Heinrich began karting at the age of eight, initially as a hobby, before taking on the sport competitively as he grew older.[3] As a child, Heinrich had aspirations of being a pilot rather than a racing driver, hence his early treatment of motorsports.[4] The eventual itch to compete led him to club racing competition in his youth, undertaken alongside his father.[5] After scoring titles in Swissauto kart competitions in his youth, Heinrich later cited his early aspirations as moving into Formula 4,[6] which he fulfilled in 2017. At the age of 15, Heinrich entered the 2017 ADAC Formula 4 Championship with his family team, dubbed Heinrich Motorsport.[7] The outfit was composed of Heinrich's karting mechanics – numbering just himself, his father, and three separate engineers – their numbers dwarfed by the larger European teams competing in the series.[5] In his rookie season of Formula 4 competition, the small outfit struggled, with Heinrich finishing no higher than 14th overall in a race and electing to forego the final round of the season at the Hockenheimring. Heinrich wouldn't return to single-seater competition the following season, and didn't return to professional racing until 2019.[8]
Porsche competition
In 2019, Heinrich took part in the Porsche Sports Cup Germany, claiming the 5E class title with six victories from ten races. In September, Heinrich made his debut in the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany, taking part in the Sachsenring round with CarTech Motorsport.[9]
In 2020, Heinrich began competing full-time in the series, driving for T3/HRT Motorsport. The suspended and truncated season proved advantageous for Heinrich, as it permitted more time to secure sponsorship and reduced the required budget to field an entry.[5] In September's joint-race between the German and French Carrera Cup competitions at Circuit de la Sarthe, Heinrich claimed his first podium in the German championship.[10] He would secure three additional overall podiums that season, three of which occurred during the triple-header at the Red Bull Ring,[11] finishing fourth in the overall points classification. He also secured the Rookie title, awarded to drivers taking part in the full-time championship for the first time.[5] Heinrich also made his debut in the Porsche Supercup during the 2020 season, making two guest starts at the Red Bull Ring for MRS GT-Racing after one of the team's drivers was unable to enter the country due to COVID-19-related travel restrictions.[12] Heinrich placed tenth in both events, but didn't score championship points as he was registered as a guest driver.[13]
Heinrich competing in the Porsche Supercup at the Red Bull Ring in 2021
For 2021, Heinrich embarked on a dual program in both the globe-trotting Porsche Supercup and domestic Porsche Carrera Cup Germany, taking on both series with Huber Racing.[14] Heinrich enjoyed an impressive rookie season in the former championship, taking his first ever Supercup victory at Zandvoort in September.[15] Heinrich claimed additional podium finishes at Spa and Monza, finishing fourth in the overall championship and highest in the Rookie class. Domestically, Heinrich claimed his first Carrera Cup Germany victory in 2021 as well, taking overall honors in the second race at Oschersleben.[16] During the next round at the Red Bull Ring, Heinrich claimed his second race victory and took the championship lead heading into the round at Monza.[17] He would finish the season with eight total podiums from 15 races, taking fourth in the championship. At the end of 2021, Heinrich was selected to compete in the Porsche Junior Shootout at MotorLand Aragón. At the end of the competition, Heinrich was named as Porsche's Junior driver for the 2022 season, which featured a €225,000 scholarship towards a drive in the 2022 Porsche Supercup.[18]
Heinrich began his Porsche Junior campaign with a drive in the Dubai 24 Hour, taking part in the 992 Am class with Huber Racing.[19] 2022 saw Heinrich return to both the Porsche Supercup and Carrera Cup Germany, once again driving for Huber Racing. His Supercup campaign featured once race victory, at Silverstone,[20] and four total podium finishes, taking a career-best third in the championship. The Carrera Cup Germany, however, saw Heinrich feature early and often at the front of the field. Over 16 races, Heinrich claimed six race victories, including a weekend sweep at Spa[21] and the Sachsenring. After his double victory at the Sachsenring round, Heinrich secured the series championship with two races to spare.[22] At the end of the 2022 season, Heinrich joined 311RS Motorsport to compete in the final round of the 2022 Porsche Carrera Cup North America, deputizing for Leh Keen.[23] After crashing out of the first race of the weekend with brake problems,[24] Heinrich won the second race.[25]
Ahead of the 2023 season, Heinrich was promoted to contracted Porsche Driver status.[26] Heinrich was also selected for financial support from the ADAC and DMSB as part of their Motorsport Team Germany program.[27] With that backing, he took on a drive in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters for the first time in his career, piloting a Porsche 911 GT3 R for KÜS Team Bernhard.[28] During his maiden season, Heinrich claimed two podium finishes, finishing second at both the Nürburgring[29] and Red Bull Ring, adding his first pole position in the series in Austria as well.[30] He supplemented his DTM program with a drive in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup with Rutronik Racing, joining Dennis Olsen and Thomas Preining in a Pro class entry.[31] The trio claimed a single podium in the final round at Barcelona, finishing the season 7th in the overall points classification.[32] Heinrich also added a one-off appearance in the Sprint Cup alongside Ayhancan Güven at Zandvoort.[33]
