Patric Niederhauser (born 8 October 1991 in Münsingen) is a professional racing driver from Switzerland and a current Porsche factory driver.
He was the champion of the Formula Abarth Italian Series in 2011 and competed in the GP3 Series before switching into GT racing, where a 2019 title in the ADAC GT Masters earned him a spot in the Audi factory lineup. After four years in the programme, Niederhauser switched to Porsche ahead of 2024.
Niederhauser began karting in 2006 and raced primarily in his native Switzerland for the majority of his career, working his way up from the junior ranks to progress through to the KF2 category by 2009, when he finished as runner-up in Swiss Karting Championship.[1]
In 2010, Niederhauser graduated to single–seaters, racing in the newly launched Formula Abarth series in Italy for Jenzer Motorsport. Race victory at Varano and another five podiums at the end of the season saw him finish as runner-up in the Italian series,[1] Niederhauser remained in Formula Abarth for a second season in 2011, when the series split into the European and Italian series. He won the Italian Series title in clash with teammate (till Spa round) Sergey Sirotkin, taking six wins in fourteen races.[2] In the European Series the Swiss driver finished as runner-up with five race victories, 37 points behind Sirotkin.[3]
During 2010, Niederhauser also contested a single round of the Formula Renault 2.0 Middle European Championship at Dijon, finishing on the podium in both races.[4]
In 2012, Niederhauser remained with Jenzer, moving into the GP3 Series.[5] In his debut season, two wins helped the Swiss driver towards seventh in the standings. The following year, he returned to GP3 with Jenzer.[6] The campaign proved to be less successful, as Niederhauser only scored two points finishes following a double podium at the opening round, thus ending up 13th in the standings.
In what would prove to be Niederhauser's final year in GP3, 2014 saw him switching over to Arden International. At the Hungaroring, Niederhauser broke his two-year long winless streak during the sprint race, and won again at Sochi to finish tenth overall.[7][8]
Niederhauser did not attain a seat in 2015, only competing in one round of the GP2 Series for Daiko Team Lazarus.[9]
In 2016, Niederhauser made his sportscar debut, driving for Attempto Racing in the opening three rounds of the ADAC GT Masters.[10] He would also race for the team in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup and GT Series Sprint Cup championships that year, collecting a best race finish of tenth in both series.[11]
For the following season, Niederhauser returned to GT Masters, this time partnering youngster Dennis Marschall at Aust Motorsport.[12] The pair scored regular points finishes in the second half of the season, though that would only be enough for 21st in the drivers' championship. Niederhauser split his attention between Europe and Asia in 2018, competing for GruppeM Racing Team in the Blancpain GT Series Asia, where his first three wins in GT3 competition helped him towards third place in the standings, and the Silver Cup class of the Blancpain Endurance Cup, where he scored a single class podium.[13][14][15]
Niederhauser came back to GT Masters for the 2019 season, racing for HCB-Rutronik Racing alongside Audi factory driver Kelvin van der Linde.[16] With three victories and four further podiums, the Swiss-South African duo managed to take the title in dominant fashion.[17][18] As a result of his performances, Niederhauser was introduced to Audi's factory driver lineup in 2020.[19] That year saw him and van der Linde drive for Rutronik once again in defence of his GT Masters title, though they lost out due to a retirement in the final race caused by a startline collision, finishing fourth overall with a single win.[20][21][22]
For the 2021 GT Masters season, Niederhauser moved to Phoenix Racing to partner second-year GT3 driver Jusuf Owega.[23] The pair struggled to take results and failed to finish on the podium, which resulted in 18th place at year's end. Niederhauser returned to Rutronik in 2022, once again being joined by an inexperienced GT driver in Luca Engstler.[24] A 14th place in the standings was the result, with the pair scoring a lone podium from a Niederhauser pole at Oschersleben. During the same year, the Swiss driver drove for Saintéloc Racing in both the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance and Sprint Cups.[25] In the former, he would score a surprise victory at the Hockenheimring, meanwhile two podiums in the latter would signify sixth overall for him and Aurélien Panis.[26]
Niederhauser remained at Saintéloc for the 2023 GT World Challenge Europe season, joining fellow factory drivers Simon Gachet and Christopher Mies for a Pro entry in the Endurance Cup, and partnering GT3 rookie Erwan Bastard in the Sprint Cup.[27] Despite not scoring a single podium in the former, Niederhauser and his teammates ended up sixth in the standings owing to three fourth-place finishes. Meanwhile, a lone podium in the Sprint Cup resulted in tenth overall for the Swiss driver in the Sprint Cup. During the same year, Niederhauser also competed in the DTM with Tresor Orange1 fielded by Attempto Racing, though the team's struggles to settle into the series due to a low number of test days resulted in 23rd place in the championship.[28]
With the disbandment of Audi's works lineup, Niederhauser found a new home at Porsche for 2024.[29] He would compete with the marque in both the Sprint and Endurance Cups, partnering and Sven Müller in the former and being joined by Julien Andlauer in the latter on his second return to Rutronik.[30]
Patric Niederhauser is in a relationship with racing driver Marylin Niederhauser who competed in the ADAC Formula 4 Championship. The fact that the two have identical surnames is a coincidence.[31]
† As Niederhauser was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.* Season still in progress.
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.* Season still in progress.
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)