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from https://www.motorsport.com/lemans/news/former-f1-drivers-le-mans-24-hours/10623558/

WHO ARE THE FORMER F1 DRIVERS SET TO TAKE PART IN THE 2024 LE MANS 24 HOURS? Several former Formula 1 drivers are set to take on one of the greatest challenges in motorsport when they compete in the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours. Rebecca Braybrook
Jun 14, 2024, 2:08 PM
Upd: Jun 15, 2024, 12:38 AM

3
#38 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963: Oliver Rasmussen, Philip Hanson, Jenson
Button
Photo by: Shameem Fahath

Eighteen of the 186 drivers having previously competed in a Formula 1
grand prix, and here they all are...

F1 drivers competing in the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours
Jenson Button - Hypercar

• Team: Hertz Team JOTA
• Le Mans 24 Hours starts: 2
• Le Mans 24 Hours wins: 0
• F1 race starts: 306
• F1 wins: 15

Button is returning to Le Mans 24 Hours for his third attempt at the WEC
race.

The British driver's previous two appearances at Le Mans – one in 2018 competing with SMP Racing which ended in an engine-caused DNF, and
another in 2023 as part of the experimental Garage 56 entry, racing a
modified NASCAR Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 alongside Jimmie Johnson and Mike Rockenfeller.

Button spent 17 years in Formula 1, driving with Williams, Benetton,
Renault, BAR, Honda, Brawn and McLaren and won the 2009 world
championship. He has tried several different motorsports since the end
of his F1 career, including Super GT, sportscar racing, NASCAR Cup and
even an Extreme E outing.

Button will drive a Porsche 963 for Hertz Team JOTA alongside current
WEC drivers Oliver Rasmussen and Phil Hansen.

Romain Grosjean - Hypercar


• Team: Lamborghini Iron Lynx
• Le Mans 24 Hours starts: 1
• Le Mans 24 Hours wins: 0
• F1 race starts: 179
• F1 wins: 0

Grosjean is one of the most well-known names to leave F1 in recent
years, with the French-Swiss spending a drama-filled 10 seasons in the
series. During his time he took 10 podiums, with a second at the 2012
Canadian GP and 2013 US GP, but it’s his exit from F1 which is most memorable.

Grosjean’s final race was 2020 Bahrain GP where his Haas made contact
with Daniil Kvyat, pitching him into a barrier before his car burst into flames. He thankfully escaped the fire, although he burned his hands,
and gaining the nickname of 'The Phoenix' on his switch to IndyCar for 2021.

He spent a year with Dale Coyne Racing, two with Andretti Autosport and
is currently racing with Juncos Hollinger Racing. While he’s yet to take
a race win, he has had six podiums.

Alongside his IndyCar responsibilities, Grosjean competes for
Lamborghini Iron Lynx in the IMSA SportsCar championship. He will remain
with the team for its Le Mans 24 Hours attempt this year, competing
alongside his team-mates Matteo Cairoli and Andrea Caldarelli.

Daniil Kvyat - Hypercar


• Team: Lamborghini Iron Lynx
• Le Mans 24 Hours starts: 1
• Le Mans 24 Hours wins: 0
• F1 race starts: 110
• F1 wins: 0

Kvyat will be hoping to reverse his luck at the Le Mans 24 Hours after competing with Prema Racing in 2023. The team were forced to retire the
car on lap 113 after a big accident where he ripped the rear wing off
and severely damaged the car having crashed during the night.

Kvyat moved into endurance racing after spending a year with Alpine as
its reserve driver in 2021. He’d previously spent eight seasons in F1, starting at Toro Rosso in 2014 before replacing Ferrari-bound Sebastian
Vettel at Red Bull in 2015. After a mixed first four races of the 2016
season, Kvyat was demoted back to Toro Rosso, with team bosses deciding
to replace him at Red Bull with Max Verstappen.

Following a challenging season, which saw just three top-10 finishes, he
was dropped midway through 2017, only to return as stand-in at the US
GP, before being left without a seat for 2018. He was named as a third
driver for Ferrari, but made no starts for the team, before then moving
back for his third stint at Toro Rosso in 2019-20 when his F1 career
came to a close.

