Andre Lotterer has departed the Avalanche Andretti Formula E team after calling time on his single-seater racing career.
Across 26 years, Lotterer won two Formula BMW titles and the 2011 Formula Nippon championship — a series in which he competed for 15 seasons between 2003 and 2017, finishing in the top three 10 times. He served as test driver for Jaguar’s Formula 1 team in 2001 and 2002, but made his race debut more than a decade later at the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix for Caterham. He also made a single Champ Car start for Dale Coyne Racing in Mexico City at the end of 2002
Since the 2017-18 season, the German, now 41, has been a mainstay in Formula E, where he has been an eight-time podium finisher. He debuted with Techeetah before moving to Porsche’s factory team in 2019-20. After racing there for three seasons he transitioned to Andretti, a Porsche customer outfit, last year.
“Got some news to share with you. It’s time for me to close a 26 year chapter of single-seater racing,” Lotterer posted on Instagram. “I have decided not to race anymore in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship to fully focus on my challenge with Porsche Penske Motorsport to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans (for the 4th time) and the FIA World Endurance Championship.
“It has been a great ride racing in Formula BMW & Formula Renault to Formula 3, Champ Car, Formula Nippon, Super Formula, Formula 1 and finally the Formula E family which I joined at the start of Season 4 back in 2017.
“I would like to thank the people that helped me join this innovative and exciting Championship; Leo Thomas, Julian & Alexander Jakobi, JEV & the Techeetah team! The adventures together were great! A big thanks to TAG Heuer Porsche FE too who gave me the opportunity to lead the team into their Formula E debut in Season 6!
“Last but not least, my engineer Fabrice Roussel who has shown amazing support since the beginning and all the way through the three Formula E teams, and the Avalanche Andretti Formula E team for trusting me during Season 9.”
“I would like to personally thank Alejandro Agag, his team and the FIA for creating Formula E — it has been a fantastic journey and you have changed many of our lives. Formula E has been the most challenging and fun Championship I have competed in! I am extremely grateful and proud to have raced in Formula E, promoting all the sustainable technologies and for meeting the amazing people in this paddock, a few of which have become my best friends today.”
Lotterer’s biggest successes have come in the sports car arena. As well as a brace of Super GT titles (2006 and 2009), he won the Le Mans 24 Hours three times for Audi (2011, 2012, and 2014), and was champion of the inaugural FIA WEC season in 2012. Lotterer was with Audi from 2010 until its withdrawal from prototype racing at the end of 2017, when he then moved to Porsche’s prototype program.
Despite closing the door on single-seaters, Lotterer will remain an active driver with Porsche. He has been a part of the brand’s return to top-level sports car racing this year, contesting the WEC season alongside Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor. The trio took a podium finish at the 6 Hours of Portimao back in April.