Alex Lynn

Lynn is from Great Dunmow, Essex and as of 2020^[update], lives in Parsons Green, London.^{[citation needed]} He is a former pupil of Saint Nicholas School, Old Harlow, Essex.

Lynn began his racing career in karting at the age of eleven with Andy Cox Racing. In 2008 after four years in Mini Max and JICA classes he switched to Ricky Flynn Motorsport for competing in KF2 category, finishing British KF2 championship on the sixth place in the series standings.^[1]

In 2009 Lynn made his début in single-seaters taking part in the Formula Renault UK Winter Cup for Fortec Motorsport, finishing tenth in the standings. He finished the main Formula Renault UK Series in the same position, winning the Graduate Cup by scoring his first podium at the final race of the season at Brands Hatch.^[2]

 

Lynn continued his collaboration with Fortec for 2010 Formula Renault UK Winter Cup and the 2011 main series, becoming champion in both series, with three and twelve wins respectively.^[3] He also appeared in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 at Hungaroring and Silverstone. His best result was second place from pole at Silverstone.^[4]

In the interval between 2010 Winter Cup and 2011 Formula Renault UK series he contested in Toyota Racing Series with Giles Motorsport, finishing ninth with a win in the first round of the series at Teretonga Park.^[5]

Lynn returned to New Zealand in January 2013 to contest the series again; this time with M2 Competition. 4 pole positions, 3 race wins, 9 podiums and 3 fastest laps gave him 2nd place overall and the highest placed international driver.^[6]

On 20 October 2011 it was announced that Lynn would represent Fortec Motorsports in 2012 for the fourth consecutive year in British Formula 3 Championship.^[7] In addition he participated in selected Formula 3 Euro Series rounds. Lynn finished the 2012 British Formula 3 season in 4th place, with a race win at Silverstone and 5 podium places as well as 2 podiums in the Formula 3 Euro Series.

In November 2012 Lynn travelled to Macau to compete in the 59th SJM Macau Grand Prix. Lynn earned pole position for the qualification race,^[8] the first rookie to do so since 2006. In the race itself Lynn finished on the podium in third position and the highest placed rookie driver overall.

On 15 November 2012 it was announced that Lynn would be moving to Prema Powerteam and racing in the FIA European F3 Championship for the 2013 season.^[9] Lynn achieved 3rd overall in the championship and highest placed rookie driver, with 3 race wins, 14 podiums and 5 pole positions; including triple pole position at his home round at Brands Hatch.^[10]

In November 2013 Lynn returned to Macau to compete once again in the Star River Windsor Arch 60th Macau Grand Prix^[11] with Theodore Racing by Prema, a collaboration between SJM Holdings, Teddy Yip Jr's Theodore Racing^[12] and Prema Powerteam. Theodore Racing had last appeared at the Grand Prix in 1992 and was celebrating 30 years since they had won the event with Ayrton Senna at the wheel. Lynn won the qualification race to give him pole position for the main race and went on to dominate the main race from start to finish; becoming the first Briton to win the Grand Prix since 2007.^[13]

 

Lynn competed in the GP3 Series in 2014 for Carlin Motorsport as a member of the Red Bull Junior Team programme.^[14] He won on his debut at the Circuit de Catalunya supporting the 2014 Spanish Grand Prix, starting from pole and setting the fastest race lap to take the maximum points from the race.^[14] In the sprint race he finished 18th, but still led the championship after its first round. Lynn won again at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, setting pole position before securing a comfortable win over his teammate, Emil Bernstorff.^[15] But again he was out of luck in the reverse grid race two, finishing 20th after picking up a lap-one puncture. The Briton was disappointed to miss out on a home win in the third round at Silverstone in the UK, but second in race one and a fighting sixth in race two helped him to maintain his championship lead.^[16] In round four at Hockenheim in Germany, Lynn consolidated that lead by finishing second and third in the two races. He then recorded two fourth-placed finishes at the Hungaroring to extend his title advantage to 31 points over Richie Stanaway heading into the summer break.^[17] In Belgium, he managed to score 4 championship points to take 8th place and the reverse grid pole for the following sprint race. He dominated the race, leading from start to finish.^[18] A similar situation happened in the next round at Monza, Italy where Lynn finished in 6th place for the feature race and managed to get 2nd in the sprint race due.^[19] Lynn clinched the title in the season-ending round in Abu Dhabi.^[20]

Having won the GP3 Series title in 2014, Lynn was rewarded with a day of testing with GP2 team ART Grand Prix. He followed this up with a day of testing with Carlin. In early January, Lynn, along with fellow Red Bull Junior Pierre Gasly, signed with DAMS in order to win the GP2 Series crown in 2015.^[21] He finished sixth in the championship, having scored two wins at Barcelona and the Hungaroring.

