Jean-Marc Finot (Peugeot): “Fortunately, Le Mans isn’t just about the pace!”

Stoffel Vandoorne called the Peugeot No. 94 in eighteenth place for the 24 Hours of Le Mans of this weekend, one place better than the sister car, the n°93 of Jean-Éric Vergne. Performances far from the standards to which the Lion has accustomed us, even at the start of the season in the World Championship ofEnduranceA performance that was nevertheless expected, as explained by Jean-Marc Finot, director of Stellantis Motorsport.

"On paper, it's clear that we're where we're at, it's even a little better than hoped! We didn't imagine going under 3:26 per lap. I'd say the drivers are much less enthusiastic than at Spa, which is logical. We'll try to do our best within the given timeframe. Obviously, it's a little disappointing for the big race of the year not to be at the front, even though we had gotten a taste for it a month ago."

Aside from the unsatisfactory pace, the 24 Hours of Le Mans relies on extremely demanding operational management. This is an aspect Peugeot will want to focus on, after a 2024 edition that wasn't flawless in this area. It must be said that with the difficult weather conditions encountered twelve months ago, few teams managed to pull off a perfect race.

"Obviously, at Le Mans there's the pace, where we're clearly at a loss. Then there's the focus on the operational aspect. Last year, we made quite a few mistakes that cost us time. Bad pit calls, mistakes under Full Course Yellow, outings where we had to do a bit of bodywork... There were a few seconds that we had to avoid losing. We have to have a race where we're really focused, to try to optimize everything, and make good strategic choices. Fortunately, Le Mans isn't just about the pace!"

The goal is to run the cleanest race possible. A Hyperpole would have been unexpected. We didn't get it, so we're following that logic. We'll try to continue to be as clean as possible in that logic."

Comments collected by Michaël Duforest, in Le Mans.

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