Le Mans 2021 will take place this weekend. The 24-hour endurance race starts on Saturday afternoon with a number of drivers from around the world teaming up. This includes some of the best current WEC drivers, some of whom are former Formula 1 drivers and experts. Here are some of the most notable competitors to this year’s Le Mans.
Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley
It makes sense to start with the leader of the World Endurance Championship and an exclusively former Formula 1 driver team. These drivers will compete for Toyota in the Hyperclass car and have won two of the three events so far this season. Buemi, Nakajima and Hartley all have Formula 1 experience on different teams, but the three are used to working together successfully. The same trio won the event in 2020, and Nakajima and Buemi won in 2019 with Fernando Alonso. Hartley also secured victory at Le Mans in 2017.
Kamui Kobayashi
Kamui Kobayashi started at 75 Grands Prix and, to the delight of the domestic fans, secured a career podium at the Japanese Grand Prix 2012. The former Sauber driver will team up with Mike Conway and José Maria López for the other Toyota team. This trio won the last event in Italy and finished second in the championship.
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Sophia Flörsch
At the Macau Grand Prix 2018, Flörsch had a serious fall in which she suffered a spinal fracture. The now 20-year-old has since recovered and will take part in her second Le Mans 24-hour race. She will compete for the Richard Mille Racing Team alongside Tatiana Calderon and Bectske Visser. Calderon is a test driver for the Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team.
Juan Pablo Montoya
A name known worldwide. Montoya is now 45 years old but is still going strong for McLaren 15 years after his last Formula 1 race. He will be racing for DragonSpeed US for the second year in a row. He is on a team alongside Henrik Hedman and Ben Hanley.
Paul Di Resta
A former Formula 1 driver who may be better known these days for his expertise at Sky Sports. Di Resta remains busy on the track while driving for United Autosports alongside Alex Lynn and Wayne Boyd in the LMP2 class.
Anthony Davidson
Davidson may be good friends with Di Resta in the F1 paddock, but this weekend they’ll be up against each other. Davidson took second place in the Endurance Trophy for the LMP2 drivers’ championship, six places ahead of Di Resta. He will drive for Jota alongside Antonio Felix Da Costa and Roberto Gonzalez in the LMP2 class.
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Nyck De Vries
Fresh from his Formula E World Championship victory, the Dutchman jumps straight back into a racing car for Le Mans 2021. De Vries remains one of the reserve drivers for the Mercedes F1 team and has a seat at Williams for the 2022 season. But for the time being his focus is on the 24-hour race in France, as he competes alongside Roman Rusinov and Franco Colapinto for G-Drive Racing in the LMP2 class.
Stoffel Vandoorne
From one Mercedes Formula E driver to another, Vandoorne will also drive at Le Mans 2021. The former McLaren driver will compete for Jota alongside Sean Gelael and Tom Blomqvist in the LMP2 class.
Robert Kubica
Kubica did a few training sessions during the 2021 Formula 1 season and is one of our drivers that we should watch at Le Mans. He drives for Team WRT alongside Louis Delétraz and Yifei Ye in the LMP2 class.
The Magnussen family
Former Formula 1 driver Jan Magnussen is a legend when it comes to the Le Mans 24 Hours. The Danish driver has raced in all editions of the event since 1999, including class wins in 2004, 05, 06 and 09. But this year is a little different for Jan. His eldest son Kevin Magnussen left F1 at the end of the 2020 season and can therefore join him in France this season. Anders Fjordbach is the third driver for High Class Racing.
Giancarlo Fisichella
Another classic F1 driver. Fisichella started 229 grands prix and won three races. In Le Mans 2021 he will drive alongside Thomas Flohr and Francesco Castellacci for AF Corse in the LMGTE Am class.
Callum Illot
The Brit is aiming for a place in Formula 1 next season, but right now his focus is on the endurance championship. He’s driving alongside Matteo Cressoni and Rino Mastronardi for Iron Lynx this weekend.
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