It’s not a record total of Hypercars at Le Mans this season, but it’s almost certainly going to be the deepest competitive field that we’ve seen this century, with 21 cars, of which 19 are factory entered, from eight marques.
So far this season, it’s been all Ferrari out front in the FIA WEC, with the Italian marque winning all three races to this point, but the pack has been closing in, and there are clear signs that some major players have been keeping their tinder dry and planning for June.
Toyota Gazoo Racing has made little secret of the fact that its primary priority for 2025 is to regain race-winning status at Le Mans. Porsche is gunning for 20 wins for the factory and a first for Roger Penske.
Alpine and BMW look ready and able to make a splash, as does Cadillac, with its four-pronged attack featuring its full suite of partner teams from the WEC and IMSA and a highly motivated Peugeot.
And that’s before we get to the highly-anticipated Le Mans debut for Aston Martin’s V12-powered Valkyries, which at the very least, will put a smile on the faces of the sell-out crowd each time they pass by.
The Hypercar Balance of Performance, which is Le Mans-specific once again this year and drawn up separately from the formula used for the other WEC races, will be a talking point. Here’s hoping we see a repeat of last year’s contest, which featured a multi-brand tussle for the win, with eight cars finishing on the lead lap. Here’s hoping, too, that we see better weather than in 2024!
We’ve said it each year since 2023, because it’s true. Make the most of this era, people, it’s truly special.
Alpine A424 (LMDh)
#35 Alpine Endurance Team – WEC – FRA
Paul-Loup Chatin G (FRA) Ferdinand Habsburg G (AUT) Charles Milesi G (FRA)
#36 Alpine Endurance Team – WEC – FRA
Mick Schumacher P (DEU) Frédéric Makowiecki P (FRA) Jules Gounon P (FRA)
What a difference a year makes… This time last year, Alpine travelled to Le Mans with underlying concerns about the reliability of its A424 in its first season. It was a disastrous weekend in front of its home fans, with both cars out of the race early on Saturday with engine-related issues.
Fast-forward to June 2025, and the entire operation appears transformed. Philippe Sinault’s team arrive at La Sarthe with a spring in their steps after two consecutive podium finishes for the #36 crew with an updated challenger. The ORECA-based LMDh prototype has benefited significantly from a ‘Joker’ update to the turbocharged V6 engine, introduced over the winter, following the deployment of an engine management strategy after Le Mans to help the team reach the end of 2024.
Looking at the driver line-up Alpine brings to the race, it has, of course, been tweaked for 2025. Nicolas Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxiviere are out (the former to take up the role of sporting director and the latter shifted to reserve), and Makowiecki and Gounon have been drafted in.
Both new faces to the full-time roster look right at home already. They have proven their worth in the two European races so far alongside Schumacher, who continues to take steps forward each time he steps in the car. The Chatin, Habsburg, and Milesi trio hasn’t quite hit the highs of the sister car, but all three drivers are more than capable of speed and consistency. They will look to improve on their best finish of eighth, which came at Spa last time out.
Internally, expectations have been kept in check since the containers arrived in Qatar for the Prologue. Still, it does feel like another big result is possible in the most important race of the season.
If the A424s hold up for the whole race and the long run pace is there, then there’s no reason we couldn’t see “Les Bleus” challenging for a podium or better. What a story it would be…
Aston Martin Valkyrie (Non-Hybrid LMH)
#007 Aston Martin THOR Team – WEC – USA
Harry Tincknell P (GBR) Tom Gamble P (GBR) Ross Gunn P (GBR)
#009 Aston Martin THOR Team – WEC – USA
Alex Riberas G (ESP) Marco Sorensen P (DEN) Roman de Angelis G (CAN)
Prepare yourselves, Le Mans goers. If race week is your first chance to see and hear the Valkyries in the flesh, then you’re in for a treat as Aston Martin’s return to top-class racing at Le Mans is quite a visual and audible spectacle.
What can we expect from the first 24-hour race for the Valkyries in terms of performance? This appears to be a classic case of ‘just make the finish.’ That’s the only real goal here for the team and its driver line-up, which blends an intriguing mix of youth and experience.
Through the opening race of the WEC season, at least one of the Valkyries has gone the distance, which in itself is an impressive feat, as the test programme wasn’t as extensive as anyone at HOR, Multimatic, or Aston Martin Performance Technologies would have liked. The single car in IMSA has stayed out of trouble, too, since its debut at Sebring, suggesting that at least one car making it through to Sunday afternoon is not just a pipe dream.
