SEVEN DRIVERS – ONE TEAM

All seven have experience of either Formula 1 and/or world-class endurance racing. Some are even former team-mates, while others have close ties in their everyday lives or train together.

Endurance racing is notorious as an uncompromising form of motorsport where the human element and unwavering team spirit are vital not only to win but also to reach the finish of races.

In the course of 2021, the six nominated drivers and the reserve/simulator driver will contribute actively to the new Hypercar’s development and work with Peugeot Sport staff as the programme takes form.

“The quality of the relationship between everybody involved in the project is fundamental,” affirms Jean-Marc Finot, Director, Stellantis Motorsport. “Over and above their individual racing skills, the main criteria we took into account when assessing and talking with drivers were the ties they have with each other, their mind-set and their ability to work together to motivate and help take the team forward, because the human factor plays such a big part in endurance racing. We also wanted to establish that they saw their commitment with us as a priority and not just a line on their CV.”

The driver assessment process also took into account their respective records in FIA WEC, ELMS and IMSA rounds. “We looked at all the endurance racing championships that have been organised over the past five years,” observes Olivier Jansonnie (WEC Technical Director, Peugeot Sport). “We didn’t just take individual results into consideration. We also examined the speed, consistency and reliability of a long list of drivers because we are looking for a line-up that meshes together well, with an eclectic mix of upcoming youngsters and experienced campaigners with proven development skills, especially in the field of hybrid power trains.”

In addition to their respective commitments for 2021, the seven PEUGEOT factory drivers will contribute to the project’s advancement on a daily basis with the goal being the organisation of a first test before the end of the year.

The seven selected drivers:

Loïc DUVAL_France (38 years old)

-FIA WEC World Champion and Le Mans winner / Former Formula Nippon and Formula Campus Champion

Kevin MAGNUSSEN_Denmark (28)

-119 Formula 1 starts / Former Formula Ford Denmark and Formula Renault 3.5 Champion

Jean-Eric VERGNE_France (30)

-58 Formula 1 starts / Two-time Formula E Champion / Former British Formula 3 and Formula Campus Champion

Paul di RESTA_Scotland (34)

-59 Formula 1 starts / Le Mans winner (LMP2) / Former Formula 3 Euro Series and DTM Champion

Mikkel JENSEN_Denmark (26)

-Former ADAC Formel Masters and ELMS (LMP3) Champion

Gustavo MENEZES_USA (26)

-FIA WEC World Champion (LMP2) and Le Mans winner (LMP2)

James ROSSITER_England (37)

-Reserve and simulator driver

-Experience of single-seater racing (Super Formula, etc.) and endurance racing (Super GT, LMP1 , LMP2, etc.) / Formula 1 test and reserve driver