Born in Duisburg, Lotterer is the son of a German-Peruvian father, Henri Lotterer, and a German mother. He was raised in Nivelles, Belgium, from an early age, where he began his racing career by karting at the age of seven, effectively becoming an adopted Belgian.[1][2][3][4]
After his stint with Jaguar in Formula One, he moved to Japan, winning both the Super GT Championship in 2006 and 2009 as well as the Formula Nippon (currently known as Super Formula) Championship in 2011.
Lotterer also made his debut in the 200924 Hours of Le Mans, as a race week fill-in driver for the Kolles privateer Audi team. Lotterer and co-driver Charles Zwolsman Jr., also a Le Mans rookie, drove the entire race themselves after third driver Narain Karthikeyan dislocated his shoulder in a non-racing related injury. Driving an Audi R10, the car that won the 2006, 2007 and 2008 Le Mans races, Lotterer and Zwolsman finished 7th overall and in the LMP1 class.
He remained with Audi Sport to compete in the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans, co-driving the newly designed Audi R18 with Marcel Fässler and Benoît Tréluyer. After the Audi works team lost two out of three cars due to accidents, Lotterer and his co-drivers held off three Peugeot 908 works cars to claim both 1st place in the LMP1 class and the overall victory, beating the 2nd place Peugeot by a mere 13 seconds. This win gave Audi a total of 10 overall victories at Le Mans, and Lotterer his first overall win at Le Mans.[5]
From 2012 to 2016, Lotterer competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship, continuing to drive for Audi Sport Team Joest with the R18. During his tenure with Audi in the WEC, Lotterer won the drivers' championship in the series' inaugural season with Benoît Tréluyer and Marcel Fässler.[6] After Audi Sport Team Joest decided not to run in WEC for 2017, Lotterer moved to Porsche as the driver of the No. 1 car with Nick Tandy and 2016 drivers' world champion Neel Jani.[7]
Lotterer returned to the series in 2023, joining Porsche's Hypercar effort alongside Kévin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor in the #6 entry. After last competing in the series in 2019, Lotterer stated that he felt like "a stranger" after almost four years away.[9] Lotterer won the drivers' championship for the second time in his career in 2024 alongside Estre and Vanthoor, winning for the first time in twelve seasons.[10]
He replaced Caterham F1 driver Kamui Kobayashi for a one-off race at the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix.[12] He qualified 21st place, in front of teammate Marcus Ericsson, but his race lasted just one lap before a mechanical failure put an abrupt end to his F1 debut.[13] He was invited to race again at the Italian Grand Prix, but declined as the team planned to run Roberto Merhi in the car for the first practice session, contrary to his desire to take part in all the available running due to his lack of experience.[14]
Formula E
Techeetah (2017–2019)
Lotterer with Techeetah during the 2019 Hong Kong ePrix where he would narrowly miss the victory.
Lotterer joined Formula E with Techeetah in 2017, partnering Jean-Éric Vergne.[15] After a disastrous Hong Kong weekend, where he was disqualified in race 1 and finished 13th in race 2 and a forgettable Marrakesh, Lotterer made his first podium in 2018 Santiago ePrix after battling with his teammate Vergne. They helped the team achieve the first 1-2 finish for a team in Formula E, although during the race it looked as though they could have blown it. A charging Lotterer drove into the back of Vergne late in the race and the team were not aware due to a power issue in the paddock. He finished third in 2018 Rome ePrix. He finished the 2017–18 season 8th with 64 points.
Lotterer nearly won the 2019 Hong Kong ePrix after leading most laps in the race. He was hit by Sam Bird in the second last lap which lead to his puncture and caused him to finish the race in 14th. In 2019 Rome ePrix he claimed his first pole position in Formula E. He finished the race second after Jaguar's Mitch Evans. The season finished with 4 consecutive races without points, ending the season 8th with 86 points, while his team-mate Jean-Éric Vergne won the championship for a second year.
Lotterer joined newcomer team TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team on 17 July 2019, partnering Neel Jani.[16]António Félix da Costa was announced as his replacement at Techeetah. He made his debut with Porsche at Diriyah finishing 2nd in round 1, and finishing 14th in round 2. Lotterer secured pole for the Mexico City E-Prix, although lost the lead into the first corner and later on retired from the race. Lotterer scored a second place finish in the first of six races in Berlin, and ended the season in 8th with 71 points.
Lotterer stayed with Porsche for season 7 and his only podium finish was in the second race in Valencia, which was a second place. Both of the Porsche drivers were disqualified from the first race in Puebla after the team didn't declare the race tyres.[17] Lotterer had finished in 16th, although his team-mate Wehrlein had crossed the finish line first. Lotterer finished the season in 17th with 58 points.
After 10 races, Lotterer had a second place in Mexico City and is currently 7th with 59 points.[18]
Lotterer was set to depart Formula E at the end of the 2021–22 season.[19] However, he instead signed with Andretti Autosport's Formula E Team, Avalanche Andretti, to partner Jake Dennis and replace the outgoing Oliver Askew.[20] Lotterer finished the season in a disappointing 18th place, scoring only 23 points, a far cry from teammate Dennis' 229 who became that season's champion.[21] On 8 September, Lotterer announced his exit from the series, stating he would focus solely on the FIA World Endurance Championship.[22]
Reserve role with Porsche (2024)
Despite leaving Formula E full-time, Lotterer continued his involvement in the series, returning to TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team as their test and reserve driver.[23]
Personal life
As of 2004, Lotterer resided in Tokyo, Japan.[24] He has since moved to Monaco and often visits Nivelles, Belgium, the town he was raised in, as well as his hometown Renningen.[25] Lotterer's hobbies outside of racing include cycling, collecting and driving classic cars, photography, driving buggies, and discovering unique foods.[26] Lotterer is close friends with Jean-Éric Vergne, his teammate from 2017 to 2019, and is also friends with former racing driver - turned Audi Sport ABT Schaffler team principal, Allan McNish.[27]
^"Stoffel Vandoorne RACB Driver of the Year 2014". RACB (in French). Royal Automobile Club of Belgium. 18 December 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2014. Au cours de cette cérémonie, Jacky Ickx a remis à André Lotterer, qui vit depuis sa plus tendre enfance en Belgique et licencié belge ces dernières saisons, l'Honorary Mention pour ses trois victoires aux 24 Heures du Mans et les excellents résultats qu'il signe régulièrement dans les épreuves du FIA World Endurance Championship.
^De Wilde, Olivier (18 August 2014). "André Lotterer en F1 à Spa ? Le Nivellois a déjà moulé son siège chez Caterham..." [André Lotter in F1 in Spa? The Nivellois has already fitted his seat with Caterham...]. DH.be (in French). La Dernière Heure / Les Sports S.A. d'Informations et de Productions Multimédia. Retrieved 27 January 2014. A trente-deux ans, le pilote qui a grandi chez nous à Nivelles et roule sous licence belge, André Lotterer, devrait disputer son premier Grand Prix de Formule 1 dimanche prochain à Francorchamps.
^Halleux, Stéphane (21 August 2014). "Belgische Duitser start in Spa in F1" [Belgian German makes F1 debut in Spa]. Autoscout24 (in Dutch). AutoScout24 GmbH. Retrieved 27 January 2014. André Lotterer heeft Duisburg als geboorteplaats, maar hij groeide op in Nijvel. Hij rijdt overigens nog met een Belgische licentie. Zijn pa, Henri Lotterer, boog zich over de motoren voor het RAS-team, bekend uit de rallysport en de toerwagenraces.
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