Heinrich's 2024 campaign saw him move stateside, as he partnered with Sebastian Priaulx in AO Racing's GTD Pro entry in the IMSA SportsCar Championship.[34] He claimed a runner-up finish on debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona,[35] before taking his maiden series victory two rounds later at Laguna Seca.[36] The duo followed up with another victory during the ensuing round at Detroit,[37] before Priaulx's Multimatic testing commitments forced him to step away from the program following July's race at Mosport.[38] A rotating cast of Porsche factory drivers would join Heinrich for the remainder of the season, which was highlighted by his third win of the campaign in a rain-affected race at Indianapolis.[39] The win meant Heinrich entered the final race at Road Atlanta with a 99-point lead over second-place Ross Gunn.[40] Heinrich scored pole, gaining five points over Gunn, who qualified third. This pole proved critical, as electrical issues relegated Heinrich to an eleventh-place race finish, while Gunn finished third. Heinrich, in turn, claimed the GTD Pro championship by four points over the British driver.[41]
Heinrich added a number of supplementary drives over the course of the season, including the majority of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup. He joined former DTM teammate Güven and Dorian Boccolacci in Schumacher CLRT's entry,[42] scoring a best result of second at the Nürburgring in July.[43] Heinrich also added a part-time drive in GT World Challenge Asia, scoring a victory at Sepang[44] alongside two further podiums during his six-race stint paired with Origine Motorsport's Lu Wei. One-offs during the Indianapolis 8 Hour[45] and FIA GT World Cup concluded a busy 2024 campaign for Heinrich.[46]
At the end of the year, Heinrich was named Dailysportscar's 2024 GT Driver of the Year,[47] and was also ranked in Autosport's Top 50 drivers of 2024.[48]
Sim racing
Heinrich describes himself as a 'hybrid driver,' and he frequently competes in officially-sanctioned sim racing events alongside his real-world endeavors.[49] From a young age, Heinrich competed in high-level virtual motorsports, taking part in the Blancpain GT Series on iRacing while competing in the real-world ADAC Formula 4 Championship.[50] Heinrich also competed in the 2022–23 Le Mans Virtual Series, contributing to Porsche Team Coanda's championship victory with a victory at Sebring[51] and a runner-up finish in the season finale at Le Mans.[52]
↑"KEINE RENNPAUSE FÜR LAURIN HEINRICH"[No break from racing for Laurin Heinrich]. Motorsport XL (in German). 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
↑Dagys, John (12 January 2022). "Dubai Wednesday Notebook". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 15 January 2023. Newly named Porsche Junior Laurin Heinrich will be competing in two 24-hour races this weekend, with the German driver entered in Huber Racing's No. 923 Porsche in 992-Am while also taking part in the Virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans in a factory Porsche 911 RSR-19.
↑Grace, Jonathan (29 September 2022). "Thompson Wins Race 1; Closes Points Gap Entering Title Decider". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 15 January 2023. Thompson inherited the lead of the race as pole-sitter Laurin Heinrich spun in Turn 1, backing his No. 12 311RS Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car into the barriers with a brake problem.
↑Lloyd, Daniel (19 December 2022). "Weekly Racing Roundup (12.19.22)". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 15 January 2023. Former Porsche Junior Laurin Heinrich has been promoted to contracted Porsche Driver status for the 2023 season.
↑Lloyd, Daniel (16 January 2023). "Weekly Racing Roundup (1.16.23)". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 16 January 2023. Six sports car drivers are among the 33 young athletes selected for Motorsports Team Germany... Finn Gehrsitz, Max Hesse, Jan Marschalkowski, Laurin Heinrich, Daniel Gregor and Theo Oeverhaus will all benefit from the program this year.
↑Kilbey, Stephen (6 August 2023). "Paul Steers Grasser To Sunday Win". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 3 November 2023. Laurin Heinrich... climbed nine places and made it onto the DTM podium for the first time.
↑Lloyd, Daniel (1 October 2023). "ASP Defends Endurance Cup Title; Ferrari Takes Barcelona 1-2". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 3 November 2023. Fuoco, Serra and Davide Rigon took second, ahead of the Rutronik Racing Porsche driven by Thomas Preining, Laurin Heinrich and Dennis Olsen...
↑O'Connell, R.J. (22 September 2024). "BMW M Team RLL Takes 1-2 Finish At Indianapolis". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 5 January 2026. Laurin Heinrich and Michael Christensen... went on to take AO Racing's third GTD Pro win of the year.
↑Wane, Ewan (28 July 2024). "GRT Lamborghini Takes Nurburgring Win". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 5 January 2026. Heinrich made the move at Turn 1 on the penultimate lap, earning second-place for himself, Ayhancan Güven and Dorian Boccolacci...
↑Goodwin, Graham (23 April 2024). "Audi & Porsche Teams Share The Sepang Spoils". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 5 January 2026. Race 2 - Lu Wei and Laurin Heinrich clinched a commanding victory from pole...
↑Dagys, John (5 October 2024). "Adelson: Pro Class Title "Validation" for Years of Misses". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 5 January 2026. Laurin Heinrich put the team's Porsche 911 GT3 R into the overall lead and also [helped] secure Porsche the Intercontinental GT Challenge manufacturer's championship.
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