As for raw pace, the Valkyries have improved gradually through a combination of experience from the team and tweaks from the rolling average Balance of Performance system, which is now factoring in valid data from the start of the season.
Looking back at the Qualifying classification at Spa, the two Valkyries were 2.6 and 2.7 seconds off – not a million miles away, but nowhere near the fight for the front row. There’s no expectation that the Le Mans-only BoP will suddenly give the team a huge leg up; we may have to wait until the flyaway races later in the year to see the Aston Martin capable of battling to sneak into Hyperpole.
The only non-hybrid V12-powered LMH prototypes in the field are certain to be fan favourites, but Aston Martin THOR Team’s level of ambition extends much further than that. Everyone involved in the programme knows there’s a lot more work to be done.
BMW M Hybrid V8 (LMDh)
#15 BMW M Team WRT – WEC – BEL
Dries Vanthoor P (BEL) Raffaele Marciello P (CHE) Kevin Magnussen P (DEN)
#20 BMW M Team WRT – WEC – BEL
Sheldon van der Linde P (ZAF) Robin Frijns P (NLD) René Rast P (DEU)
If you’re looking for a dark horse contender for this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours in Hypercar, then BMW Team WRT ticks all the boxes.
The team, which now operates its Hypercar and LMGT3 efforts from a brand new state-of-the-art multi-storey facility in Liege, has come on in leaps and bounds this season after a challenging debut campaign in 2024.
The ‘Joker’ update to the M Hybrid V8’s brakes for this year has made a huge difference, giving the drivers newfound confidence behind the wheel, which is beginning to show in the results column. Dries Vanthoor has stood out, but the other drivers – notably Marciello, Rast and Magnussen – are beginning to find their feet.
At Imola, both cars were on song and in the fight for the top places, with the #20 crew finishing second and the sister car taking sixth. WRT’s home race at Spa last month didn’t go to plan, but the team continued to show potential. The #20 fought its way to second before (somewhat ironically) a brake issue forced the car into retirement in the final hour, and the #15 dropped down to 10th after receiving a pair of drive-through penalties.
Now, with both cars crewed once again by three drivers after the IMSA clash with Spa saw Dries Vanthoor and Sheldon van der Linde race stateside, it feels like Le Mans poses a real opportunity. The car and team look ready to win, and everyone involved will be keen to put the disastrous showing in the 24 Hours last year behind them.
Could this be the year that BMW finally returns to the winner’s step of the podium for the first time since 1999?
Cadillac V-Series.R (LMDh)
#12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA – WEC – GBR
Will Stevens P (GBR) Norman Nato G (FRA) Alex Lynn P (GBR)
#38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA – WEC – GBR
Earl Bamber P (NZL) Sébastien Bourdais P (FRA) Jenson Button P (GBR)
#101 Cadillac WTR – INV USA – USA
Ricky Taylor P (USA) Jordan Taylor P (USA) Filipe Albuquerque P (POR)
#311 Cadillac Whelen – INV USA – USA
Jack Aitken P (GBR) Felipe Drugovich P (BRA) Frederik Vesti P (DEN)
With a refreshed line-up of teams and drivers, General Motors’ flagship Cadillac brand and the V8-powered V-Series.R returns to Le Mans with a new mantra of ‘One Cadillac’. While the four-car effort comprises three separate teams—Hertz Team JOTA, Wayne Taylor Racing, and Action Express Racing (competing as Cadillac Whelen)—the directive from Cadillac has been for every team to work collectively, rather than as adversaries.
Let’s not forget that last year, the V-Series.R had a slim chance to win Le Mans in the final few hours. Two years ago, one of their cars finished third overall. And in theory, the ‘One Cadillac’ motto should benefit all four cars – more information-sharing, more cooperation, more success.
It’s just been a tough season in IMSA and in WEC, littered with bad luck and underperformance that doesn’t compute against the ambitions that GM has set for this year. The biggest missed opportunities were in Qatar, when an intra-team collision ruined JOTA’s ambitions of a dream start with Cadillac, and in Sebring, where Cadillac Whelen faded into darkness from a controlling position.
This year’s Le Mans 24 Hours represents a cherished dream for Wayne Taylor to enter the race with the team he established 21 years ago, with his two sons behind the wheel. And after finally getting the V-Series.R’s first podium of the year – in either major series – at Detroit, the mood within the team, already buoyant, feels even better.
For Action Express, it’s a chance to right the misfortunes of two bruising visits to Le Mans. The only mystery now is whether Felipe Drugovich will have to be whisked away from his second Le Mans entry to be an injury substitute in Formula One, and if so, who would take his place.
