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Robert Tyler Wickens (born March 13, 1989) is a Canadians racing driver from Guelph, Ontario, driving in the Sprint Cup of the IMSA SportsCar Championship for DXDT Racing. In 2009 he finished in second place in the FIA Formula Two Championship, and in 2010 he was runner-up in the GP3 Series. In his return to Formula Renault 3.5, where he competed in 2008, he won the 2011 season championship with Carlin Motorsport, with backing of Marussia. Wickens then left the series to race in the DTM for the HWA Team.
Wickens left DTM after the 2017 season and signed to drive for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in the 2018 IndyCar Series, going on to claim pole position in his debut race at the 2018 St. Petersburg Grand Prix. His promising debut IndyCar season came to a premature end when a violent crash during the 500-mile race at Pocono Raceway left him a paraplegic. Wickens issued a further statement clarifying that he was hopeful to be able to walk again, due to his spinal cord being bruised rather than completely severed and that he had felt 'some feeling and movement' back in his legs although the nerves were not in a state to walk. Though a paraplegic as of late October 2018, he hoped to be able to walk on his own within two years of the accident.
In 2022, Wickens returned to full-time racing in the Michelin Pilot Challenge with Bryan Herta Autosport, driving a Hyundai car with adapted hand controls in the TCR category. He won the TCR drivers' championship in 2023 alongside his teammate, Harry Gottsacker.
He remained in the series in 2006 for the same team, but after few races switched to the EuroInternational, because he became a Red Bull Junior Team driver. Robert Wickens redbull-juniorteam.com The Canadian amassed three wins, seven podiums and won the championship. Besides repeat appearance in Formula BMW World Final, Wickens was guest driver at the Nürburgring Formula BMW ADAC round, which was a support race for the Formula One European Grand Prix. After three months he again appeared at Nürburg to competing in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 for Motopark Academy.
It was announced in October 2017 that Wickens would be joining the team full-time for the 2018 season.
He would go on to claim pole position in his debut qualifying session on March 10, 2018, for the 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. After Wickens led the race for all but the last two laps, Alexander Rossi made a move for the lead and a racing incident ensued, taking Wickens out of the lead, which led to Sébastien Bourdais winning the race. In May 2018, Wickens was awarded Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year honors after leading two laps and finishing ninth during the race.
He came in fifth at the July 11, 2018, Iowa Corn 300 race at Iowa Speedway, his fifth finish in the top-five for the season to that date, and finished the 85-lap Honda Indy Toronto race on July 15, 2018, in third place. Later in the month, Wickens again finished second at Mid-Ohio only to Rossi this time. Wickens had climbed up to sixth place in the standings.
The race was red flagged while Wickens was extricated from the car, with Indycar officials stating he was "awake and alert", before being transferred to hospital by helicopter. Subsequent reports indicated that Wickens was admitted to Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest with fractures to his legs, spine and right forearm in addition to pulmonary contusion. After an MRI scan, Wickens underwent spinal surgery to repair a thoracic spinal fracture on August 20; titanium rods and screws were inserted in his spine. Further surgeries were completed to treat fractures in his arm and legs. On August 31, Wickens was transferred to Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital for further surgery on his legs. On September 7, 2018, the Wickens family announced the full extent of Robert's injuries: a thoracic spinal fracture, a neck fracture, tibia and fibula fractures to both legs, fractures in both hands, a fractured right forearm, a fractured elbow, four fractured ribs, a pulmonary contusion, and an indeterminate spinal injury. While at a rehab facility in Colorado, Wickens revealed in late October he was a paraplegic as a result of the crash.
Several factors helped Wickens survive: he ducked down so his head did not hit any solid object, the cockpit did not strike the steel pole, and forces of the impact were dissipated in the destruction of the car, sparing Wickens.
Wickens' car was withdrawn from the Bommarito Automotive Group 500, while teammate James Hinchcliffe, also involved in the accident, was cleared to race. The No. 6 car did return to the track at Portland with Carlos Muñoz behind the wheel of the car. In a press release on September 6, owners Sam Schmidt and Ric Peterson said: "the 6 is his when he comes back". The second car was renumbered to 7 for the 2019 season where Marcus Ericsson drove the car. Despite this press statement, the No. 6 car did make a brief return during the 2022 season, when it was driven by Juan Pablo Montoya at Indianapolis before making a full return to the sport from 2023 onwards.
