Bas Leinders

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Belgian racing driver

title: "Bas Leinders" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1975-births", "living-people", "sportspeople-from-bree,-belgium", "belgian-racing-drivers", "formula-ford-drivers", "german-formula-three-championship-drivers", "fia-gt-championship-drivers", "minardi-formula-one-drivers", "international-formula-3000-drivers", "fia-gt1-world-championship-drivers", "24-hours-of-le-mans-drivers", "fia-world-endurance-championship-drivers", "gt-world-challenge-europe-endurance-cup-drivers", "24-hours-of-spa-drivers", "european-le-mans-series-drivers", "british-gt-championship-drivers", "nascar-drivers", "west-competition-drivers", "van-amersfoort-racing-drivers", "racing-engineering-drivers", "oak-racing-drivers", "keerbergs-transport-racing-drivers", "nürburgring-24-hours-drivers", "marc-vds-racing-team-drivers"] description: "Belgian racing driver" topic_path: "engineering" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bas_Leinders" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Belgian racing driver ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox racing driver"]

Field	Value
name	Bas Leinders
nationality	BEL
birth_date
birth_place	Bree, Belgium
racing_licence	[[File:FIA Platinum Driver.png
[[File:FIA Gold Driver.png	12px]] FIA Gold (2018–2021)
[[File:FIA Silver Driver.png	12px]] FIA Silver (2022–)
::

Bas Leinders (born 16 July 1975) is a retired professional racing driver from Belgium. He was a Formula One test and reserve driver in for the Minardi F1 team, taking part in the Friday practice sessions during Grand Prix weekends, making seventeen appearances in all. He is also a former British Formula Ford and German Formula Three champion, winning the titles in 1995 and 1998 respectively.

Career

Born in Bree, Leinders was one of the most successful Belgian racing drivers of the nineties and the beginning of the 21st century. He started his career in karting, winning his very first race. At the age of fourteen, he was already a European Champion beating Jarno Trulli, Ralph Firman and others. In 1992, Leinders was an official works driver for the Italian Tony Kart outfit.

Leinders started his automobile career with the Formula Ford. He was not only crowned Benelux Champion but he also obtained the pole position at the prestigious Formula Ford Festival at his first participation, later becoming European and British Formula Ford Champion. Not being able to gather enough money to make the step to Formula Three, Leinders decided on the European Formula Opel Championship (for Van Amersfoort Racing). With a record of 8 wins he secured the Championship several races before the end.

With some more backing, Leinders graduated to the German Formula 3 series with VAR. He finished second in his maiden F3 weekend just behind Nick Heidfeld. In his second year, he won the championship and was invited by the McLaren Junior team to partner Nick Heidfeld in the last race of the Formula 3000 season. Leinders obtained his best F3000 results in 2001, finishing second twice behind Tomáš Enge and Justin Wilson respectively. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Minardi_usgp_2004.jpg" caption="Leinders driving for [[Minardi]] during free practice for the [[2004 United States Grand Prix"] ::

In 2002 and 2003, Leinders competed in the World Series by Nissan, he finished third in the Championship on both occasions. His good performance in this series and especially winning the last race of the season gave him the opportunity to test with the Jordan F1 Team which resulted in a contract with the Minardi F1 Team as an official Friday Test and reserve driver in the 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Leinders was pre-selected several times by journalists for the title "Belgian Sportsman of the Year". Leinders was crowned "Champion of Belgium" in 2001 by the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium, the award presented by Crown-prince of Belgium, Prince Philippe. The Belgian also won the Golden Helmet in 2004 for his performances in Formula One with the Minardi F1 Team.

From 2005, Leinders was a regular racer in the FIA GT Championship with Belgian Racing, driving a Belgian-built Gillet Vertigo. In 2011, he became the team principal of the rebranded Marc VDS Racing, which was also his last year as full-time driver.

In 2014, Leinders ran the entire season of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series with Marc VDS Racing's Toyota Camry in the Elite 1 category. He finished the season in 14th place in the standings with two Top 5 finishes, one at Brands Hatch and one at Le Mans.