Lynn remained with DAMS for the 2016 season, scoring two victories in the sprint races at Barcelona and Hockenheim. After finishing the year sixth in the standings again, he left at the end of the season.

Following his win of the GP3 title, it was announced Lynn would partake in the post-season testing, driving for Lotus F1. On 28 January 2015, Lynn was confirmed as the new development driver for the Williams F1 team, thereby severing his ties with Red Bull.^[22]

 

In August 2016, Lynn was confirmed as one of four drivers partaking in Jaguar's pre-season test at Donington Park.^[23] Lynn landed the role of reserve driver for DS Virgin Racing in January 2017, and made his racing debut in July at the New York ePrix, in place of José María López due to the latter's WEC commitments.^[24][25] He qualified on pole in his first race, but retired from both the New York races.

 

On 5 September 2017, it was confirmed that Lynn signed a multi-year deal to race full-time in Formula E for DS Virgin Racing starting in the 2017–18 Formula E season.^[26] Despite good qualifying performances in three of the season's first four races, he lost grid position in all of the aforementioned events,^[27] but still managed three successive points-scoring finishes.^[28] He finished the season with five point scoring results, 17 points, and 16th in the standings.

Following his departure from Virgin, it was announced on 28 March 2019 that Lynn would replace Nelson Piquet Jr. at Jaguar from the seventh round of the 2018–19 season onwards.^[29] He scored points twice from the seven races, finishing with 10 points, and 18th in the standings.

Lynn left Jaguar, and became the test and reserve driver for Mahindra Racing for the 2018–19 season. Following Pascal Wehrlein leaving the team mid-season, Lynn once again drove the second half of the season, just like one year prior with Jaguar. He would perform better, finishing in the points three times, earning 16 points total, enough for 17th in the final standings.

 

Lynn was announced to partner Alexander Sims as the official driver line up of the Mahindra Racing Formula E team for the 2020–21 Formula E season.^[30] Lynn was taken to hospital after a crash in race 2 of the 2021 Diriyah ePrix, in which he launched over the rear wing of Mitch Evans' Jaguar, but wasn't seriously injured, and could race in all of the following races of the calendar. Lynn recorded his first podium in the 2021 Valencia ePrix, and then recorded another podium in the first race of the 2021 London ePrix, and won his first Formula E race at race 2 of his home ePrix in London. He finished the season with 3 podiums, 78 points, and 12th in the standings, just 21 points off the champion Nyck de Vries. Lynn was replaced by Oliver Rowland for the 2021–22 Formula E season, and left Formula E after being unable to secure a seat.^[31]

 

Lynn progressed to the Le Mans Hypercar category for the 2023 WEC season, driving a Cadillac V-Series.R alongside Earl Bamber and Richard Westbrook.^[32][33]

In January 2023, Lynn made his first appearance in the IMSA GTP category as the new class, and new LMDh cars, debuted at the 2023 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, alongside his to-be WEC teammates in the #02 Cadillac V-Series.R entered by Chip Ganassi Racing. Lynn qualified the car 5th at the Roar Before The 24, with the team going on to finish 4th in the race. Lynn completed over 8h 50m of driver time, the third most of any driver.

March saw Lynn's first appearance in the WEC's Hypercar class at the 1000 Miles of Sebring. The British driver was once again on qualifying duties for the #2 Cadillac, claiming 5th on the grid as the fastest of the new LMDh runners – only behind the factory Toyota and Ferrari entries. The race saw a similar result, with Lynn and the #2 crew locked in a race-long fight with the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963, eventually the Cadillac team finished fourth overall, narrowly missing out on an overall podium by 10 seconds to the recovering #50 Ferrari AF Corse 499P.

The second round of the season, the 6 Hours of Portimao, saw the Cadillac team score a second consecutive top five finish despite struggling to have the overall pace of the other manufacturers. Qualifying in 8th on the grid in the hands of Westbrook, the #2 eventually finished 4th despite having to make an off-sequence pitstop early in the race. The drivers were notably better on tyres than their competitors, allowing them to gradually make their way up the field across the six hour race.

At the final race before Le Mans, the 6 Hours of Spa, the #2 Cadillac scored a third top five finish in Hypercar, surviving typically tricky conditions at the Belgian circuit. Bamber qualified the car in fourth, but spent the first part of the race fighting up the order after starting on wet tyres. Lynn took the wheel over two hours into the race, and be involved in a thrilling four-car fight for the final podium spot with both Ferraris and the #5 Porsche Penske Motorsport car. Lynn moved up to third place in the pitstop cycle before handing the car over to Westbrook with just over an hour to go.

