Yifei_Ye
Yifei Ye
Chinese racing driver
Yifei Ye (Chinese: 叶一飞; pinyin: Yè Yīfēi; born 16 June 2000) is a Chinese racing driver who currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for AF Corse. He is the 2021 European Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series champion and previously competed in single-seater racing, winning the French F4 championship in 2016 and the Euroformula Open title in 2020. He is also a former member of the Renault Sport Academy and drove in an official capacity for Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific as a Selected Driver from 2021 until 2023.[2][3]
| Yifei Ye | |
|---|---|
Ye in 2022 | |
| Nationality |  Chinese |
| Born | (2000-06-16) 16 June 2000 (age 23) Xi'an, Shaanxi, China |
| European Le Mans Series career | |
| Debut season | 2021 |
| Current team | Cool Racing |
| Racing licence |  FIA Gold |
| Car number | 37 |
| Former teams | Team WRT |
| Starts | 12 |
| Wins | 3 |
| Poles | 1 |
| Fastest laps | 1 |
| Best finish | 1st in 2021 |
| Previous series | |
| 2021 2020 2019 2017–18 2015–16 2015–16 | Asian Le Mans Series Euroformula Open Championship FIA Formula 3 Championship Formula Renault Eurocup Italian F4 Championship French F4 Championship |
| Championship titles | |
| 2021 2021 2020 2016 | European Le Mans Series - LMP2 Asian Le Mans Series - LMP2 Euroformula Open French F4 Championship |
| Chinese name | |
| Traditional Chinese | 葉一飛 |
| Simplified Chinese | 叶一飞[1] |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Yè Yīfēi |
From 2024 onwards, Ye will become a factory driver for Ferrari[4] and drive the #83 Ferrari 499P with Robert Kubica and Robert Shwartzman in FIA World Endurance Championship 2024.
Born in Xi'an, the capital city of Shaanxi Province, Ye began his professional racing career in karting in 2010 at the age of ten, and would go on to win the China Karting Championship in 2011 and 2012. Ye would make his European racing debut in 2013 at the ROK Cup final in Lonato, finishing fourth overall in the Junior ROK class. His karting career concluded in early 2015 with a second-place finish in the Vega International Winter Trophy, in preparation for his step up to Formula 4.
Formula 4
In 2015, Ye graduated to single-seaters in the French F4 Championship, where two wins near the end of the campaign brought him to twelfth in the standings.
The following year would see Ye return to French F4.[5] He would go on to dominate the season, taking pole position in nearly every qualifying session and winning fourteen races. His final points tally saw him take the championship title by 142 points over runner-up Gilles Magnus - marking the largest winning margin in championship history, and the first title for a Chinese driver in Formula 4.
Formula Renault Eurocup
In December 2016, it was announced that Ye would graduate to the Formula Renault Eurocup with reigning teams' champions Josef Kaufmann Racing.[6] He would go on to take three podium finishes on his way to the eighth place in the drivers' standings. Ye reunited with Josef Kaufmann the following season, claiming two wins at Monza and the Hungaroring to finish the championship in third overall.[7]
Formula One
Following his performance in the Formula Renault Eurocup, Ye was signed to the Renault Sport Academy in April 2019.
FIA Formula 3 Championship
In October 2018, Ye joined the final round of the F3 Asian Championship with Absolute Racing, where he claimed two podiums out of three races. Ye rejoined the outfit for the following year's Winter Series, where he claimed four wins to finish second in the championship.[8]
2019 saw Ye enter the inaugural season of the FIA Formula 3 Championship with Hitech Grand Prix alongside Leonardo Pulcini and Red Bull junior Jüri Vips.[9] In the final race in Sochi, he scored his best result of sixth place.
Euroformula Open Championship
In May 2020, Ye joined CryptoTower Racing in the Euroformula Open championship. He would go on to dominate the championship, taking clean sweeps at the Hungaroring, Red Bull Ring, and Catalunya rounds for a total of 11 wins, 13 poles and 12 fastest laps.[10]
Formula E
In April 2023, Ye was announced to participate in the official rookie test at Berlin for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team in the Porsche 99X Electric. Ye was able to find a good rhythm and managed to provide a valuable feedback to the engineers on the setup of the Porsche 99X Electric.[11] Additionally, following his successful Berlin rookie test, Ye was set to return to the cockpit of the Porsche 99X Electric for the Rome E-Prix Rookie Free Practice.[12]
2021: Impressive Rookie Season
At the start of 2021, Ye made his sportscar racing debut with G-Drive Racing, partnering René Binder and Ferdinand Habsburg in the LMP2 category of the Asian Le Mans Series. Having taken a pair of victories at the opening round and consolidated their championship gap during the final two races, the trio claimed the ALMS title.
For his main campaign, Ye would drive for Team WRT alongside Louis Delétraz and Robert Kubica in the European Le Mans Series.[13] The team started off in controlling fashion, winning the opening pair of races at Barcelona and Spielberg and gaining an early lead in the standings. After two finishes inside the top five, the Chinese driver and his teammates took victory at Spa-Francorchamps, thus clinching the ELMS championship with a round to go.