After Marc VDS's victory in the 2015 24 Hours of Spa, Leinders announced he parted ways with the team.

In 2016, Leinders became sporting manager of the McLaren GT factory programme and team manager of Garage 59. In 2018, he joined Optimum Motorsport.

Leinders has also worked as color analyst at Formula One broadcasts on Telenet's Play Sports.

Racing record

Career summary

::data[format=table]

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Podiums	Pole positions	F.Laps	Points
European Formula Ford	MB Racing	?	?	?	?	?	13	8th
Belgian Formula Ford Championship	?	?	?	?	?	?	1st
British Formula Ford Championship	Swift Racing Cars	?	?	?	?	?	127	1st
European Formula Ford Championship	?	?	?	?	?	55	1st
Formula Ford Festival	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
European Formula Opel	Van Amersfoort Racing	16	7	10	?	8	239	1st
German Formula Three Championship	Van Amersfoort Racing	18	0	4	2	1	100	7th
Masters of Formula 3	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
Macau Grand Prix	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
Monaco Grand Prix	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	7th
German Formula Three Championship	Van Amersfoort Racing	20	7	10	9	4	200	1st
Masters of Formula 3	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
Macau Grand Prix	1	0	0	0	1	N/A	8th
Belcar	MW-Racing	?	?	?	?	?	212	7th
International F3000	KTR	7	0	0	0	0	1	23rd
International F3000	Kid Jensen Racing	9	0	0	0	0	0	NC
Belgian Procar	MG Racing	7	0	1	1	1	67	9th
Belcar GTB	Team Beliën	?	?	?	?	?	?	1st
International F3000	KTR	12	0	2	0	0	17	7th
FIA GT Championship	Carsport Holland	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
World Series by Nissan	KTR	18	2	8	2	6	184	3rd
World Series by Nissan	Racing Engineering	18	2	4	2	1	128	3rd
Formula One	Minardi	Test driver
FIA GT Championship	Belgian Racing	5	3	3	3	2	N/A	–
FIA GT Championship - G2	Belgian Racing	9	?	?	?	?	?	1st
FIA GT Championship - G2	Belgian Racing	8	?	?	?	?	?	1st
FIA GT Championship - G2	Belgian Racing	8	5	6	5	0	100	1st
FIA GT Championship - GT1	Marc VDS Racing Team	8	0	0	0	0	9	14th
::

Career highlights

2014 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series – Marc VDS Racing Team
2010 FIA GT1 World Championship – Marc VDS Racing Team
2009 FIA GT Championship – Ford GT
2008 FIA GT Championship – Gillet Vertigo 1st G2
2007 FIA GT Championship – Gillet Vertigo 1st G2
2006 FIA GT Championship – Gillet Vertigo 1st G2
2005 FIA GT Championship – Gillet Vertigo – 3 class wins
2004 Formula One World Championship test driver in Minardi-Cosworth F1 Team. Did not participate in races
2003 3rd place – Superfund World Series – 2 wins.
2003 Winner TA Class 24 hours of Zolder in a BMW M3 GTR
2002 24 h of Spa in a Chrysler Viper GTS-R
2002 3rd place – Telefónica World Series – 2 wins .
2002 4th in 24 hours of Zolder in a BMW Z3
2001 Formula 3000 Championship – KTR 2-second places.
2000 Formula 3000 Championship – Kid Jensen Racing.
1999 Formula 3000 Championship – Witmeur Team KTR .
1999 3rd 24 hours of Spa
1998 German Formula 3 Champion
1998 2nd 24 hours of Zolder
1997 7th German Formula 3 Championship
1996 European Formula Opel Champion
1995 British and European Formula Ford Champion
1994 Benelux Formula Ford Champion
1992 Vice-European and Belgian Kart Champion
1991 Belgian Kart Champion
1990 European Kart Champion

Complete German Formula Three results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) ::data[format=table]