And for Hertz Team JOTA, a proven winner in this event from their days as an LMP2 powerhouse, it’s a chance to reward Cadillac’s difficult decision to entrust them to lead its charge in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Ford’s four straight Le Mans wins from ’66 to ’69 represent the only Le Mans overall victories for an American automaker. With their old domestic rivals on the way back, Cadillac wants its first Le Mans win desperately.
Ferrari 499P (LMH)
#50 Ferrari AF Corse – WEC – ITA
Antonio Fuoco P (ITA) Nicklas Nielsen P (DNK) Miguel Molina P (ESP)
#51 Ferrari AF Corse – WEC – ITA
Alessandro Pier Guidi P (ITA) James Calado P (GBR) Antonio Giovinazzi P (ITA)
#83 AF Corse – WEC – ITA
Robert Kubica P (POL) Ye Yifei G (CHN) Phil Hanson G (GBR)
We’re quickly running out of superlatives to describe Ferrari’s dominant start to the season. Like Porsche Penske Motorsport’s run through the opening stanza of the IMSA season in GTP, Ferrari AF Corse has stayed perfect from Qatar to Spa, winning each of the three races.
Ferrari’s 499Ps are looking better and better each time they hit the track. The Balance of Performance has given the team an edge, which it has taken full advantage of, and the team is benefiting from more than two full seasons of experience with the car.
As a package, the 499P has been optimised, and that, coupled with improvements on the strategy desk, has made the 2025 season a Tour de Force to this point. Both factory crews have won races; the #51 trio ended their win drought that dated from Centenary Le Mans in 2023 to the six-hour race at Imola this April, and the #83 car, with the addition of Phil Hanson, has proven capable of fighting at the front.
However, and it’s a big however, winning Le Mans for a third consecutive time and extending the win streak to four races will be a colossal task. The Le Mans-specific BoP will have its say, as will the other contenders in the class who, to put it mildly, are becoming desperate to beat them.
Either way, Ferrari has made it clear since day one that 2025 is all about winning the championship. Another Le Mans win is, of course, the target; it would be historic and likely put Ferrari in touching distance of the titles. But the priority is scoring plenty of points and all three crews look capable of doing so.
Peugeot 9X8 (LMH)
#93 Peugeot TotalEnergies – WEC – FRA
Paul Di Resta P (GBR) Mikkel Jensen P (DNK) Jean-Eric Vergne P (FRA)
#94 Peugeot TotalEnergies – WEC – FRA
Loïc Duval P (FRA) Malthe Jakobsen G (DEN) Stoffel Vandoorne P (BEL)
This feels like a huge race for Peugeot and its 9X8 project. The team returns for its third crack at Le Mans with a platform that has been heavily revised since its debut at the end of the 2022 season, and will hope that this is the moment everything comes together.
Looking at the formbook, neither trio has had much to celebrate through three races in 2025. The #93 trio are on five points and the sister crew have zero. Pace has been there, though; it just hasn’t translated into results.
At Spa, for instance, both cars qualified in the top 10 and featured in the fight for top-five finishes before it all fell apart. The #94 retired following contact, and the #93 dropped out of the top 10 after a tactical blunder. It was a hugely disappointing outcome on a weekend which showed so much promise.
It appears that the 9X8 is becoming a more well-rounded and capable package, a year on from the major Joker update introduced at Imola. It’s still a car that appears to be extremely sensitive to circuits, but its ceiling is higher. With its latest evo for 2025, which has improved the suspension, it does at least feel like Peugeot finally has the potential to turn a corner. The question is: will it?
Le Mans is, of course, the brand’s home race, so naturally, the pressure is higher to deliver. This is a programme that needs to begin delivering the goods soon, but we said that last year. Crucially, though, it appears that Stellantis is not going to pull the plug on this endeavour any time soon. Instead, it is believed to be doubling down with a brand-new car that is expected to be signed off on imminently.
That’s for the future, though. Right now, the task at hand is to optimise the current package and execute at La Sarthe. The odds would appear to be stacked against it, but that won’t stop this team from dreaming big.
Porsche 963 (LMDh)
#4 Porsche Penske Motorsport – INV USA – DEU
Felipe Nasr P (BRA) Nick Tandy P (GBR) Pascal Wehrlein P (GER)
#5 Porsche Penske Motorsport – WEC – DEU
Julien Andlauer P (FRA) Michael Christensen P (DNK) Mathieu Jaminet P (FRA)
#6 Porsche Penske Motorsport – WEC – DEU
Kévin Estre P (FRA) Laurens Vanthoor P (BEL) Matt Campbell P (AUS)
#99 Proton Competition – WEC – DEU
Neel Jani P (CHE) Nico Pino S (CHI) Nico Varrone G (ARG)
Following up on our earlier discussion of superlative seasons in sports car racing… How about Porsche? Represented by three factory Penske Motorsport entries, and the privateer 963 from Proton Competition.
