Lancaster grew up in Leeds. His father was a former racing mechanic who encouraged karting while insisting Jon attend Horsforth School. After obtaining his karting licence, he competed at Wombwell Kart Circuit in Barnsley, winning in his sixth-ever race in the Cadet class. His first competitive kart used engines supplied by John Button, father of Jenson. Talent scout Paul Lemmens identified Lancaster and manager Harald Huysman subsequently assessed him in person, describing him as having everything to be the best in the world. In 2006, competing in the Formula A karting category with Italian team Birel as a 16-year-old, Lancaster finished second in the World Championship and third in the European Championship.
Lancaster stepped into the Formula Renault 2.0 UK Winter Series at the end of 2006. In 2007 he moved into the Formula Renault Eurocup with SG Drivers Project, struggling early in the season but rallying to win four consecutive races at Estoril and Barcelona. He finished second in the championship overall behind Brendon Hartley, with five wins across the season. He simultaneously contested the French Formula Renault 2.0 Championship with SG Formula, winning twice and finishing sixth. A subsequent Formula Renault UK Winter Series campaign with Hitech Junior placed him fourteenth.
Lancaster joined ART Grand Prix for the 2008 Formula 3 Euro Series, finishing twelfth in the championship with one win at the Nürburgring. The season included a serious accident at Hockenheim in the opening race, where his car was flipped after contact with Jean Karl Vernay's rear wheel and slid inverted through the runoff before returning to its wheels. Lancaster was taken to hospital for checks but was uninjured, missing only the second race. He finished third at the Masters of Formula 3 at Zolder and eleventh at the Macau Grand Prix.
After a pre-season disagreement prevented Lancaster from returning to F3 with SG Formula, he joined Comtec Racing for the 2009 Formula Renault 3.5 season, taking his first win in the series' opening race at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão and finishing thirteenth overall. He returned in 2010 with Fortec Motorsport, again placing thirteenth.
In 2011, Lancaster made two appearances in the FIA Formula Two Championship at Magny-Cours, scoring points in both races. He also contested two Auto GP rounds with Super Nova Racing, winning at Donington Park in wet conditions.
Lancaster debuted in the GP2 Series in 2012 with Ocean Racing Technology but was replaced after the opening event for budgetary reasons. He returned in 2013 with Hilmer Motorsport, taking two sprint race wins — at Silverstone and the Nürburgring — and finishing eleventh in the championship with 73 points. He continued with Hilmer in 2014 before making two further GP2 starts in 2015.
Lancaster's most significant achievement came in the 2015 European Le Mans Series with Greaves Motorsport in LMP2, driving a Gibson 015S-Nissan. He won the opening round at Silverstone and the Paul Ricard round, took a second place at Estoril, and clinched the LMP2 championship title. He also started the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans with Greaves but the car did not finish.
Lancaster's Le Mans record includes a 2014 start with Race Performance in an Oreca 03R-Judd, finishing eighth in the LMP2 class.
Lancaster returned to the ELMS in 2020 with Algarve Pro Racing and again in 2023 in the LMGTE class with JMW Motorsport, where he claimed three pole positions across the season.
Lancaster has competed in the Indian Racing League since 2022, driving for the Chennai Turbo Riders. The 2024 season was particularly strong for the team, with Lancaster contributing three wins and the squad finishing second in the team standings. He also contested the GT4 European Series Pro-Am class in 2024 and has continued racing in the McLaren Trophy series in both Europe and America. He joined the 24H Series Middle East in the 2025–26 season.
Gallery · 4 related images