Year	Entrant	Engine	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	DC	Pts	Van Amersfoort Racing	Opel	A	7th	100	Van Amersfoort Racing	Opel	A	1st	200
1997	[HOC
1](hockenheimring)
4	[HOC
2](hockenheimring)
2	[NÜR
1](nurburgring)
6	[NÜR
2](nurburgring)
6	**[SAC
1](sachsenring)**
3	[SAC
2](sachsenring)
2	**[NOR
1](norisring)**
16	[NOR
2](norisring)
Ret	*[WUN
1](wunstorf-air-base)*
8	[WUN
2](wunstorf-air-base)
Ret	[ZWE
1](zweibrucken)
8	[ZWE
2](zweibrucken)
Ret	[SAL
1](salzburgring)
6	[SAL
2](salzburgring)
Ret	[LAH
1](regio-ring)
4	[LAH
2](regio-ring)
3	[NÜR
1](nurburgring)
9	[NÜR
2](nurburgring)
11
1998	[HOC
1](hockenheimring)
1	**[HOC
2](hockenheimring)**
1	**[NÜR
1](nurburgring)**
16	*[NÜR
2](nurburgring)*
7	***[SAC
1](sachsenring)***
1	**[SAC
2](sachsenring)**
1	*[NOR
1](norisring)*
2	[NOR
2](norisring)
6	[LAH
1](regio-ring)
7	[LAH
2](regio-ring)
7	[WUN
1](wunstorf-air-base)
Ret	[WUN
2](wunstorf-air-base)
Ret	**[ZWE
1](zweibrucken)**
1	**[ZWE
2](zweibrucken)**
2	[SAL
1](salzburgring)
14	[SAL
2](salzburgring)
3	**[OSC
1](motorsport-arena-oschersleben)**
1	**[OSC
2](motorsport-arena-oschersleben)**
1	**[NÜR
1](nurburgring)**
2	[NÜR
2](nurburgring)
Ret
::

Complete International Formula 3000 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) ::data[format=table]

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
1998	OSC	IMO	CAT	SIL	MON	PAU	A1R	HOC	HUN	SPA	PER	NÜR
DNS
1999	IMO
DNQ	MON
DNQ	CAT
Ret	MAG
6	SIL
16	A1R
Ret	HOC
Ret	HUN
Ret	SPA
DNQ	NÜR
Ret
2000	IMO
16	SIL
Ret	CAT
13	NÜR
Ret	MON
Ret	MAG
10	A1R
11	HOC
DNQ	HUN
7	SPA
Ret
2001	INT
10	IMO
9	CAT
2	A1R
2	MON
Ret	NÜR
11	MAG
Ret	SIL
8	HOC
6	HUN
6	SPA
7	MNZ
4
::

Complete Formula One participations

(key) ::data[format=table]

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	WDC	Points	Wilux Minardi Cosworth	Minardi PS04B	Cosworth V10	–	–	Minardi Cosworth
	AUS

| MAL TD | BHR TD | SMR TD | ESP TD | MON TD | EUR TD | CAN TD | USA TD | FRA TD | GBR TD | GER TD | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | HUN TD | BEL TD | ITA TD | CHN TD | JPN TD | BRA TD | | | | | | | | | | | | | ::
Leinders was entered as third driver in Australian Grand Prix but was refused a superlicence until he completed the required mileage in an F1 car. He satisfied this requirement before the next race.

Complete GT1 World Championship results

::data[format=table]

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	Pos	Points	Ref	Marc VDS Racing Team	Ford	14th	54	Marc VDS Racing Team	Ford	22nd	18
2010	[ABU
QR](2010-fia-gt1-abu-dhabi-round)
6
[ABU
CR](2010-fia-gt1-abu-dhabi-round)
13
[SIL
QR](2010-rac-tourist-trophy)
19
[SIL
CR](2010-rac-tourist-trophy)
8
[BRN
QR](2010-fia-gt1-brno-round)
16
[BRN
CR](2010-fia-gt1-brno-round)
Ret
[PRI
QR](2010-fia-gt1-paul-ricard-round)
20
[PRI
CR](2010-fia-gt1-paul-ricard-round)
4
[SPA
QR](2010-fia-gt1-spa-francorchamps-round)
9
[SPA
CR](2010-fia-gt1-spa-francorchamps-round)
Ret
[NÜR
QR](2010-fia-gt1-nurburgring-round)
Ret
[NÜR
CR](2010-fia-gt1-nurburgring-round)
11
[ALG
QR](2010-fia-gt1-algarve-round)
Ret
[ALG
CR](2010-fia-gt1-algarve-round)
5
[NAV
QR](2010-fia-gt1-navarra-round)
3
[NAV
CR](2010-fia-gt1-navarra-round)
5
[INT
QR](2010-fia-gt1-interlagos-round)
11
[INT
CR](2010-fia-gt1-interlagos-round)
5
[SAN
QR](2010-fia-gt1-san-luis-round)
3
[SAN
CR](2010-fia-gt1-san-luis-round)
Ret

