Peugeot announced last September its return to the top endurance class after dropping out in 2012 and winning the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans with Marc Gene, David Brabham and Alex Wurz.
After an arduous selection process that began in October and in which those responsible for Peugeot Sport They analyzed the possible candidates, the French brand has selected 7 of them for its new program, six will be the starters and the seventh will act as reserve pilot.
All the selected drivers have extensive experience in endurance or F1, or in both specialties. The choice of Kevin Magnussen, a Haas driver until last season and who only has a participation in the world of endurance in the 24 Hours of Daytona played just a week ago.
In addition to Magnussen, Peugeot has selected Loic Duval, Le Mans and WEC winner with Audi in 2013, to Jean-Eric Vergne, former Toro Rosso champion and two-time Formula E champion with four Le Mans starts, already Paul di Resta, also with extensive experience in F1 and a Le Mans winner in LMP2.
On a notch a bit below, Peugeot will also feature less experienced drivers such as Mikkel Jensen, champion of the ELMS in LMP3 in 2019 and the American Gustavo Menezes, WEC winner, Le Mans winner in LMP2 in 2016 and since 2018 competing in LMP1 in different teams. The reserve pilot will be the British James Rossiter.
Jean-Marc FinotStellantis Motorsport Director, commented that in addition to speed, what was important in the choice was “the relationships they have with each other, their mentality and their ability to work together to motivate and help the team progress. It was something that we saw during the evaluation and the conversations we had ”.
“We analyze all the endurance championships of the last five years” he said Olivier Jansonnie, technical director of the project at Peugeot Sport. “But we did not take into account only individual results. We also examine the speed, consistency and reliability of a long roster of drivers because what we are looking for is a lineup that works well together, with an eclectic mix of young and old, with proven experience to develop, especially in the hybrid machine field. ” .