Niels Koolen

Niels Koolen
Koolen at the Circuit Paul Ricard in 2024
NationalityNetherlands Dutch
Born (2001-05-25) 25 May 2001 (age 23)
Vorden, Gelderland,
Netherlands
Indy NXT career
Debut season2024
Current teamChip Ganassi Racing
Car number10
Former teamsHMD Motorsports
Starts9
Wins0
Podiums0
Poles0
Fastest laps0
Best finish20th in 2024
Previous series
2024
2024
2023

2023

2023
2022
2022		European Le Mans Series
Formula 2 Championship
Formula Regional European Championship
Formula Regional Middle East Championship
Eurocup-3
Italian F4 Championship
F4 Spanish Championship

Niels Koolen (Dutch pronunciation: [nils ˈkoːlə(n)]; born 25 May 2001) is a Dutch racing driver. He is set to compete in the 2025 Indy NXT driving for Chip Ganassi Racing.[1] Koolen most recently competed in the European Le Mans Series driving for the Duqueine Team.[2] He is the son of rally raid driver and businessman Kees Koolen.

Early career

Formula 4

After competing in karting prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Koolen, a relatively latecomer to single-seater racing aged 21, made his car racing debut in Round 6 of the 2022 F4 Spanish Championship, driving for Monlau Motorsport.[3][4] He contested the final two rounds of the 2022 Italian F4 Championship, also with Monlau Motorsport, competing under a Belgian license.[5]

Formula Regional

Formula Regional Middle East Championship

On 5 January 2023, it was announced that Koolen would be driving for VAR-Pinnacle Motorsport in the 2023 Formula Regional Middle East Championship.[6]

Formula Regional European Championship

Following the 2022 season, Koolen partook in several Formula Regional European Championship tests, driving for Van Amersfoort Racing.[7] He would ultimately sign with the Dutch-based team to participate in the 2023 championship alongside Joshua Dufek and Kas Haverkort.[8] He struggled and was considerably behind his teammate throughout the whole campaign, and finished the standings 37th, with a best finish of 19th.[9]

Eurocup-3

Koolen would participate in two rounds of Eurocup-3 in 2023 at Jerez and Estoril, failing to score points in either round.[10]

FIA Formula 2 Championship

In August 2024, after Taylor Barnard vacated his seat in the Formula 2 Championship, Koolen was drafted by AIX Racing to race for them in the category for the Monza and Baku rounds alongside Joshua Dürksen.[11] He got 19th in both the Monza sprint and feature race.[12] After the next weekend in Baku, AIX Racing confirmed that Koolen would not return for the final two weekends of the season.[13]

Indy NXT

2024

In 2024, Koolen switched to Indy NXT with HMD Motorsports.[14] In the first race of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he finished 10th.[15] This was his best result of the season.

2025

Chip Ganassi Racing signed Koolen for the 2025 Indy NXT season, marking his second season in the category.[16]

Sports car racing career

European Le Mans Series

Alongside his Indy NXT season, Koolen made his endurance racing debut and competed in the 2024 European Le Mans Series with the Duqueine Team.[2]

Racing record

Karting career summary

Season Series Team Position
2016 SKUSA SuperNationals XX — X30 Junior 2Wild Karting 54th
2017 SKUSA SuperNationals XXI — X30 Senior 2Wild Karting 54th
2018 IAME Euro Series — X30 Senior Evolution/Super B Batteries 17th
2019 IAME Series Benelux — X30 Senior 33rd
FIA Karting European Championship — OK Team Evolution
IAME Euro Series — X30 Senior 19th
IAME Winter Cup — X30 Senior 16th
Sources:[17]

Racing career summary

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2022 F4 Spanish Championship Monlau Motorsport 3 0 0 0 0 0 NC†
Italian F4 Championship 5 0 0 0 0 0 43rd
2023 Formula Regional Middle East Championship Pinnacle VAR 15 0 0 0 0 0 31st
Formula Regional European Championship Van Amersfoort Racing 18 0 0 0 0 0 37th
Eurocup-3 GRS Team 2 0 0 0 0 0 25th
2024 Indy NXT HMD Motorsports 9 0 0 0 0 140 20th
European Le Mans Series - LMP2 Duqueine Team 5 0 0 0 0 20 17th
Ultimate Cup Series - Proto P3 Inter Europol Competition 1 0 0 0 1 15* 10th*
FIA Formula 2 Championship AIX Racing 4 0 0 0 0 0 32nd
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Comtoyou Racing 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2025 Indy NXT Chip Ganassi Racing

† As Koolen was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points. * Season still in progress.

