity to act as the test pilot for Sauber Formula 1 team.

Neel driving the Red Bull sponsored PKV Racing entry

Jani gets a chance with Red Bull, debut in GP2 and A1 Grand Prix

In 2004, Jani got another opportunity to test himself in Formula 1, this time with Red Bull Racing team. He impressed the team officials and was promoted to Red Bull Junior team. At the same time, Neel has competed in Formula Renault V6 Eurocup and debuted in A1 Grand Prix, driving in one round.

Neel Jani, GP2 Series, Catalunya 2005

Jani’s progress through the ranks continued in 2005. Driving for Racing Engineering, Neel debuted in GP2 Series and did well for the rookie as he won two races and finished 7th in the overall standings. Later that year, Jani drove for Team Switzerland in A1 Grand Prix winning one race and finishing 2nd with his team in the 2005/2006 Championship.

Toro Rosso's test driver and A1 Grand Prix champion

The season of 2006 brought a new experience to the Swiss racer. As a member of Red Bull Junior Team, he was hired as the reserve driver for Toro Rosso Formula 1 team. However, he had enough time for other duties and appeared in two rounds of GP2 Series as a substitute for Nicolas Lapierre in Arden International team.

Neel Jani, 2007 A1 Grand Prix champion

The Swiss pilot got a new chance in 2007 when he has competed in the American ChampCar series as a member of PKV Racing team. He managed to score three podium finishes to take 9th place overall. In parallel, he drove for Team Switzerland in A1 Grand Prix and won the 2007/2008 title. He was really impressive that season having four wins and other seven Top 3 finishes on his account. Swiss driver failed to defend his A1 Grand Prix in the following season, despite again winning four races. He had to settle for runner-up title what still was an excellent achievement.

Debut in 24 Hours of Le Mans

In 2009, Neel for the first time drove at 24 Hours of Le Mans. Alongside Nicolas Prost and Andrea Belicchi, driving Speedy Racing Team’s Lola-Aston Martin, he finished 14th overall. In the following year, he was a member Matech Competition team in the FIA GT World Championship, but the results weren’t perfect. In 2010 Le Mans, Jani drove for the Swiss team Rebellion Racing, alongside Nico Prost and Marco Andretti, but they were forced to retire on lap 175. Neel also appeared in the short-lived Superleague Formula, driving in one round for Olympiacos CFP and managed to win one race.

Neel celebrates win in South Africa in 2009

In the same competition, Jani tested himself in 2011 too, this time driving for Anderlecht RSC and scored two podiums out from six starts. The same year he performed well at Le Mans, finishing 6th with Rebellion Racing, again with Prost and with Jeroen Bleekemolen. The highlight of the year definitely was championship title in the American Le Mans Series LMP1 with his team.

Catching the eyes of big guns in the FIA World Endurance Championship

The season of 2012 probably was the turning point in Jani’s career. Driving alongside Prost and Nick Heidfeld for Rebellion Racing, they were 4th at Le Mans 24 Hours. Neel also won at Petit Le Mans and moved up to 5th position in the overall sportscars' drivers ranking for 2012. It was just a matter of time when some of the factory teams will ask for his services.

Neel Jani, Rebellion Racing, 2013 Le Mans

During his 6th and last season with Rebellion Racing, Neel combined his duties between ALMS and the FIA World Endurance Championship. The results weren’t as good as in the previous year, but still, there were some notable results, like a victory at Petit Le Mans ad 2nd places at Laguna Seca and Long Beach.

Move to Porsche factory team

However, the parts of the jigsaw are started to complete in 2014. Porsche returned to the top tier of motorsports. They needed drivers for the WEC and Jani was one of those who were employed as the factory team pilots. He formed the drivers line-up of Porsche 919 Hybrid car #14 with Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb and they were 3rd overall in the 2014 WEC campaign, winning the last event of the season at Sao Paulo.

Porsche drivers - Jani, Dumas and Lieb

In 2015, they again finished 3rd in the championship, with a victory in Bahrain as his only triumph that year, while at Le Mans they were 4th overall. That year they needed a bit of luck to earn more points after they finished 2nd in five out of eight races.

Le Mans triumph and FIA WEC title in the same year

Finally, the trio entered the season of 2016 with more experience and ready to jump into the battle for the title. The season opener at Silverstone proved to be perfect as they won the race. But, the best was still to come at Le Mans. Throughout the race, at Circuit de la Sarthe they were battling with Toyota, but Porsche’s trio looked unable to catch the Japanese car. Anyway, in the one of the most dramatic editions of the prestigious racing event, Toyota’s car failed in the penultimate lap what allowed Jani and his mates to win the race, so the Swiss racer secured him a place in the history of motorsports.

Later in the season, Jani/Dumas/Lieb didn't score any more wins or podiums, but they were consistently collecting points to finish first in the 2016 FIA WEC classification.

Porsche wins 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2016

Short adventure in the Formula E

Jani stayed with Porsche LMP team in 2017, sharing the #1 Porsche 919 Hybrid with Nick Tandy and Andre Lotterer. In nine races during the 2017 FIA WEC season, they were on a podium seven times but finished only fourth in the final standings. The trio in the #1 Porsche retired at Le Mans race.

In 2017, Jani also had two participations in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, driving for Rebellion Racing at Daytona 24 Hours (8th) and Sebring 12 Hours (9th). At Sebring, he was the fastest qualifier.

Following Porsche's withdrawal from the FIA WEC at the end of 2017, Jani moved to the FIA Formule E Championship, joining Dragon Racing for the season 2017/2018. After a season-opening round at Hong Kong, they parted ways.

Video - Neel Jani Recalls His Victory At The 2016 24 Hours Of Le Mans

Continuing endurance racing career with Rebellion Racing

For the 2018/2019 FIA WEC season, Jani rejoined his old team Rebellion Racing to drive their new LMP1 prototype R13. Sharing the #1 car with Andre Lotterer and Bruno Senna, he finished fourth at Le Mans 24 Hours in June 2018, behind two Toyotas and Rebellion's other car #3.

A year later, the FIA WEC super season has been closed with one more Le Mans race. Neel Jani and his teammates finished in the fourth place again. Between those two races, Jani was on a podium at Silverstone and Fuji, finishing fifth in the final championship classification.

Neel Jani joined Porsche Formula E Team for season 2019-2020

Rejoining Porsche in Formula E

For the 2019-2020 season, Neel Jani returned to Formula E and rejoined Porsche in team's first season in the electric single-seater championship. His teammate would be Andre Lotterer.

Photo: newsroom.porsche.com swsracing.net f1fanatic.co.uk autoracing1.com 500px.com