24 Hours of Le Mans
In August 2021, Ye joined his ELMS teammates Delétraz and Kubica at Team WRT to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ye completed the most overtakes in the LMP2 class, with a total of 315 passes, and led the race for much of its concluding phase. However, the car would experience an electrical failure on the very last lap of the race, forcing Ye to retire from the lead and leading to the squad being unclassified in the final results.[14]
Pomotion to Porsche Motorsport
In October 2021, Ye signed with Porsche as Porsche Motorsport Asian Pacific Selected Driver, becoming Porsche's first-ever official Chinese driver in preparation for a potential role in the upcoming Porsche LMDh program.[15]
2022
GT Debut in Asian Le Mans Series
Ye returned to the Asian Le Mans Series in the GT3 class for 2022, making his debut in GT racing and fulfilling his duties as a newly signed driver for Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific.[16] A pole position and a second-place finish in the final round was enough to elevate the team to eighth in the standings.
Cool Racing (European Le Mans Series)
In February 2022, Cool Racing announced its driver line-up for 2022. Reigning European Le Mans Series LMP2 Champion Ye along with the four-time winner in Le Mans Nicolas Lapierre and 2021 European Le Mans Series LMP3 runner up Niklas Krütten. The team also entered the car in the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans with a revised line-up due to Lapierre's commitments with Alpine in the FIA WEC. He was replaced by double IMSA champion Ricky Taylor. Ye took the pole position at Spa-Francorchamps and three podiums throughout the championship.
2023: First Full Season WEC Campaign in The Top Class
FIA World Endurance Championship
In 2023, Ye was announced to be making his debut in the top-flight Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship as the youngest driver in the Hypercar class, partnering António Félix da Costa and Will Stevens in the customer Porsche 963 of Hertz Team Jota.[17] The team would make an impressive debut at the third championship round at Spa-Francorchamps, finishing sixth.[18] At the 100th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ye and his teammates would complete an impressive run from last to first during the first half of the race, though this would end after Ye crashed at the Porsche curves.[19][20] Following repairs, Ye and Jota managed to end up completing the race. In the final three races, the team would amass a trio of top-ten finishes, with a highlight coming in Bahrain, where the trio finished in fourth place.[21][22]
2024: Switch to Ferrari
In lieu of the 2024 season, Ye announced that he would be leaving the Porsche stable, soon revealing that he had signed a factory contract with Ferrari.[23][24]
Karting career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | ROK Cup International Final — Junior ROK | 28th | |
| 2014 | South Garda Winter Cup — KF3 | 17th | |
| WSK Champions Cup — KFJ | ART Grand Prix | 19th | |
| CIK-FIA European Championship — KFJ | 48th | ||
| ROK Cup International Final — Junior ROK | International Kartronix | 4th | |
| 2015 | WSK Champions Cup — KFJ | Kartonix International | 25th |
| South Garda Winter Cup — KFJ | NC | ||
| Vega International Winter Trophy — KFJ | 2nd | ||
| WSK Super Master Series — KFJ | RB Racing | 12th | |
| CIK-FIA European Championship — KFJ | 46th |
Racing career summary
† As Ye was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
* Season still in progress.
Complete French F4 Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | LÉD 1 18 |
LÉD 2 11 |
LÉD 3 11 |
LMS 1 13 |
LMS 2 10 |
LMS 3 7 |
PAU 1 10 |
PAU 2 5 |
PAU 3 Ret |
HUN 1 14 |
HUN 2 14 |
HUN 3 11 |
MAG 1 13 |
MAG 2 Ret |
MAG 3 11 |
NAV 1 9 |
NAV 2 1 |
NAV 3 12 |
LEC 1 9 |
LEC 2 1 |
LEC 3 12 |
12th | 73 | ||
| 2016 | LEC 1 1 |
LEC 2 1 |
LEC 3 1 |
LEC 4 1 |
PAU 1 3 |
PAU 2 4 |
PAU 3 1 |
PAU 4 1 |
LÉD 1 1 |
LÉD 2 1 |
LÉD 3 1 |
LÉD 4 1 |
MAG 1 1 |
MAG 2 7 |
MAG 3 1 |
MAG 4 1 |
LMS 1 1 |
LMS 2 15 |
LMS 3 Ret |
LMS 4 11 |
CAT 1 4 |
CAT 2 12 |
CAT 3 15 |
1st | 420 |
Complete Formula Renault Eurocup results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Josef Kaufmann Racing | MNZ 1 9 |
MNZ 2 6 |
SIL 1 9 |
SIL 2 14 |
PAU 1 8 |
PAU 2 10 |
MON 1 11 |
MON 2 19 |
HUN 1 24 |
HUN 2 7 |
HUN 3 5 |
NÜR 1 7 |
NÜR 2 3 |
RBR 1 8 |
RBR 2 7 |
LEC 1 2 |
LEC 2 8 |
SPA 1 3 |
SPA 2 7 |
SPA 3 8 |
CAT 1 12 |
CAT 2 10 |
CAT 3 11 |
8th | 106.5 |
| 2018 | Josef Kaufmann Racing | LEC 1 3 |
LEC 2 2 |
MNZ 1 1 |
MNZ 2 15 |
SIL 1 3 |
SIL 2 3 |
MON 1 4 |
MON 2 4 |
RBR 1 8 |
RBR 2 5 |
SPA 1 2 |
SPA 2 3 |
HUN 1 1 |
HUN 2 11 |
NÜR 1 6 |
NÜR 2 6 |
HOC 1 2 |
HOC 2 3 |
CAT 1 8 |
CAT 2 8 |
3rd | 239 |
Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)
Complete Euroformula Open Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete Asian Le Mans Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete European Le Mans Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 |  Team WRT |