The 30-year-old will compete with his current WEC team Lamborghini Iron
Lynx with his team-mates Mirko Bortolotti and Edoardo Mortara.

Robert Kubica - Hypercar


• Team: AF Corse
• Le Mans 24 Hours starts: 3
• Le Mans 24 Hours wins: 0
• F1 race starts: 99
• F1 wins: 1

Kubica made his Formula 1 debut at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix for
Sauber but was disqualified for his car being underweight. He then spent
three full seasons with the team between 2007 and 2009, claiming one
race win at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix.

Kubica moved to Renault for the 2010 and 2011 seasons and alongside his
F1 role, he took part in rallying. At the 2011 Ronde di Andora Rally, he suffered a life-changing accident when his car left the road at high
speed and crashed into a barrier.

Kubica spent over an hour trapped inside his car as workers tried to
extricate him before he was flown to hospital. Due to the severity of
his injuries, he missed the 2011 season with Renault and was replaced by
Nick Heidfeld.

He returned to racing the following year, predominantly in rallying,
before returning to F1 as a test driver for Renault and Williams in
2017. Kubica completed a full comeback in 2019 with Williams but a
woeful car meant he was only able to score one top-10 finish.

After one season in the DTM in 2020 and a test and reserve role at Alfa
Romeo between 2020-22, which saw him back two further grand prix starts
at Zandvoort and Monza, when Kimi Raikkonen was sidelined by COVID-19,
Kubica made his transition into sportscar racing.

Kubica takes on his fourth attempt at Le Mans 24 Hours this year, with
his previous three starts all frustrating near-misses for victory in LMP2.

A broken throttle sensor while leading with three minutes to go denied
Kubica the LMP2 class win on debut with WRT alongside Yifei Ye and Louis Deletraz in 2021, which was followed by consecutive runner-up finishes
in 2022 and 2023.

In 2024, he joins AF Corse for his first attempt at the endurance race
in the Hypercar class, alongside Robert Shwartzman and Ye.

Kamui Kobayashi - Hypercar


• Team: Toyota Gazoo Racing
• Le Mans 24 Hours starts: 9
• Le Mans 24 Hours wins: 1 (Toyota Gazoo Racing - 2021)
• F1 race starts: 75
• F1 wins: 0

Kobayashi will race in the Hypercar category, driving Toyota Gazoo
Racing’s GR010 Hybrid alongside Nyck de Vries and Jose Maria Lopez, who stands in for the injured Mike Conway in the #8 car. The Japanese driver
is also the team principal of the Toyota squad.

He raced in Formula 1 between 2009-14, missing the 2013 season, before
joining the Caterham team in 2014. Despite scoring 125 points from 75
starts, Kobayashi only appeared on the podium once – a third place at
his home race in 2012.

He has had an illustrious motorsport career, which includes the 2019-20
and 2021 WEC championship titles. For the last six years, Kobayashi has competed in the Le Mans 24 Hours alongside team-mates Lopez and Conway,
with the trio claiming the victory in 2021.

Antonio Giovinazzi - Hypercar


• Team: Ferrari AF Course
• Le Mans 24 Hours starts: 2
• Le Mans 24 Hours wins: 1 (Ferrari AF Corse - 2023)
• F1 race starts: 62
• F1 wins: 0

Giovinazzi will be attempting to emulate his previous result at the Le
Mans 24 Hours, having taken victory in 2023 with Ferrari AF Corse. He
will continue with last year’s team-mates James Calado and Alessandro
Pier Guidi.

Giovinazzi made his F1 debut for Sauber in 2017 as a substitute for
Pascal Wehrlein at the Australian and Chinese grands prix, as the German
driver had injured his neck during a crash at the Race of Champions. He
then spent three full seasons with Alfa Romeo between 2019 and 2021 but
was unable to finish higher than 17th in the championship, with nine
points finishes from 62 starts.

The Italian left the team at the end of the 2021 season but has held a
reserve driver position at Ferrari since.