Lynn scored his first overall podium at the 24 hours of Le Mans where the #2 Cadillac finished third – driving alongside WEC teammates Bamber and Westbrook. Lynn stated "I'm super happy taking Cadillac back to Le Mans and finishing on the podium."^[34]

To pay homage to Derek Bell, one of the most successful British sportscar drivers in history, Lynn wore a tribute helmet at Le Mans; carrying Bell's white, red and blue design.

Teammate Bamber took the car through to Hyperpole, qualifying sixth and the highest of the three Cadillacs entered in the Hypercar class. The #2 avoided drama in the opening two hours in mixed conditions, even leading the race overall, before Lynn took over and heavy, random rain showers scrambled the field. However, Lynn kept the car on track, and consistently on-pace with the front of the pack, keeping the car inside the top five into the night. Westbrook's stint saw some of the worst weather, but the British driver escaped unscathed from a spin at Mulsanne. Throughout the night the trio exchanged stints, with the #2 unable to match the pace of the #8 Toyota and #51 Ferrari but capable of establishing a gap to the closest competition. By the morning the #2 was locked-in to third place, ahead of the recovering sister #3 Cadillac, and looked poised for a surprise result should the battling #8 and #51 hit trouble. Lynn finished his final stint in the car with two and a half hours to go having completed 126 laps across the race. The #2 crossed the line a lap down on the winning #51 Ferrari, but with Cadillac's first overall podium at Le Mans secured.

A month later, the #2 finished tenth at the 6 Hours of Monza. Lynn qualified the car in fifth, the highest of the LMDh cars in Hypercar, only 0.362s behind pole, and ran in the podium positions early on after an alternative pit strategy vaulted the #2 into the leading group. However, the car faded later in the race after a series of minor issues for all three drivers.

At the penultimate round of the WEC season, the 6 Hours of Fuji, Lynn once again took on qualifying duties. In a damp session, Lynn qualified fifth on slick tyres, ahead of both factory Ferrari Hypercars. The #2 ran consistently in the top ten before a loose wheel for Bamber forced the team to spend time in the garage, dropping them down the order. Eventually the car finished tenth, scoring the final point.

Coming into the final round of the season, the 8 Hours of Bahrain, the Lynn, Bamber and Westbrook were fifth in the points standings with a 16-point advantage over the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport driver trio. Lynn once again taok on qualifying duties, and arguably had his best session of the season, qualifying third behind the two Toyotas – Lynn's time was the only non-Toyota within a second of the pole lap, and the fastest of the LMDh cars in the category. Bamber taok the start, but a major lock-up at the first corner saw him make contact with the #7 Toyota, not only did the #2 Cadillac drop down the order, but the New Zealander also receive a 90-second stop/go penalty for the incident – a time deficit to the field that the team never fully recovered with the race running without a safety car intervention, eventually finishing in eleventh.

Lynn finished the year fifth in the points standings with 72 points, and with the #2 Cadillac the highest scoring LMDh in the hotly contested Hypercar field.

Lynn was confirmed as part of Cadillac's sole WEC entry, the British driver returning to race the #2 car in the full 2024 season alongside 2023 teammate Bamber. The duo will be joined by one-off driver entries at the Qatar 1812KM, 24 Hours of Le Mans and 8 Hours of Bahrain, but will contest the six hour races on their own.

^† As Lynn was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

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

† – As Lynn was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

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

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

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

^† Lynn did not fulfil his mandated minimum drive time, meaning that he did not receive points for that event.

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2017	G-Drive Racing	Roman Rusinov   Pierre Thiriet	Oreca 07-Gibson	LMP2	20	DNF	DNF
2018	Aston Martin Racing	Jonathan Adam   Maxime Martin	Aston Martin Vantage AMR	GTE Pro	327	37th	13th
2019	Aston Martin Racing	Jonathan Adam   Maxime Martin	Aston Martin Vantage AMR	GTE Pro	325	44th	12th
2020	Aston Martin Racing	Harry Tincknell   Maxime Martin	Aston Martin Vantage AMR	GTE Pro	346	20th	1st
2021	United Autosports	Wayne Boyd   Paul di Resta	Oreca 07-Gibson	LMP2	361	9th	4th
2022	United Autosports USA	Oliver Jarvis   Josh Pierson	Oreca 07-Gibson	LMP2	368	10th	6th
2023	Cadillac Racing	Earl Bamber   Richard Westbrook	Cadillac V-Series.R	Hypercar	341	3rd	3rd
2024	Cadillac Racing	Earl Bamber   Álex Palou	Cadillac V-Series.R	Hypercar	311	7th	7th
Sources:[35][42]

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

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

• Official website
• Alex Lynn career summary at DriverDB.com