Vautier began in the French Formula Renault Campus series in 2006, finishing runner-up. He moved to the Championnat de France Formula Renault 2.0 in 2007, finishing fourth while also taking part in some events in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, where he scored a second and a third at Zolder. In 2008, the French series was replaced by the West European Cup, in which he finished sixth.
He moved to the Formula Palmer Audi series in 2009, finishing fourth with six victories.
Vautier made his FIA Formula Two Championship debut at Circuit de Catalunya in place of Edoardo Piscopo, finishing third in the first race behind Andy Soucek and Mikhail Aleshin, and sixth in the second. Those results placed him thirteenth in the championship standings.
In 2010, Vautier moved to the American Star Mazda Championship with Andersen Racing, winning the season-opener at Sebring Raceway and again in June at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Mechanical issues limited him to fifth in the final standings despite being the only driver other than champion Conor Daly to win more than one race.
He returned to Star Mazda in 2011 with JDC MotorSports, winning four races and finishing every race in the top five to take the championship over Connor De Phillippi by 25 points. The title carried a scholarship to advance to Firestone Indy Lights via the Road to Indy program.
Vautier signed with Sam Schmidt Motorsports for the 2012 Firestone Indy Lights season. He won the pole and the race on debut at the Streets of St. Petersburg, then added another win on the Milwaukee Mile in the midst of a run of twenty consecutive top-five finishes spanning the final two Star Mazda events of 2010 and his entire 2011 championship season. The streak ended at Toronto when a first-lap collision ended his run. He clinched the 2012 Firestone Indy Lights championship by eight points over Esteban Guerrieri, earning a partial scholarship to the IndyCar Series.
Vautier is described as the first driver to be champion of two rungs of the Road to Indy ladder and move on to the IndyCar Series.
Vautier raced the 2013 IndyCar Series season for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. He qualified in the Firestone Fast-Six on debut in St. Petersburg and third for the following round at Barber Motorsports Park, finishing twentieth in points with a best result of tenth in the second race of the season at Barber. He won Rookie of the Year and finished sixteenth in his first Indianapolis 500.
He returned to IndyCar in 2015 as a part-time driver for Dale Coyne Racing, initially qualifying James Davison's car for the Indianapolis 500 and then racing in place of Carlos Huertas. A week later he finished fourth at Detroit starting last after qualifying was cancelled, a result that secured his place for the remainder of the season; he followed it with a sixth at Mid-Ohio.
In 2017, Vautier substituted for injured Sébastien Bourdais at Texas for Dale Coyne Racing, qualifying fifth and leading 15 laps before being caught in a multi-car incident.
In 2024, Vautier made a Cup Series start at Detroit driving the No. 51 Honda for Dale Coyne.
Vautier debuted in sports car racing in the 2009 French GT Championship, winning on his debut at Nogaro alongside Jean-Charles Levy.
In 2014, he raced for the Mazda factory team at the four endurance races of the United SportsCar Championship in an LMP2 diesel prototype. At the 2015 24 Hours of Daytona he joined JDC/Miller, finishing third in the Prototype Challenge class.
Vautier completed the 24 Hours of Spa five times for Team Akka-ASP — in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018 — finishing second overall in 2016 in an AMG-factory-backed car alongside Rosenqvist and Van der Zande. He ended the 2016 season by winning the Blancpain GT Sprint final race in Barcelona, again teamed with Rosenqvist.
From 2017, Vautier drove full-time in the US for Mercedes-AMG customer Team SunEnergy1, partnering with team owner Kenny Habul and Boris Said. He set the GTD track record at Sebring on his way to pole for the 12-Hour race and finished on the podium after a late comeback. He also returned to the Blancpain GT Series with Akka-ASP, partnering with Daniel Juncadella and Felix Serralles, closing the season with another win in Barcelona.
In 2018, alongside GT duties as a Mercedes-AMG Factory driver, Vautier raced prototypes with Spirit of Daytona Racing at four IMSA WeatherTech rounds in the No. 90 Cadillac DPi-V.R. alongside Matt McMurry, scoring pole for the 12 Hours of Sebring. At the 2018 Petit Le Mans he finished fourth overall for Action Express Racing with Filipe Albuquerque and Christian Fittipaldi.
Vautier's GT campaign for Mercedes-AMG culminated in the Intercontinental GT Challenge title, decided at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, where he scored a second place at the Bathurst 12 Hours and a win at the Suzuka 10 Hours. He also debuted on the Nordschleife, finishing in the top ten at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring for Team Landgraff.
In 2019, Vautier joined JDC-Miller MotorSports in a Cadillac DPi at IMSA alongside Mikhail Goikhberg, scoring two fifth-place finishes. He continued in GT3 as a Mercedes Factory driver for Team Strakka in the InterContinental GT Challenge and Team GetSpeed in the VLN Series and the Nürburgring 24 Hours.
Vautier won the 2021 12 Hours of Sebring with JDC alongside Loïc Duval and Sébastien Bourdais.
In 2022, he scored pole and finished third at the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona with Loïc Duval, Richard Westbrook, and Ben Keating, then finished second at the Sebring 12 Hours with Westbrook and Duval. He also represented ARC Bratislava in LMP2 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, leading the pro-am class for much of the race before a radiator failure ended contention.
In 2023, Vautier competed in the European Le Mans Series with Algarve Pro Racing and made his Hypercar debut in the FIA World Endurance Championship, called up by Vanwall to replace Jacques Villeneuve. After Vanwall's exit from WEC, Vautier became Cadillac Racing's reserve driver for the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans.
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