He spent one season in Formula E with Dragon Penske Autosport but
finished 23rd in the championship with no points.

Giovinazzi has competed in WEC since 2023 with Ferrari AF Corse and
helped the team claim their first outright win in 50 years at the 2023
Le Mans 24 Hours after its last top-class entry in 1973.

Paul di Resta - Hypercar


• Team: Peugeot TotalEnergies
• Le Mans 24 Hours starts: 5
• Le Mans 24 Hours wins: 1 (United Autosports - LMP2 class win - 2020)
• F1 race starts: 59
• F1 wins: 0

Di Resta has forged a career in sportscars since 2019 after ending his full-time stint in DTM in the same season.

He had previously completed four Le Mans 24 Hours with United Autosports
in LMP2, bringing home a class win in 2020. Di Resta joined the team in
2018, taking part in Asian Le Mans where he took three second-place
finishes and one win, which gave the team the championship victory.

Di Resta joined Force India F1 Team in 2010 but didn’t make his race
debut until the following year, going on to complete three full seasons.
He made a one-off return at the 2017 Hungarian GP at Williams when he
stood in for the unwell Felipe Massa.

He joined Peugeot TotalEnergies in 2022 and will compete in his second
Le Mans 24 Hours with the team, alongside his team-mates Vandoorne and
Loic Duval.

Jean-Eric Vergne


• Team: Peugeot TotalEnergies
• Le Mans 24 Hours starts: 5
• Le Mans 24 Hours wins: 0
• F1 race starts: 58
• F1 wins: 0

This will be the Frenchman’s sixth attempt at Le Mans, with his best
result being fifth in the LMP2 class in 2020. In 2018 Vergne's #26
G-Drive entry had won the LMP2 class but was disqualified post-race for
an illegal refueling component.

The two-time Formula E champion spent three seasons with Toro Rosso in
Formula 1 between 2012 and 2014. He was left without a seat when the
team chose an all-new line-up of Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz for 2015.

Vergne will compete at this year's Le Mans 24 Hours with Peugeot
TotalEnergies, alongside his team-mates Mikkel Jensen and Nico Muller.

Sebastien Buemi - Hypercar


• Team: Toyota Gazoo Racing
• Le Mans 24 Hours starts: 12
• Le Mans 24 Hours wins: 4 (Toyota Gazoo Racing - 2018, 2019, 2020 & 2022) • F1 race starts: 55
• F1 wins: 0

Buemi will race for Toyota Gazoo Racing alongside his previous
team-mates Ryo Hirakawa and Brendon Hartley. The trio have competed in
the Le Mans 24 Hours together for the past two years, winning in 2022
and finishing runner-up in 2023.

He has taken four victories at the endurance event with a further four
overall podium finishes and has driven for Toyota at each of his 12
appearances at Le Mans.

Prior to his endurance exploits the Swiss driver spent three seasons
driving for Toro Rosso, lining up on the grid between 2009-2011, but was replaced by Daniel Ricciardo after being unable to score more than a
handful of top-10 finishes each season. He then became the Red Bull
reserve driver but has not made another grand prix start during that time.

Buemi moved to Formula E in 2014, taking the championship title for the
2015-16 season after an intense battle with Lucas di Grassi. Buemi has
remained in the series since leaving F1 and has two runner-up finishes
in the 2016-17 and 2018-19 seasons.

Mick Schumacher - Hypercar


• Team: Alpine Endurance Team
• Le Mans 24 Hours starts: 0
• Le Mans 24 Hours wins: 0
• F1 race starts: 43
• F1 wins: 0

Schumacher is currently competing in the WEC championship with Alpine in
the #36 car alongside team-mates Matthieu Vaxiviere and Nicolas Lapierre.

The son of seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher, Mick made his
Formula 1 debut with Haas in 2021 but was only able to take two top-10
finishes during his two years with the team. He was replaced by Nico
Hulkenberg for 2023 and moved to Mercedes as its reserve driver.

Despite a disappointing run in F1, Schumacher had shown promise in the
junior series, having taken the F2 championship in 2020 and European F3
in 2018. He is currently one of the potential candidates to replace
Esteban Ocon at Alpine in 2025.