 Louis Delétraz Robert Kubica |
Oreca 07-Gibson | LMP2 | 362 | NC | NC |
| 2022 | Cool Racing |
 Niklas Krütten Ricky Taylor |
Oreca 07-Gibson | LMP2 | 367 | 11th | 7th |
| 2023 |  Hertz Team Jota |
 António Félix da Costa Will Stevens |
Porsche 963 | Hypercar | 244 | 40th | 13th |
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Hertz Team Jota | LMP2 | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | SEB 1 |
ALG 5 |
NC | 0‡ | ||||||
| Hypercar | Porsche 963 | Porsche 4.6 L Turbo V8 | SPA 6 |
LMS 10 |
MNZ 9 |
FUJ 6 |
BHR 4 |
9th | 38 | |||||
| 2024 | AF Corse | Hypercar | Ferrari 499P | Ferrari 3.0 L Turbo V6 | QAT 4 |
IMO 8 |
SPA |
LMS |
SÃO |
COA |
FUJ |
BHR |
6th* | 22* |
* Season still in progress. ‡ Ye was entered a guest driver, therefore he was ineligible for points.
- 法国F4：中国车手叶一飞获得年度总冠军. Motorsport.com. 12 September 2016. Archived from the original on 21 August 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
- "Ye Yifei Continues Championship March at Magny-Cours". 12 July 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
- Allen, Peter (11 April 2019). "Yifei Ye joins Renault Sport Academy ahead of FIA F3". FormulaScout. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
- Kilbey, Stephen (18 December 2023). "Ye Announced As Ferrari Driver". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
- "16 pilotes à l'assaut du Castellet" [16 drivers on the attack of Le Castellet] (in French). Fédération Française du Sport Automobile. 30 March 2016. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
- "Yifei Ye joins Josef Kaufmann Racing for Formula Renault step". 15 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
- "27 drivers with many contenders for victory!". renaultsport.com. Renault Sport. 10 April 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
- "Absolute Racing signs Chinese hot prospect Ye Yifei for Asian F3". 29 October 2018. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
- "Ye Yifei joins Hitech Grand Prix for 2019 season". 27 February 2019. Archived from the original on 13 March 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
- "CryptoTower Racing Team, first Japanese team to enter the Euroformula". www.euroformulaopen.net. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- "David Beckmann and Yifei Ye gain experience with the Porsche 99X Electric". Porsche Newsroom. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
- "Yifei Ye to drive for TAG Heuer Porsche in Rome". The Official Home of Formula E. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
- Lloyd, Daniel (2 March 2021). "Deletraz, Ye Join Kubica in WRT's Completed LMP2 Lineup – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- "WRT identifies cause of Le Mans retirement". racer. 30 August 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- "Yifei Ye secures Porsche Asia contract ahead of potential LMDh seat". www.motorsport.com. 31 October 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
- "Porsche Selected Driver Ye Among Herberth Crew". racer. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- "Yifei Ye in a Porsche 963 LMDh in 2023". Endurance Info. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- "Toyota takes Hypercar 1-2 in front of record crowd at WEC Spa race". www.fiawec.com. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
- Little, Martin; O'Connell, RJ (10 June 2023). "2023 LM24, Hour 5: Ecstacy, Then Agony, For JOTA!". DailySportsCar. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
- Thurkal, Rachit (10 June 2023). "JOTA Porsche suffers spectacular crash while leading Le Mans". Motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
- "Jota not disappointed by Bahrain WEC podium near-miss". www.motorsport.com. 6 November 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
- Tunnicliffe, David (5 November 2023). "Toyota finish season in style with Bahrain 1-2". WEC-Magazin. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
- Euwema, Davey (12 December 2023). "Cairoli, Ye Confirm Porsche Departures – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
- "OFFICIEL – Yifei Ye rejoint Ferrari". Endurance Info (in French). Retrieved 18 December 2023.
- Yifei Ye career summary at DriverDB.com
- Ye Yifei on Weibo
- Yifei Ye on Twitter
- Profile on Euroformula Open Championship
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Valentin Moineault |
French F4 Championship Champion 2016 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Euroformula Open Championship Champion 2020 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Asian Le Mans Series LMP2 Champion 2021 With: René Binder & Ferdinand von Habsburg |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | European Le Mans Series LMP2 Champion 2021 With: Robert Kubica & Louis Delétraz |
Succeeded by |