Hypercar at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2024… What can you say? It’s an astonishing array of cars, teams and drivers for the race’s 92nd edition.
The class houses a record-breaking 23 cars, 19 of them from teams backed by no fewer than nine manufacturers, are set to go head-to-head for the overall win.
But as you’ll read, the privately entered cars have a great shot here at victory too.
What you won’t be reading here is any speculation centred around the Balance of Performance changes for this year’s race.
That process is Le Mans specific and the values are already available for all to see. The system will be judged here upon its merits and on the closeness of racing that results from it and if you are looking for details of who has been “hit” with (insert number of) kg – then look elsewhere.
We’ll be focusing on just who we expect to pick up the baton from what was an awesome Le Mans in 2023!
It is worth mentioning though, that for this year’s race a new ‘two-stage’ BoP process has been introduced. This means that if you look at the table you will see an additional column featuring the percentage of power gain for each car after 250 kph. The tweaks here appear marginal at face value, with the rule-makers using it to control the top speed of cars.
It’s another tool and if it works as intended then it should result in a wide-open battle between multiple manufacturers and the potential for pack racing. But we will need to wait until the weekend to pass further judgement…
Anyway, back to business, the 23 cars here are made up of the superb 19-car full-season FIA WEC entry, plus four additions: Both of the IMSA GTP Cadillacs, a third factory Porsche and a second factory Lamborghini.
All cars will run on Michelin rubber, meaning that, unless there is a huge upset that takes all 23 cars out of contention, Michelin will equal Dunlop’s 32 race-winning record.
There’s so much here to look forward to, bring it on!
Alpine A424 (LMDH)
#35 ALPINE ENDURANCE TEAM – WEC – FRA – Alpine A424 HY
Paul-Loup Chatin (FRA) G Ferdinand Habsburg (AUT) G Charles Milesi (FRA) G
#36 ALPINE ENDURANCE TEAM – WEC – FRA – Alpine A424 HY
Nicolas Lapierre (FRA) P Mick Schumacher (DEU) P Matthieu Vaxivière (FRA) G
A new car for 2024 but with a team that has winning form in LMP2 and early Hypercar history with an ex-Rebellion LMP1 in 2021 and 2022.
The new Oreca-based Alpine with its screaming Mecachrome engine hasn’t been a frontrunner just yet but has shown signs of major progress very early in its WEC career.
The stresses and strains of Le Mans though, are an altogether different challenge and, ignoring the internet-bred cynicism around the engine, we should learn plenty about the state of play with the new car in the coming days.
On the driver front, there’s plenty to admire.
The #35 car sees the return to the cockpit for Ferdi Habsburg after recovery from a testing shunt where he suffered fractured vertebrae after suffering a failure in the car.
He’s joined by the rapid and experienced Paul Loup Chatin and the increasingly impressive Charle Milesi.
The #36 meanwhile sees the WEC race and title-winning winning form of Nico Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxiviere teamed with Le Mans Rookie and 2024 sportscar debutant Mick Schumacher.
Schumacher has yet to find his smile in this effort but hopefully, the sheer occasion of Le Mans will assist that process – His team-mates provide all the speed and consistency he requires to learn as fast as possible.
BMW M Hybrid V8
#15 BMW M TEAM WRT – WEC – BEL – BMW M Hybrid V8
Dries Vanthoor (BEL) P Raffaele Marciello (CHE) P Marco Wittmann (DEU) P
#20 BMW M TEAM WRT – WEC – BEL – BMW M Hybrid V8
Sheldon van der Linde (ZAF) P Robin Frijns (NLD) P René Rast (DEU) P
Whilst there have been flashes of form from the BMW, in particular in mixed conditions at Imola, there is still much work to be done by Team WRT, its new Hypercars, and the driver squad.
The package has a full season of IMSA GTP competition already under its wheels with BMW Team RLL, but the car is a debutant at Le Mans this year.
Whilst WRT is a top-notch LMP2 winning squad at La Sarthe, and their drivers are all proven endurance frontrunners in GT, half of them are Le Mans rookies (Sheldon Van Der Linde, Raffaele Marciello and Marco Wittmann).
What the effort needs at this point is competitive track time, an error and trouble-free run, which the effort has struggled to deliver thus far, and more pace.
The BMW campaign so far proves that the Hypercar formula is far from ‘plug and play’, some of their biggest names have simply not yet shone. The form book suggests though that that will change soon enough – but will mid-June be soon enough?
The #20 car meanwhile will sport the 20th in a near half-century series of official BMW ‘Art Car’ designs – will that be enough to bring it the good fortune that the effort will need to close the gap on the leading group?