History is always at stake whenever Porsche challenges for the overall victory at Le Mans, as the 963 would give Porsche its 20th overall win at the event, extending its magnificent record to uncharted territory.
But this year, the stakes are even higher. Across two of the Porsche Penske factory cars are three drivers who could complete the unprecedented feat of winning all three legs of the traditional Triple Crown of Endurance in the same calendar year: Laurens Vanthoor, Felipe Nasr, and Nick Tandy. They’ve won Daytona together, they’ve won Sebring together, but they can’t all win Le Mans together.
This season has also been superlative in terms of the shocking split fortunes for Porsche Penske between the two series. In IMSA, their two cars won four consecutive races to start the season with three one-two finishes, giving them a vice grip on the IMSA GTP Championship table that persists even after that streak ended in Detroit with “only” a third and fourth place finish.
In WEC, this same team, boasting an equally talented cast of drivers, engineers, and equipment, hasn’t finished better than eighth in any of the first three races. That’s certainly not where reigning Hypercar World Drivers’ Champions, Vanthoor and Kevin Estre, expected to be after a sensational 2024 campaign.
Some Porsche supporters would argue that the WEC struggles are the result of an ACO technical committee that yanked the 963’s teeth out with BoP nerfs; others would say that the competition has simply gotten better around them, independent of the 963’s power-to-weight figures, putting them on the back foot. For Le Mans, at least, the figures are in line with where they were last year, if not better.
Through gradual improvements (including jokers for this season, improving the suspension and aero) and experience, the 963 has become a well-rounded machine worthy of the lineage of its predecessors. With the exception of Le Mans debutant Pascal Wehrlein – rightfully recognised as a top talent in single-seaters and silhouette-era DTM – every member of the Porsche factory driving roster is a proven asset in this machine. And now with all three factory cars being built and prepared in Porsche Penske’s Mannheim headquarters, the Le Mans effort seems a bit more cohesive than the last two years.
Lest we forget, Proton Competition now has a full year of experience with the 963 to work with – though without the necessary resources at hand to test between races, and a line-up with two top-class rookies in Varrone and Pino, Christian Ried’s team would be a tremendous long-shot to win the race.
But no matter which crew leads the charge, there is no substitute and no compromise – as nothing less than total victory will satisfy Porsche this year.
Toyota GR010 HYBRID (LMH)
#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing – WEC – JPN
Mike Conway P (GBR) Kamui Kobayashi P (JPN) Nyck de Vries P (NLD)
#8 Toyota Gazoo Racing – WEC – JPN
Sébastien Buemi P (CHE) Brendon Hartley P (NZL) Ryo Hirakawa P (JPN)
Will this be the year Toyota earns its sixth overall Le Mans 24 Hours victory? After coming achingly close the past two years up against Ferrari, the Japanese factory hopes that it’s a case of third-time lucky in its current era and it brings a dusting of nostalgia to the event with the team’s #7 car bearing a heritage livery, nodding back to 1998 and the fabled TS020 ‘GT-One’.
It’s safe to say the team has become frustrated through the opening rounds of the 2025 season. Its days of winning race after race by comfortable margins are beginning to feel like a distant memory, as the rest of the competition has closed the gap over the past 12 months and the BoP, it would say, has worked against it.
However, while it has zero podiums to show for its efforts through Qatar, Imola and Spa, there have been some encouraging performances and signs that Le Mans could mark a change in fortune. The #8 crew has managed three top-five finishes through clever strategy calls and head-turning performances from Buemi, the #7 GR010 has finished in the points at each race and Toyota, somewhat remarkably, sits second in the Manufacturers’ standings, albeit 65 points adrift from Ferrari.
The only thing that’s missing, it would argue, has been a set of BoP values that allow it to fight at the front. At least from the pre-testing figures released last week, and its Test Day topping performance on Sunday, Toyota should feel as if it has the tools to be competitive.
Nevertheless, experience counts for a lot at Le Mans, and Toyota Gazoo Racing brings the most in the field. Its car is reliable, its drivers are world-class, and the engineering staff in the garage are as well-drilled as anyone in this company.
If it all comes together, and it can extract pace from its cars consistently as the conditions change, then there’s no reason Toyota can’t return to the top step once again.
