Robin Frijns is a Dutch professional racing driver and TV personality. He gained prominence by winning the 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 series in his debut season, which was last achieved in 2005 by a Polish driver, Robert Kubica. He also signed with Envision Virgin Racing for the 2018-2019 Formula E season as Sam Bird‘s teammate.
Born Name
Robin Frijns
Nick Name
Robin
Robin Frijns at the 2012 Nürburgring World series (Henry Mineur / Wikimedia / CC BY-SA 3.0)
Sun Sign
Leo
Born Place
Maastricht, Netherlands
Residence
Maastricht, Netherlands
Nationality
Occupation
Professional Racing Driver, TV Personality
Family
Father – Bert Frijns (Founder of Frijns Industrial Group)
Siblings – He has an older brother and a sister.
Others – Peter (Brother-in-Law), Nova (Niece), Hubert Frijns (Great-Grandfather)
Manager
Robin Frijns is represented by –
Ganscomm (Sporting Manager) in Germany
Just Sports Marketing (Commercial Manager) in the Netherlands
Build
Slim
Height
5 ft 7½ in or 171.5 cm
Weight
65 kg or 143.5 lbs
Robin Frijns in an Instagram post in March 2019 (Robin Frijns / Instagram)
Race / Ethnicity
White
Hair Color
Light Brown
Eye Color
Blue
Robin Frijns as seen in June 2012 (Henry Mineur / Wikimedia / CC BY-SA 3.0)
Robin Frijns during an event in April 2011 (Lutz H / Wikimedia / CC BY-2.0)
Robin Frijns Facts
He was born, raised, and resides in Maastricht, Netherlands.
Robin spent a large portion of his life in Belgium.
No one in his family is active in racing but they all love soccer.
His older brother played soccer at a high level before he broke his leg.
It was a family friend who took him to watch a karting race in 1996 when Robin was 5 years old.
Robin’s sister is into horses.
Robin loves American people and grew up watching American movies and TV shows.
He was gifted a quad bike by Belcar Race Team, which his father sponsored, at the age of 6. It angered his mom because he kept ruining her garden.
He started his career with indoor kart racing in Belgium in 1999.
As a formula racer, he made his debut for Josef Kaufmann Racing in the 2009 Formula BMW Europe season. In the end, Robin was the highest-placed rookie in the championship with a 3rd place overall.
Robin won the 2011 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 championship on his 1st attempt.
His 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 title came under controversy after he caused an avoidable collision in the final race of the season in Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. At the start of lap 21, when he blocked rival driver Jules Bianchi, it forced Jules into the wall and he had to retire. Robin initially won 7th place but due to a punishment of 25 seconds added to his time, he was ultimately demoted to 14th place.
Robin had a dog named Bikkel who died of a heart attack on January 29, 2013, at the age of 4.
He partnered with Antonio Felix da Costa for Andretti Autosport in the 2016-17 Formula E season.
He was crushed at the news of a fatal crash that involved the 2006 MotoGP winner, Nicky “The Kentucky Kid” Hayden on May 17, 2017.
Many believe that he didn’t land a regular spot in Formula 1 due to a Dutch journalist misquoting him intentionally or unintentionally. In a transcript of a phone call, Robin spoke negatively of the Red Bull Junior program.
After a Swedish racing driver Mattias Ekström retired from competing in the 2018 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, Robin replaced him and won 13th place.
One of the things he missed during the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 outbreak is simulation driving. Contrary to what many believed, he doesn’t have an entire setup to practice at home.
Robin is not sure that he could ever leave the autosport.