Cadillac V-Series.R
#2 CADILLAC RACING WEC – USA – Cadillac V-Series.R
Earl Bamber (NZL) P Alex Lynn (GBR) P Alex Palou (ESP) P
#3 CADILLAC RACING – INV USA – Cadillac V-Series.R
Sébastien Bourdais (FRA) P Renger van der Zande (NLD) P Scott Dixon (NZL) P
#311 WHELEN CADILLAC RACING – INV USA – Cadillac V-Series.R
Luis Felipe Derani (BRA) P Jack Aitken (GBR) P Felipe Drugovich (BRA)
The first of three marques to field a trio of factory-backed cars (in one form or another!).
Cadillac adds both of its IMSA GTP squads to the regular solo WEC entry with the rumblesome V-Series.R and will be looking to improve on its best hypercar performance so far, third place at last year’s Le Mans!
The #2 car has suffered a painful 2024 so far. It was disqualified from Qatar’s result, struggled for pace in Imola and made a spectacular exit from a promising run at Spa. As a result, Alex Lynn and Earl Bamber will be hoping that IndyCar double Champion Alex Palou (who joined Ganassi for the Rolex 24 back in January) adds a good luck charm on his Le Mans debut.
The #3 car is also run by Chip Ganassi Racing as its full-season IMSA effort and the regular pairing of anger van der Zande and Sébastien Bourdais will be joined by Indycar legend Scott Dixon.
Few are more experienced at Le Mans than the still mighty quick Bourdais, the locally-born racer set to start a 17th Le Mans since 1999. Van der Zande too will be punchy with Dixon quietly rapid.
The third car comes as one of three entries nominated by IMSA, the Whelen Cadillac Racing #311 fielded for a second consecutive year by Action Express.
After an early race disaster last year for Jack Aitken, the team returns for another shot at the big one and happily the impressive Aitken is back too, together with reigning IMSA Drivers Champion Pipo Derani and another Le Mans rookie, ex-FIA F2 Champion Felipe Drugovich.
The Cadillacs have pace but need to prove their consistency. If they do that then don’t bet against them being in the mix with the WEC’s established 2024 order.
Ferrari 499P
#50 FERRARI AF CORSE – WEC – ITA – Ferrari 499P
Antonio Fuoco (ITA) P Miguel Molina (ESP) P Nicklas Nielsen (DNK) P
#51 FERRARI AF CORSE – WEC – ITA – Ferrari 499P
Alessandro Pier Guidi (ITA) P James Calado (GBR) P Antonio Giovinazzi (ITA) P
The winners return, and the car looks fast once again.
Ferrari felt robbed by the Red Flag and extended race in Spa and shot itself in both feet at Imola with a faulty strategy call around the gathering weather, but make no mistake the 499Ps should feature at the front here.
The car is essentially unchanged from the winning package in 2023, with the exception of an additional endurance light package in the centre of the nose.
The driver mix is identical to 2023. The #51 car is anchored by the multi-GTE Pro title-winning talent of Calado and Pier Guidi, boosted by the ex-F1 experience of Giovinazzi. The #50 meanwhile, features the experienced Molina and the two young guns, Fuoco and Nielsen.
This two-car effort gets a data and strategy boost too from the addition of the ‘private’ #83 to the effort in 2024. That is only going to be a bonus to Ferrari whose main challenge is that others have closed the gap from 2023!
Isotta Fraschini Tipo 6 Competizione
#11 ISOTTA FRASCHINI – WEC- ITA – Isotta Fraschini Tipo6-C
Carl Wattana Bennett (THA) S Jean-Karl Vernay (FRA) P Antonio Serravalle (CAN) S
The Michelotto-designed and built, HWA-powered LMH car is the most outside of outsiders, bringing back the 1920s name to motorsport.
The effort is assisted by Duqueine Team and that alliance had taken time to bed in, the early efforts of the squad lacking some discipline in the pits.
On track, the car has been the slowest of the Hypercar field thus far, but the gap is closing.
Vernay is an experienced hand, but the commercial realities for the effort have seen a pair of young, talented, but relatively inexperienced additions complete the line-up. Bennett and Serravalle are the only Silver-ranked drivers in the class. That is not helping the pace of development, but development is coming.
For the #11, a finish would be as good as a win!
Lamborghini SC63
#19 LAMBORGHINI IRON LYNX – INV USA – ITA – Lamborghini SC63
Romain Grosjean (FRA) P Andrea Caldarelli (ITA) P Matteo Cairoli (ITA) P
#63 LAMBORGHINI IRON LYNX – WEC – ITA – Lamborghini SC63
Mirko Bortolotti (ITA) P Daniil Kvyat P Edoardo Mortara (ITA) P
Lamborghini makes its first-ever top-class appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year and to help its cause has expanded its effort to two cars, with the IMSA Endurance Cup crew competing alongside the full-season FIA WEC crew for the first time with their uniquely Ligier-chassised SC63s.