Stoffel Vandoorne - Hypercar


• Team: Peugeot TotalEnergies
• Le Mans 24 Hours starts: 2
• Le Mans 24 Hours wins: 0
• F1 race starts: 42
• F1 wins: 0

Vandoorne will compete in his third Le Mans 24 Hours after taking an
overall podium finish on debut in 2019 with SMP Racing and coming
runner-up in the LMP2 class with Jota in 2021.

The 2021-22 Formula E world champion spent two full seasons in F1 with
McLaren but finished 16th in the championship in both 2017 and 2018.
Since then Vandorne has spent stints as a test and reserve driver at
Mercedes, McLaren and Aston Martin.

He races for Peugeot TotalEnergies alongside his team-mates Paul di
Resta and Loic Duval.

Felipe Nasr - Hypercar


• Team: Porsche Penske Motorsport
• Le Mans 24 Hours starts: 4
• Le Mans 24 Hours wins: 0
• F1 race starts: 39
• F1 wins: 0

Nasr is competing for Porsche Penske Motorsport in the Hypercar class as
part of its third entry alongside fellow IMSA regular Nick Tandy and
factory driver Mathieu Jaminet.

Nasr is no stranger to endurance racing, taking the outright win at the
2024 Daytona 24 Hours, GTD Pro victory for Pfaff Porsche in 2022 plus a
further three podiums at the event in 2012, 2018 and 2019.

The Brazilian previously spent two seasons in F1 between 2015-16, where
he raced for Sauber.

He is currently contesting the 2024 IMSA SportsCar championship with his team-mate Dane Cameron, with the pair currently leading the drivers'
standings.

Sebastien Bourdais - Hypercar


• Team: Cadillac Racing
• Le Mans 24 Hours starts: 16
• Le Mans 24 Hours wins: 1 (Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA - GTE Pro class
win - 2016)
• F1 race starts: 27
• F1 wins: 0

Bourdais will compete in the Hypercar class of Le Mans 24 Hours for
Cadillac Racing. This will be the Frenchman’s second year with the
American team and his 17th year entering the endurance event.

For the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours Bourdais will be partnered with 2016 IMSA SportsCar champion Renger van de Zande and six-time IndyCar champion
Scott Dixon.

He previously took a GTE Pro class win in 2016 for Ford Chip Ganassi
Team USA with his team-mates Joey Hand and Dirk Muller. He has also come
close to an overall victory on several occasions, taking the runner-up
position in 2007, 2009 and 2011.

Bourdais made his debut in Formula 1 for Toro Rosso in 2008, having won
the Champ Car series for the previous four years. Bourdais spent just a
year and a half with the team, including a full season as team-mates
with Sebastian Vettel.

In 2009 he was partnered with Sebastien Buemi, but despite two points
finishes he was unable to match the performance of his team-mate and
after just nine races the team announced that he would be replaced by
Jaime Alguersuari.

Bourdais has an illustrious motorsport career outside of Formula 1
though, including victories at the Spa 24 Hours (2002), Daytona 24 Hours
(2014) and Sebring 12 Hours (2021). Alongside his Le Mans GTE Pro
victory in 2016, he also claimed the GTLM class win at Daytona the
following year.

Brendon Hartley - Hypercar


• Team: Toyota Gazoo Racing
• Le Mans 24 Hours starts: 10
• Le Mans 24 Hours wins: 3 (Porsche Team - 2017, Toyota Gazoo Racing -
2020 & 2022)
• F1 race starts: 25
• F1 wins: 0

Hartley will rejoin Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa for his 11th attempt at the
Le Mans 24 Hours.

He has been with Toyota Gazoo Racing since 2019 and has taken two out of
his three Le Mans wins with the team - the other with Porsche in 2017.
He has also had a further three overall podium finishes at the endurance
event including coming runner-up in 2015 when competing with his
team-mates Mark Webber and Timo Bernhard.

Hartley has taken four WEC titles during his career in 2015, 2017, 2022
and 2023.