Despite missing the final three races of the 2018 season, Wickens had already collected enough points to earn the 2018 IndyCar Rookie of the Year award.
On 30 January 2019, Wickens published another video showing him riding a spin bike on his own and without any assistance.
On 8 July 2019, Wickens announced he would be driving the parade lap for the Honda Indy Toronto, using hand controls.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wickens competed in the INDYCAR iRacing Challenge, with a best result of 5th at Motegi. He also drove at the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual with Mahle Racing alongside DTM racer Ferdinand Zvonimir von Habsburg and sim racers Jimmy Broadbent and Kevin Rotting in the GTE Class with the Aston Martin Vantage GTE. They finished 16th in the GTE class and 45th in the overall classification
On 5 May 2021, 989 days after the accident at Pocono, Wickens drove a race car again, testing the #54 Hyundai Veloster N TCR with Bryan Herta Autosport at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Outfitted with hand controls, normally raced by paralyzed team driver Michael Johnson, Wickens wasted no time adapting to the set-up and was up to pace within a number of laps, proving his speed and ability to race again.
Wickens remained in the team for 2023, paired with Harry Gottsacker. A consistent season with several podium finishes saw the pair claim the TCR championship at the last race in Road Atlanta.
During the first race of the 2024 Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie at the Nordschleife, Wickens was involved in an accident driving a Hyundai Elantra N, approximately half way through the 4 hour event at the Döttinger Höhe section of the circuit. The crash required him to be taken immediately to a nearby hospital from the circuit. His team, Bryan Herta Autosport, released a statement confirming Wickens was conscious and would spend the night under precautionary observation.
| Formula BMW | Team Autotecnica | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 6th |
| Formula BMW ADAC | ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | NC† |
| Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 | Motopark Academy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | NC† |
| Formula BMW | EuroInternational | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 8th |
| Formula Renault 3.5 Series | Carlin Motorsport | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 25th |
| Formula 3 Euro Series | Signature Team | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10.5 | 15th |
| Formula 3 Euro Series | Kolles & Heinz Union | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| British Formula 3 International Series | Carlin Motorsport | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 16th |
| Atlantic Championship | Genoa Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 14th |
| Formula One | Marussia Motors Virgin Racing | Test driver | ||||||
| IMSA SportsCar Championship - PC | Starworks Motorsport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 23rd |
| IndyCar Series | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | Test driver | ||||||
| Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - TCR | Target Competition | |||||||
| Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - TCR | Hyundai Motorsport N | |||||||
| 2006 ! nowrap | Motopark Academy | Circuit Zolder | Circuit Zolder | Istanbul Park | Istanbul Park | MIS 1 | MIS 2 | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | Donington Park | Donington Park | Bugatti Circuit | Bugatti Circuit | CAT 1 | CAT 2 ! 36th ! 0 |