The car has proven to be relatively reliable in the WEC and in its single IMSA start thus far at Sebring. What it lacks is ultimate pace at this early stage.
Job one here will be getting to the finish and picking up any opportunity that presents itself to climb the order. The Iron Lynx-run squad deploys a very capable squad of drivers, including ex-F1 racers Romain Grosjean and Danny Kvyat. The pace though may be more likely to come from Edoardo Mortara in the #63 and the mercurial Matteo Cairoli in the IMSA #19
All the pieces are here, but this effort likely needs more time to unlock the potential of the car.
Peugeot 9X8
#93 PEUGEOT TOTALENERGIES – WEC – FRA – Peugeot 9X8 2024
Jean-Eric Vergne (FRA) P Mikkel Jensen (DNK) P Nico Müller (CHE) P
#94 PEUGEOT TOTALENERGIES – WEC – FRA – Peugeot 9X8 2024
Stoffel Vandoorne (BEL) P Paul Di Resta (GBR) P Loïc Duval (FRA) P
The 9X8 has been heavily revised for 2024, but thus far the new package hasn’t delivered class-contending pace.
The mould-breaking wingless 9X8 design is no more after it was thought to be too much of a compromise. The car proved competitive at Le Mans in mixed conditions last year but struggled almost everywhere else bar Monza.
As a result, the Peugeot squad has returned with an outwardly more conventional package for its second Le Mans as a Hypercar manufacturer
Whilst some headlines suggest a troubled programme, the reality is that there is a lasting commitment here. Results are needed, though not as soon as those same stories suggest.
That’s not to say that there’s a lack of drive or ambition, there’s much pride in the programme, progress is coming, and that isn’t happening by accident!
The driver squad is top-notch, with Stoffel Vandoorne introduced for 2024 to the otherwise stable roster.
Peugeot comes into Le Mans without the pressure of being anyone’s favourite for a result. It may not be there on the ultimate pace yet, but there are real signs of the strength in depth beginning to pay off.
Porsche 963
#4 PORSCHE PENSKE MOTORSPORT – INV USA – DEU – Porsche 963
Mathieu Jaminet (FRA) P Felipe Nasr (BRA) P Nick Tandy (GBR) P
#5 PORSCHE PENSKE MOTORSPORT – WEC – DEU – Porsche 963
Matt Campbell (AUS) P Michael Christensen (DNK) P Frédéric Makowiecki (FRA) P
#6 PORSCHE PENSKE MOTORSPORT – WEC – DEU – Porsche 963
Kévin Estre (FRA) P André Lotterer (DEU) P Laurens Vanthoor (BEL) P
Porsche Penske Motorsport comes to Le Mans in search of a win, and the 2024 form book says that it has every chance of claiming Porsche’s 20th, and Penske’s first, overall victory.
In search of that Penske fields three Porsche 963s for the second consecutive year at Le Mans, but the change this year is that it arrived as potential favourites after excellent form thus far in 2024. The car and the team in the garage look transformed.
The #4 is the additional car for Le Mans, the driver trio all with race-winning form in IMSA GTP in 2024.
The #6 leads the World Championship after a win in Qatar and a pair of second-place finishes. This crew is top-notch, always on the pace, and able to fight.
The #5 too has form, a pair of podiums before crashing out at Spa. The speed is here too though and three fast factory Porsches is a mighty weapon to wield at Le Mans.
The driver squad throughout has a huge depth of experience, there should be no weak links here on pace, consistency or just plain old-fashioned race smarts.
The WEC form book says Porsche vs Ferrari vs the private Porsches, and the Test Day also saw Porsche lead the way.
Le Mans shows us every year that there’s more to it than that, but Porsche – and Penske – will be hoping that the uptick in form this year translates into a memorable June.
Toyota GR010
#7 TOYOTA GAZOO RACING – WEC – JPN – Toyota GR010 HYBRID
José María López (ARG) P Kamui Kobayashi (JPN) P Nyck de Vries (NLD) P
#8 TOYOTA GAZOO RACING – WEC – JPN – Toyota GR010 HYBRID
Sébastien Buemi (CHE) P Brendon Hartley (NZL) P Ryo Hirakawa (JPN) P
Toyota arrives at Le Mans on the back foot – on the face of it an astonishing statement – but we are about to find out whether that is truth or posture.
