These former Formula 1 drivers are participating in the 24 Hours of Le Mans

The famous 24 Hours of Le Mans returns to the program this weekend. The famous race at Circuit de la Sarthe has a very strong starting field this year. There are a record number of supercars to begin with, but surprisingly not many former Formula 1 drivers.

Three different classes will participate this year at Le Mans. The starting field for the highly competitive Hypercar category is hectic, with several major manufacturers emerging first. The LMGT3 class will make its debut at Le Mans this year, and these cars will compete in the World Endurance Championship for the first time this year. The LMP2 class is no longer part of the WEC championship, but these cars will compete at Le Mans this year.

Several former Formula 1 drivers are also participating, but surprisingly they all drive a Hypercar. It’s about eighteen experienced Formula 1 drivers, ranging from experienced guys to drivers with just one grand prix to their name. Many of them have a chance to win, because the differences at the top of the supercar field are not that great.

Mixed success

The first former Formula 1 driver to drive a Cadillac with the starting number 3. This is Sébastien Bourdais, Ringer van der Zande’s teammate. Bourdais drove in Formula 1 for Toro Rosso for a year and a half. After his discharge, he moved to the United States, and has extensive experience in endurance racing. You can now say the same about Felipe Nasr. The Brazilian drives a Porsche with starting number 4. He drove in Formula 1 for Sauber, but never really broke through.

Team Penske Porsche has another former Formula 1 driver under contract in André Lotterer. Lotterer’s story is different, because he participated in only one race in the first class. In 2014, he was allowed to substitute for Caterham in Belgium, but he quickly withdrew. He has much more experience in endurance racing and has already won the 24 Hours of Le Mans three times.

Toyota

In recent years, Toyota has been dominant in the World Endurance Championship (WEC). They have four former Formula 1 drivers under contract with Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries. An established name in the World Endurance Championship (WEC), Kobayashi also made an impression during his time in Formula 1 with Toyota, Sauber and Caterham. De Vries drives a Toyota for the first time this year, and last year he drove in Formula 1 for AlphaTauri, but after a few disastrous races he was sacked. In the sister car, starting number 8, Sébastien Buemi and Brandon Hartley are behind the wheel. Both men did not have a successful time with Toro Rosso in Formula 1, but they are true legends in the World Endurance Championship.

World Champion

The Jota team drives two Porsches in the Hypercar class this year. Gold cars can surprise you, and they have a few amazing drivers. First, there’s Will Stevens, who drove in the backfield for a year in Formula 1 for Manor. He already has plenty of Le Mans experience and his car, bearing the starting number 12, is considered an outsider to take victory. The sister car is driven by Jenson Button, among others. The only Formula 1 world champion has specialized in all types of categories after his years in the premier class. Last year he drove at Le Mans in NASCAR, and this year he will look for success with Jotta Porsche.

Italians

One team that probably won’t shine is the Lamborghini Iron Lynx. The bright green Lambos will make their debut in the Hypercar class this year with former Formula 1 drivers. They are neatly distributed among the cars. The car, bearing the starting number 19, has a household name under contract with Daniil Kvyat, while Romain Grosjean sits behind the wheel of the sister car. The Frenchman also drives IndyCars and also wants to shine in Lamborghini.

Ferrari is the other Italian team in the top flight. The famous brand won last year with the car also driven by Antonio Giovinazzi. The Italian was driving a Sauber, but had greater success at Le Mans. This year, she also shares a bright yellow Ferrari with Robert Kubica behind the wheel on behalf of AF Corse. He shares the car with Ferrari reserve Robert Schwartzman and China’s Yi Yifei.

France

There are also a number of former Formula 1 drivers available among the French manufacturers. Mick Schumacher drives for Alpine, who still dreams of returning to the top flight. Three famous names from the world of Formula 1 drive in Peugeot. The car, starting number 93, has an experienced man under contract in Jean-Eric Vergne who has never been able to make any progress at Toro Rosso. The car bearing the starting number 94 includes two men from the world of Formula 1. This concerns the Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne and the Scot Paul di Resta. The last former Formula 1 driver to race at Le Mans this year is Jack Aitken. He drives a Whelen Cadillac, and in 2020 he drove a Williams Grand Prix car.