Felipe Nasr’s rollercoaster journey from F1 to Porsche success

It was a culmination of an extraordinary journey from his native Brazil. In 2017 he had to make the difficult choice of ending a Formula 1 career which had been a lifetime in the making, which set him on a path to sportscars and eventually, to Porsche Penske Motorsport. “From a young age, there's no way you can dream of racing without seeing Porsche and Porsche's logo, without seeing Porsche winning,” Nasr explains. “All the big events you've heard of, Porsche won this, Porsche did this, this driver has won several times with Porsche. That was always kind of in my head from a young age and I always dreamed of uniting myself with a very successful manufacturer in the future."

“It just took me longer, because I was very committed to the F1 goal in my early days, and you kind of just have your eyes set on that goal.” Despite strong performances with the Sauber F1 team in 2015 and 16, including vital points scored at his home grand prix in Brazil, the team decided to part ways with him before the 2017 season. But Nasr feels he became a better driver and a better person through the experience, and it was crucial in leading him to his current path with Porsche. Without those experiences, he might not be the same person and successful driver. “We can only control certain things and others really are out of our hands and it's not in our destiny to define. When I look back I really think I delivered everything I had under my control and under my possession at the time,” Nasr says in an exclusive interview. “I saw, ‘OK, so this is it, I have to look for something else'. It takes some time for you to process everything that you worked for, that you dreamed of, but it made me a better driver and a better person because it's really those tough times that build up your character, build up your attitude to racing."

“And I said, ‘I want to go somewhere that I can put my name in history'." “I want to have the package that I can win, that I can deliver on the track. That's why I choose to be in sportscar racing." “I have no regret whatsoever over what happened in Formula 1, because it really made me a better version of everything." “Now, being with Porsche and Penske shows the trust they have in me and that trust I have in them. And there's so much more I want to achieve with them.”

Nasr won the IMSA championship on his return to racing in 2018, finished second in 2020 and won the title again in 2021, establishing himself as one of the most respected talents in North American motorsport, which led to offers from many teams for the future and even opportunities in IndyCar. But for Nasr, he feels one conversation and one email changed his life and career forever. During that 2021 IMSA title-winning year, before the Porsche 963 LMDh project had even been signed off, Nasr told legendary team owner Roger Penske: “I want to drive for your organisation.” The reply? Let’s have a meeting. An email from Penske and team director Tim Cindric quickly followed.

“Timing is everything and I'm very glad that timing came when I was there ready to take the opportunity,” adds Nasr. That opportunity meant 2022 was dedicated to testing for Porsche Penske Motorsport to get the 963 ready for its debut the following year, although Nasr still found time to win the very prestigious and hotly-contested GT class of the Daytona 24 Hours on his Porsche racing debut that year. With the new class of LMDh cars debuting in 2023, every manufacturer involved was always going to suffer with challenges to create the best car, and Porsche was no exception. Nasr worked tirelessly with the Porsche team to improve the car in different areas as it developed, and as one of the original test drivers from the start, it gave his Daytona win last month a different complexion.

He hadn’t just turned up and won in a car that had already been developed by someone else. He’s lived the 963 for almost two years. He also gave the car its first IMSA win, in 2023, alongside Matt Campbell at the world-famous Road America circuit, before combining with Campbell again, and Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden alongside Dane Cameron, to win Daytona last month. Nasr praised all four drivers, claiming they didn’t put a foot wrong throughout the event. It’s not unfair to say that Nasr has done a lion’s share of the work as a driver in the development of this car and it was fitting he took the chequered flag in the final stint. “It's a different kind of feeling, winning a race like that, after having seen this car being born from day one, and I can tell you, we've been through a lot of good and bad times together,” says Nasr.

“But dealing with this frustration is what makes the difference. It’s what makes everything stronger." “It's very easy to jump on board something that is already winning and just come and drive, it's a completely different way of achieving a goal." “For me, this one feels very, very special, because I've seen the good and the bad and I've seen the amount of extra work everybody did." “I feel very honored to have overcome this step and being able to bring victory to the team, to the whole organisation from Porsche Penske Motorsport." “It's very satisfying, and I can tell you, I can only thank them for the work, for the trust and I'm sure there's many more to come." “This is only the beginning.”

Nasr spent time back in his native Brazil fishing after the win, which he says was the perfect way to decompress as he stayed in a hotel that has a structure on the Amazon river where you can go out on trips spanning multiple countries. Nasr is from Brasilia, the nation’s capital, and spending some time at home has helped him to not just recharge the batteries but to comprehend the level of achievement that Daytona was. Like all racing drivers, his mind is already on the future, on the next round of IMSA which is the Sebring 12 Hours, and on Le Mans, where he will look to add to Porsche’s record-holding 19 wins. Winning the 20th for the great manufacturer would be quite the feat for Nasr. “It's still a personal dream of mine to win Le Mans, I still don't have that one on the CV,” he says.

“I know it will be very special, but to be there and to make it happen, I know it's a different story. It takes so many other factors to come together." “I like where we are. I like how we are progressing as a team.” Nasr had finished second, twice, in the 24 Hours of Daytona overall, so to add the race to his previous Sebring 12 Hours and Petit Le Mans means he has won the three most prestigious American endurance classics. The next target is easy, Le Mans, and he already has one eye on that target.