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Phil Hanson (racing driver)

Philip Beauchamp Hanson (born 5 July 1999) is a British racing driver who currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series with United Autosports.

He has won multiple titles in sportscar racing, including the Dunlop Endurance Championship in 2016 (alongside an event win at the British LMP3 Cup), 2016–17 and 2018–19 Asian Le Mans Series championships in the LMP3 and LMP2 classes respectively, and the 2020 European Le Mans Series. As well as that, Hanson is a class winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, an achievement he garnered in 2020, a year in which he also won the FIA World Endurance Championship in LMP2. He is also the youngest driver ever to win a WEC title and the youngest British driver to win LMP2 at Le Mans.

Early career

Born in Sunningdale, Berkshire, Hanson won his first championship at the age of 15, winning the Whilton Mill Club Championship with the BKC Racing team. Subsequently, he went on to win the Super One British X30 Junior Karting Championship, again with BKC Racing, in 2015, registering multiple wins and podium positions.

Hanson made his sportscar racing debut in the Britcar Endurance Championship, driving for Tockwith Motorsport alongside Nigel Moore. The pair clinched the title during the Brands Hatch season finale, tying by 170 points with the pairing of Jacob Mathiassen and Steve Fresle but winning it due to their amount of class victories. Hanson capped off his 2016 season with a win in a British LMP3 Cup event at Snetterton, the first event of its kind in the UK. Hanson and Moore combined to achieve a pole position, which they converted into victory.

At the end of the year, Hanson and Moore took part in the LMP3 class of the Asian Le Mans Series, driving a Ligier JS P3. Having won races at Fuji and Sepang, the Brits would claim the LMP3 class championship.

LMP2 career

2017: LMP2 debut

In June 2017, Hanson become the youngest overall finisher in his Le Mans 24 Hour debut, finishing 9th in the LMP2 class and 11th overall. Hanson was partnered by Moore and Karun Chandhok, racing a Ligier-Gibson JSP217.

The Brit's schedule for the year continued with three appearances in the FIA World Endurance Championship races: Spa; Le Mans and the Nürburgring, alongside three appearances in the European Le Mans Series at the start of the year.

2018: First year with United Autosports

For the 2018 season, Hanson joined United Autosports, signing up for a full season in the ELMS. Prior to the start of the campaign, Hanson took part in the 24 Hours of Daytona, partnering Fernando Alonso and Lando Norris. He would take part in two further races of the IMSA SportsCar Championship, namely at Sebring and Watkins Glen. In the ELMS, Hanson finished fifth in the final standings, having achieved three podiums, including wins at Spa and Portimão, in the six-race series. He also raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Paul di Resta and ELMS teammate Filipe Albuquerque, though the trio's race would end due to a crash from di Resta.

2019: AsLMS title

Hanson raced a United Autosports-entered Ligier JS P2 with di Resta in the 2018-19 Asian Le Mans Series. The duo finished on the podium at every round, thus earning the LMP2 title by 11 points.

Returning to the European Le Mans Series in 2019, Hanson would partner Albuquerque for the entire season. After starting the year by using a Ligier JS P217, the team switched to an Oreca 07 for the final three races, where a win and a second place propelled them to fourth in the standings.

2020: Success on two fronts & Le Mans win

In 2020, Hanson contested the FIA World Endurance Championship, co-driving alongside Albuquerque and Paul di Resta. Despite a retirement at the season opener in Silverstone, the team would impose themselves quickly, finishing third at both Fuji and Shanghai. From there on, a winning streak followed, as the trio of Hanson, Albuquerque, and di Resta claimed victories at Bahrain, Austin, and Spa-Francorchamps, before a class win at the postponed 24 Hours of Le Mans handed the title to United, therefore making Hanson the youngest ever WEC champion.

He would continue with United throughout the remainder of the year, once again partnering Albuquerque in the ELMS. A dominant campaign followed, as the pair won the races at Spa, Le Castellet, and Monza, which, coupled with third places in the first and last races of the year, gave Hanson and Albuquerque the title one race before the end of the season.

2021: WEC title defense

United Autosports, Hanson, and Albuquerque returned to the WEC in 2021, entering their championship defense alongside new silver-ranked driver Fabio Scherer, with Hanson being upgraded to gold by the FIA. The year began promisingly, as an impressive opening stint by Hanson opened the curtains for a dominant win at Spa. Another podium in Portimão, where Albuquerque and Scherer had to be replaced due to COVID-19, followed, before the crew took another controlled win in Monza. However, the 24 Hours of Le Mans came as a huge roadblock in the team's championship aspirations, as an alternator failure cost the team around 90 minutes of repair time during the early hours of the morning, leading them to an 18th place by the checkered flag. With a pair of fourth places at Bahrain rounding off the season, Hanson ended up fourth in the drivers' standings.

In addition, Hanson once again raced in the ELMS, this time being partnered by Tom Gamble and Jonathan Aberdein. In what ended up being a dominant season for the debuting WRT outfit, Hanson and his teammates acquitted themselves well, winning the final race in the Algarve and finishing second in the championship.

2022: Winless world championship campaign

Hanson continued on in the WEC with United and Albuquerque, this time being joined by Will Owen. The year turned out to be a disappointment, as bad luck, including a collision at the start of the Le Mans 24 Hours caused by René Rast and a problem with the acceleration sensor at Monza, contributed towards a lack of podiums by the end of the year. For Hanson, however, the ELMS provided a silver lining to his season: driving alongside Gamble and Duncan Tappy, Hanson managed to finish second in Imola and win at Spa-Francorchamps, results which had third place in the teams' standings as their consequence.

2023: Title battles in two series

The Briton returned to United for a sixth year in 2023, continuing to race in the WEC and ELMS championships. Together with Albuquerque and Frederick Lubin, Hanson would have more success than the previous year, finishing second at both Sebring and Portimão, a race where Hanson narrowly lost out on victory to experienced teammate Oliver Jarvis. After a fifth place in Spa, the team led the championship going into the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where a major mistake from Lubin resulted in extensive car damage which had to be repaired, leading the trio to finish in eleventh place. Having narrowly missed out on a podium at Monza, Hanson and his teammates finished second at Fuji and ninth in Bahrain, putting them third in the LMP2 standings.

In the ELMS, where Hanson partook alongside Jarvis and Marino Sato, a pair of last-placed finishes in the newly segregated Pro class was followed by Hanson achieving pole position in Aragón, one which he and his teammates would convert into a victory. In spite of a weak result in Belgium caused by a startline collision, Hanson and his teammates would cap off the season expertly with a pair of wins at Portimão, results that earned the team a runner-up spot in the standings, 13 points behind the title-winning Algarve Pro crew.

Career in the top class

2024: Hypercar and GTP step-up

At the end of 2023, it was announced that Hanson would be stepping up to the Hypercar category of the WEC for the following year, driving a Porsche 963 for customer outfit Hertz Team Jota alongside Oliver Rasmussen and an as yet unnamed third driver. Furthermore, the Briton joined JDC-Miller MotorSports, another Porsche customer, in IMSA, becoming the team's designated third driver for the Michelin Endurance Cup rounds.