2011	[ABU
QR](2011-fia-gt1-abu-dhabi-round)
11
[ABU
CR](2011-fia-gt1-abu-dhabi-round)
DNS
[ZOL
QR](2011-fia-gt1-zolder-round)
Ret
[ZOL
CR](2011-fia-gt1-zolder-round)
10
[ALG
QR](2011-fia-gt1-algarve-round)
Ret
[ALG
CR](2011-fia-gt1-algarve-round)
10
[SAC
QR](2011-fia-gt1-sachsenring-round)
Ret
[SAC
CR](2011-fia-gt1-sachsenring-round)
8
[SIL
QR](2011-rac-tourist-trophy)
11
[SIL
CR](2011-rac-tourist-trophy)
6
[NAV
QR](2011-fia-gt1-navarra-round)
12
[NAV
CR](2011-fia-gt1-navarra-round)
10
[PRI
QR](2011-fia-gt1-paul-ricard-round)
Ret
[PRI
CR](2011-fia-gt1-paul-ricard-round)
12
[ORD
QR](2011-fia-gt1-ordos-round)
10
[ORD
CR](2011-fia-gt1-ordos-round)
10
[BEI
QR](2011-fia-gt1-beijing-round)
Ret
[BEI
CR](2011-fia-gt1-beijing-round)
Ret
[SAN
QR](2011-fia-gt1-san-luis-round)
Ret
[SAN
CR](2011-fia-gt1-san-luis-round)
9

::

24 Hours of Le Mans results

::data[format=table] | Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | BEL Marc VDS Racing Team | BEL Eric De Doncker FIN Markus Palttala | Ford GT1 | GT1 | 26 | DNF | DNF | | | BEL Kronos Racing BEL Marc VDS Racing Team | BEL Vanina Ickx BEL Maxime Martin | Lola-Aston Martin B09/60 | LMP1 | 328 | 7th | 7th | | | FRA OAK Racing | DNK David Heinemeier Hansson BEL Maxime Martin | Morgan LMP2-Nissan | LMP2 | 341 | 14th | 7th | | ::

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Whelen Euro Series – Elite 1

::data[format=table]

NASCAR Whelen Euro Series – Elite 1 results	Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	NWES	Point	Ref	2014	Racing Club Partners – Marc VDS	32	Toyota	14th	464
VAL
13	VAL
18	BRH
9	BRH
5	TOU
21	TOU
7	NUR
19	NUR
19	UMB
21	UMB
21	BUG
21	BUG
5
::

References

Goodwin, Graham. (10 November 2021). "Updated 2022 Provisional FIA Driver Rankings Published".
Dagys, John. (30 July 2015). "Leinders, Marc VDS Part Ways". John Dagys Media, LLC.
"Bas Leinders Results". Motorsport Stats.
"Bas Leinders". [[Motor Sport (magazine).
"Bas Leinders – Involvement". StatsF1.
(5 March 2004). "Minardi Fail to Secure Leinders a License". [[AtlasF1]].
(19 March 2004). "Leinders Positive after Practice Debut". [[AtlasF1]].
"FIA GT1 World Championship - Season 2010: Results". Speedsport Magazine.
"FIA GT1 World Championship - Season 2011: Results". Speedsport Magazine.
"Bas Leinders". [[Automobile Club de l'Ouest]].
"Bas Leinders – 2014 Whelen Euro Elite 1 Results". NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::