Complete F4 Spanish Championship 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 Pos Points
2022 Monlau Motorsport ALG
1 		ALG
2 		ALG
3 		JER
1 		JER
2 		JER
3 		CRT
1 		CRT
2 		CRT
3 		SPA
1 		SPA
2 		SPA
3 		ARA
1 		ARA
2 		ARA
3 		NAV
1
26 		NAV
2
21 		NAV
3
20 		CAT
1 		CAT
2 		CAT
3 		NC† 0

Complete Italian F4 Championship 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 DC Points
2022 Monlau Motorsport IMO
1 		IMO
2 		IMO
3 		MIS
1 		MIS
2 		MIS
3 		SPA
1 		SPA
2 		SPA
3 		VLL
1 		VLL
2 		VLL
3 		RBR
1 		RBR
2 		RBR
3 		RBR
3 		MNZ
1
17 		MNZ
2
30 		MNZ
3
C 		MUG
1
Ret 		MUG
2
Ret 		MUG
3
28 		43rd 0

Complete Formula Regional Middle East Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 DC Points
2023 Pinnacle VAR DUB1
1
22 		DUB1
2
22 		DUB1
3
21 		KUW1
1
12 		KUW1
2
21 		KUW1
3
21 		KUW2
1
20 		KUW2
2
21 		KUW2
3
22 		DUB2
1
22 		DUB2
2
Ret 		DUB2
3
18 		ABU
1
20 		ABU
2
21 		ABU
3
14 		31st 0

Complete Formula Regional European Championship 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 DC Points
2023 Van Amersfoort Racing IMO
1
29 		IMO
2
19 		CAT
1
26 		CAT
2
29 		HUN
1
28 		HUN
2
Ret 		SPA
1
29 		SPA
2
30 		MUG
1
24 		MUG
2
Ret 		LEC
1
Ret 		LEC
2
26 		RBR
1
27 		RBR
2
25 		MNZ
1
19 		MNZ
2
24 		ZAN
1
25 		ZAN
2
23 		HOC
1
 HOC
2 		37th 0

Complete Eurocup-3 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 DC Points
2023 GRS Team SPA
1
 SPA
2
 ARA
1
 ARA
2
 MNZ
1
 MNZ
2
 ZAN
1
 ZAN
2
 JER
1
12 		JER
2
Ret 		EST
1
WD 		EST
2
WD 		CRT
1 		CRT
2 		CAT
1 		CAT
2 		25th 0

Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 DC Points
2024 AIX Racing BHR
SPR 		BHR
FEA 		JED
SPR 		JED
FEA 		MEL
SPR 		MEL
FEA 		IMO
SPR 		IMO
FEA 		MON
SPR 		MON
FEA 		CAT
SPR 		CAT
FEA 		RBR
SPR 		RBR
FEA 		SIL
SPR 		SIL
FEA 		HUN
SPR 		HUN
FEA 		SPA
SPR 		SPA
FEA 		MNZ
SPR
19 		MNZ
FEA
19 		BAK
SPR
20 		BAK
FEA
Ret 		LSL
SPR 		LSL
FEA 		YMC
SPR 		YMC
FEA 		32nd 0

Complete European Le Mans Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rank Points
2024 Duqueine Team LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 CAT
11 		LEC
6 		IMO
9 		SPA MUG
8 		ALG
7 		17th 20

American open–wheel racing results

Indy NXT

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) (Races with L indicate a race lap led) (Races with * indicate most race laps led)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Rank Points
2024 HMD Motorsports STP
21 		BAR
15 		IMS
10 		IMS
14 		DET
13 		RDA
13 		LAG
19 		LAG
12 		MDO IOW
13 		GMP POR MIL NSH 20th 140

References

  1. ^ Barnes, Joey (30 October 2024). "Chip Ganassi Racing finalizes its 2025 lineups for IndyCar and Indy NXT programs". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  2. ^ a b "ELMS Field Almost Complete With Barcelona Prologue Approaching". dailysportscar.com. 29 March 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  3. ^ "Dutchman Niels Koolen Joins VAR / Monlau Alliance". Van Amersfoort Racing. 30 September 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  4. ^ Wood, Ida (30 September 2022). "MSV wins tender to buy Navarra as Tsolov tops Spanish F4 test there". Formula Scout. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  5. ^ "Monza, the Italian F.4 Season Record is Topped Again". Italian F4. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  6. ^ Wood, Ida (5 January 2023). "VAR and Pinnacle Motorsport reveal line-ups for FRMEC and F4 tie-up". Formula Scout. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  7. ^ Wolff, Perceval (26 December 2022). "FRECA: Who's going where in 2023? (updated)". Feeder Series. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  8. ^ Wood, Ida (15 March 2023). "Niels Koolen, Tom Lebbon and Enzo Scionti join FRegional Europe grid". Formula Scout. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  9. ^ "Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine 2023". DriverDB. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  10. ^ Wood, Ida (21 September 2023). "GRS to run all-new Eurocup-3 line-up and Spanish F4 debutants at Jerez". Formula Scout. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  11. ^ "AIX Racing confirm Niels Koolen for Monza and Baku Rounds". FIA_F2® - The Official F2® Website. 29 August 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  12. ^ "Motrosport.com".
  13. ^ "Formula 2 adventure for 'slow' Koolen is over: AIX already say goodbye". gpblog.com. 15 September 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  14. ^ Wood, Ida (21 December 2023). "HMD Motorsports adds Niels Koolen to 2024 Indy Nxt line-up". Formula Scout. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  15. ^ "NTT INDYCAR SERIES Race Results | Official Site of INDYCAR". IndyCar.com. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  16. ^ Wood, Ida (30 October 2024). "Ganassi signs Browne and Koolen for its 2025 Indy Nxt return". Formula Scout. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  17. ^ "Niels Koolen | Racing career profile | Driver Database". DriverDB. Retrieved 7 January 2023.

Niels Koolen career summary at DriverDB.com