Le Mans – Which drivers at Peugeot?

Over the month, Peugeot distills information about his project Le Mans Hypercar. After first sketches in September and details of the powertrain at the end of December, will the next announcement concern the drivers?

In any case, it seems that the Lion firm has already chosen the six lucky ones who will drive its future car in the World Championship.Endurance. Crews which should combine youth and experience.

Already a resident of PSA Motorsport as a member of DS Techeetah in Formula E, Jean-Eric Vergne (30 years old) should indeed be there. Its superb performance at the last 24 Hours of Le Mans would have finally convinced the headhunters of the French manufacturer: Claire Magnant and Olivier Jansonnie, technical director of the project.

But the double Formula E champion will not be the only Frenchman, since he should be accompanied by Loïc duval. Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and crowned world champion in 2013 with Audi, the 38-year-old Chârtrain is one of the world references in Prototype, as he has proven in each of his outings in recent years, both in LM P2 in WEC than in DPi in IMSA. He will also allow his employer to benefit from the experience gained with a major manufacturer – Audi – for everything relating to ergonomics in particular.

Two Danes are also expected near Satory. One of them is named Kevin Magnussen, recently fired by Haas F1 Team and who will debut this year in Endurance on a Cadillac DPi-VR fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing in IMSA. Aged 28, the Formula champion Renault 3.5 Series 2013 has already tasted driving an LM P1. And for good reason, Porsche gave him the opportunity to sit aboard the 919 Hybrid at the end of 2015.

More surprising: the presence of his compatriot Mikkel Jensen. Champion ELMS 2019 in LM P3, he established himself as the revelation of the 2020 season in LM P2, which he contested in the No. 01 Aurus 26 of G-Drive Racing. Boasting excellent speed, it has significant room for improvement.

Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in LM P2 last year not without having taken pole position, Paul di Resta is also tipped to be part of this club of six. Aged 34, the Scotsman at 59 F1 Grands Prix has perfectly acclimated to endurance despite a late debut in the discipline, in 2018.

Finally, if we expected more António Félix da Costa (teammate of “JEV” in Formula E at DS Techeetah), Filipe Albuquerque, Felipe Nasr, Nicolas lapierre or Paul-Loup Chatin, the sixth man could be Gustavo Menezes. After a first year in LM P2 which saw him win the WEC and 24 Hours of Le Mans with Signatech Alpine, the 26-year-old American made the heyday of Rebellion Racing, with two podiums in 2018 and 2020, an edition which also saw him take the first row of the starting grid.

So much information that needs to be made official. As a reminder, the little sister of the 908 is supposed to make its first rounds at the end of 2021, for its competition debut in 2022.