| 2007 ! nowrap | Red Bull Forsythe Racing | LVG | LBH | HOU | POR | POR | CLE | MTT | TOR | Edmonton Indy | Edmonton Indy | SJO | ROA | 3rd | 255 |
| 2009 ! nowrap | Genoa Racing | SEB | UTA | NJ1 | NJ2 | LIM | ACC | ACC | MOH | TRR | MOS | Road Atlanta | LS | 14th | 12 |
| 2017 ! rowspan=2 nowrap | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports ! rowspan=2 nowrap | Dallara DW12 ! 7 ! rowspan=2 | Honda | STP | LBH | ALA | PHX | IMS | INDY | DET | DET | TXS | ROA PO | IOW | TOR | MOH | POC | GTW | WGL | SNM ! NC ! – ! |
| 2018 ! 6 | STP 18 | PHX 2 | LBH 22 | ALA 4 | IMS 3 | INDY 9 | DET 8 | DET 6 | TXS 19 | RDA 5 | IOW 5 | TOR 3 | MOH 2 | POC 19 | GTW | POR | SNM !style="background:#CFCFFF;" | 11th !style="background:#CFCFFF;" | 391 ! |
| 2018 | Dallara | Honda | 18 | 9 | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports |
| 2007 ! nowrap | Carlin Motorsport | MNZ 1 | MNZ 2 | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | MON 1 | Hungaroring | Hungaroring | SPA 1 | SPA 2 | Donington Park | Donington Park | MAG 1 | MAG 2 | EST 1 | EST 2 | CAT 1 | CAT 2 ! 25th ! 6 | ||
| 2008 ! nowrap | Carlin Motorsport | MNZ 1 | MNZ 2 | SPA 1 | SPA 2 | MON 1 | SIL 1 | SIL 2 | Hungaroring | Hungaroring | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | Bugatti Circuit | Bugatti Circuit | EST 1 | EST 2 | CAT 1 | CAT 2 ! 12th ! 55 | ||
| 2011 ! nowrap | Carlin Motorsport | ALC 1 | ALC 2 | SPA 1 | SPA 2 | MNZ 1 | MNZ 2 | MON 1 | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | Hungaroring | Hungaroring | SIL 1 | SIL 2 | LEC 1 | LEC 2 | CAT 1 | CAT 2 | 1st | 241 |
| 2007–08 ! nowrap | Canada | NED SPR | NED FEA | CZE SPR | CZE FEA | MYS SPR | MYS FEA | CHN SPR | CHN FEA | NZL SPR | NZL FEA | AUS SPR | AUS FEA | RSA SPR | RSA FEA | MEX SPR | MEX FEA | CHN SPR | CHN FEA | GBR SPR | GBR FEA ! 9th ! 75 |
| 2008 ! nowrap | Signature Team ! nowrap | Dallara F308/011 ! Volkswagen | Hockenheimring | Hockenheimring | Mugello Circuit | Mugello Circuit | PAU 1 | PAU 2 | Norisring | Norisring | ZAN 1 | ZAN 2 | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | Brands Hatch | Brands Hatch | CAT 1 | CAT 2 | LMS 1 | LMS 2 | Hockenheimring | Hockenheimring ! 15th ! 10.5 |
| 2009 ! nowrap | Kodewa ! nowrap | Dallara F309/001 ! Volkswagen | Hockenheimring | Hockenheimring | LAU 1 | LAU 2 | Norisring | Norisring | ZAN 1 | ZAN 2 | OSC 1 | OSC 2 | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | Brands Hatch | Brands Hatch | CAT 1 | CAT 2 | Dijon-Prenois | Dijon-Prenois | Hockenheimring | Hockenheimring ! 22nd ! 0 |
| 2009 ! nowrap | Motorsport Vision | VAL 1 | VAL 2 | Masaryk Circuit | Masaryk Circuit | SPA 1 | SPA 2 | Brands Hatch | Brands Hatch | Donington Park | Donington Park | OSC 1 | OSC 2 | IMO 1 | IMO 2 | CAT 1 | CAT 2 | 2nd | 64 |
| 2010 ! nowrap | Status Grand Prix | CAT FEA | CAT SPR | Istanbul Park | Istanbul Park | VAL FEA | VAL SPR | SIL FEA | SIL SPR | Hockenheimring | Hockenheimring | Hungaroring | Hungaroring | SPA FEA | SPA SPR | MNZ FEA | MNZ SPR | 2nd | 71 |
| ! nowrap Marussia Motors Virgin Racing ! nowrap | Virgin Racing MVR-02 ! nowrap | Cosworth CA2011 2.4 V8 | AUS | MAL | CHN | TUR | ESP | MON | CAN | EUR | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | SIN | JPN | KOR | IND | ABU | BRA ! – ! – |
| 2017 !nowrap | Starworks Motorsport ! PC !nowrap | Oreca FLM09 !nowrap | Chevrolet LS3 6.2 L V8 | DAY | SEB | COA | DET | WGL | MOS | ELK | PET | ! 23rd ! 26 | |
| 2025 !nowrap | DXDT Racing ! GTD !nowrap | Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R !nowrap | Chevrolet LT6 5.5 L V8 | DAY | SEB | LBH | LGA | WGL | MOS | ELK | VIR | IMS | PET ! 17th* ! 1226* |
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