Despite a strategy-led win at Imola for the #7, the new look for 2024 matches the often black mood at Toyota. The team has been understandably unhappy with its form, and with the hand it has been dealt by the rule makers.
Its double Le Mans-winning GR010 was beaten last year by Ferrari, which enjoyed a fairytale run, which in part was set up by a BoP change and some successful politicking on tyre warmers.
That measure has been reversed this year but Toyota is no happier, the standard expressed view is that it is down on pace, and the race form so far (Imola aside) matches that position. We’ll see soon enough!
It would not be the first time that a team struggling for form finds it in France, just where they left it… But if it does struggle for pace then the team is in for a long week.
On the driver front, the big news until Friday was the addition of Nyck de Vries, the diminutive Dutchman adding fire in the Toyota belly as Pechito Lopez departed for LMGT3.
However, José María López is back in the fold in the #7 after Mike Conway suffered nasty injuries in a cycling accident on Thursday, counting him out of the race!
Elsewhere, the remaining drivers have forgotten nothing about how to approach an endurance race, champions and Le Mans winners all. Will June see the smiles return?
Privately-Entered Hypercars
#83 AF CORSE – WEC – ITA – Ferrari 499P
Robert Kubica (POL) P Robert Shwartzman (ISR) P Yifei Ye (CHN) G
A new and very popular addition for 2024, the #83 is a privately-entered Ferrari 499P, identical to the two factory cars with the very visible exception of its bright yellow livery!
The #83 adds valuable data to the factory effort as well as developmental opportunities for the two young Ferrari factory drivers, Robert Shwartzman and Yifei Ye. Robert Kubica adds experience at the highest levels to bring a steady hand on the tiller.
Ye led the race for Jota last year but crashed in the rain, and knows all too well the ups and downs of the race after his technical failure on the final lap while leading in LMP2!
Kubica too knows all about the challenges of Le Mans. Shwartzman meanwhile has to make that journey this year – he has pace, but has much to learn at the biggest race of them all.
With all that said, it is clear that, if push came to shove, metaphorically at least, the #50 and #51 would be the favoured front-runners. If circumstances found the yellow car at the front and the sole Ferrari in with a shot, it has all the ingredients in place to do just that!
#12 HERTZ TEAM JOTA – WEC – GBR – Porsche 963
William Stevens (GBR) P Norman Nato (FRA) G Callum Ilott (GBR) P
#38 HERTZ TEAM JOTA – WEC – GBR – Porsche 963
Oliver Rasmussen (DNK) G Philip Hanson (GBR) G Jenson Button (GBR) P
What a story! The little British team that could, scored a major set of backers to run a single Porsche 963 in 2023, leading the race before a stumble, coming back in 2024 with a two-car effort and a big-name F1 World Champion signing in Jenson Button.
Hertz Team Jota has been on quite a journey and it seems has yet to reach the summit of what it can achieve. Evidence of this came just last month when its #12 car scored a World Championship race win at Spa with a spirited run after the restart.
That win was assisted by the Red Flag and restart, but there’s no denying that the team’s #12 car has pace. Callum Ilott is a star in the making and Will Stevens is an established benchmark showing the quality of the younger Briton. Norman Nato rejoins after missing Spa to find his team-mates lying second in the Drivers World Championship.
The #38 by contrast has had a less starry 2024 so far, the crew fresh from Phil Hanson lucklessly crashing out in Spa after a hit from a BMW. The pace has been there but not consistently enough just yet across the races to be a true challenger.
Hanson has winning form in LMP2 at Le Mans and Button has experienced the event too back in LMP1 days with SMP Racing and with the NASCAR Garage 56 project last year.
Le Mans will be a real test for the whole team with a two-car top-class effort for which hopes and aspirations are every bit as high as for the factory cars.
Do not count out either car as a contender for the win.
#99 PROTON COMPETITION – WEC – DEU – Porsche 963
Neel Jani (CHE) P Harry Tincknell (GBR) P Julien Andlauer (FRA) G
Proton makes Le Mans Hypercar debut in 2024 after its WEC Porsche 963 arrived too late to enter in 2023 and arrives here on the crest of a wave.
The #99 effort hasn’t lacked for speed since its Monza ’23 debut, but Spa saw the team in real contention throughout, in particular with the effort of Julien Andlauer who delivered a head-turning performance in Belgium. He also has (GTE Am) class winning form at Le Mans to bring to the party.
Add in the massive race-winning experience at Le Mans of both Harry Tincknell (who adds a Le Mans Hypercar start to his LMP1, LMP2, GTE Pro and GTE AM CV) and Neel Jani, an overall race winner with Porsche in 2016, and, if the team can be clean in the pits, this could just be a fan favourite effort that could make the podium.
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