The New Zealander had a brief stint in Formula 1, taking the Toro Rosso
seat for the last four races of 2017. He remained with the team for the
2018 season but had just three top-10 finishes and was replaced by Alex
Albon.

Hartley made his Formula E debut the following year but was dropped with immediate effect after just five races where he was only able to score
one top-10 finish.

He returned to WEC in 2019, to replace Jenson Button at the 1000 Miles
of Sebring before taking on the next day’s 12 Hours of Sebring for SMP
Racing and Mustang Sampling Racing respectively. Despite an “exhausting” weekend for the Kiwi, he was able to help secure podiums at both races.

Will Stevens - Hypercar


• Team: Hertz Team Jota
• Le Mans 24 Hours starts: 8
• Le Mans 24 Hours wins: 2 (JMW Motorsport - GTE Am Class - 2017, Jota
Sport - LMP2 - 2022)
• F1 race starts: 18
• F1 wins: 0

Stevens will be looking to claim an outright Le Mans 24 Hours victory
after taking two previous class wins in 2017 and 2022. He will return to
the Hertz Team Jota for a second year with Callum Ilott and Norman Nato.

He made his debut in Formula 1 driving for Caterham during the final
race of the 2014 season, but the team collapsed before reaching the next season. He then joined Marussia for the 2015 season but was unable to
finish higher than 13th in uncompetitive machinery.

Nyck de Vries - Hypercar


• Team: Toyota Gazoo Racing
• Le Mans 24 Hours starts: 4
• Le Mans 24 Hours wins: 0
• F1 race starts: 11
• F1 wins: 0

De Vries will join Kobayashi and Mike Conway stand-in Jose Maria Lopez
in the #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing for his fifth start in the race but first
in the top class, with his previous entries in LMP2 between 2019-22.

The 2020-21 Formula E champion made his move into Formula 1 after
standing in for Alex Albon at the 2022 Italian Grand Prix when the
Thai-British driver underwent appendix surgery.

De Vries joined AlphaTauri - now RB - in 2023 alongside Yuki Tsunoda but
failed to impress. The Dutch driver was unable to finish in the top 10
and after the first 10 races of the season, he was replaced by Daniel Ricciardo.

He has since moved back to Formula E and races with Mahindra Racing
alongside his WEC duties for Toyota.

Jack Aitken - Hypercar


• Team: Action Express Racing
• Le Mans 24 Hours starts: 2
• Le Mans 24 Hours wins: 0
• F1 race starts: 1
• F1 wins: 0

Aitken will attempt his third Le Mans 24 Hours and his second with the
Action Express Racing team this year. This will be his second year
driving alongside team-mate Pipo Derani, who is the winner of the 2016
24 Hours of Daytona, and his first with Aston Martin F1 reserve driver
Felipe Drugovich.

Aitken made his F1 debut at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix to cover for
George Russell at Williams - when Russell had been called to stand in
for Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes after he contracted COVID-19.

He remained with the team until the start of 2023, when he decided to
part ways with the team to focus on his sportscar career.

Andre Lotterer - Hypercar


• Team: Porsche Penske Motorsport
• Le Mans 24 Hours starts: 12
• Le Mans 24 Hours wins: 3 (Audi Sport Team Joest - 2011, 2012 & 2014)
• F1 race starts: 1
• F1 wins: 0

Lotterer is a three-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner, taking victories with
Audi Sport Team Joest in 2011, 2012 and 2014 and two further podium
finishes in 2010 and 2015. While most well-known for his endurance and
Formula E racing, the German did have an incredibly short stint in
Formula 1, replacing Kamui Kobayashi at Caterham F1 for a one-off race
in 2014 at the Belgian Grand Prix.

He outperformed his team-mate Marcus Ericsson, but still only qualified
21st of the 22 drivers. However, his debut came to a fast end after his
car faced a mechanical failure on the first lap.

The German has been part of Porsche's Hypercar programme since it began
last year and is team-mates with Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor in the
#6 entry that starts the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours on pole position.

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TOP COMMENTS
Stan_
Stan_
Jun 14, 2024, 2:28 PM
Kobayashi is so fast, and yet Perez has beaten him.
2 REPLIES

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