Peugeot is set for a busy winter. The 2027 evolution of the 9X8, which recently completed its first laps at Paul Ricard, will naturally keep its engineers and mechanics occupied.
There will be changes on the driver front too. While no departures have yet been officially announced, and we already know that Doriane Pin will not be promoted to a full-time race seat, Peugeot’s first new signing is already known: Robert Shwartzman.
Why did Peugeot choose the Russian, and why did he choose to join a programme that has so far fallen well short of expectations? That is what we set out to find out.
What has been announced?
Peugeot Sport has simply confirmed what The Stint revealed a few weeks ago: Robert Shwartzman will soon join the French manufacturer’s Hypercar line-up as it looks to take a step forward with the 9X8 programme.
“I’m extremely happy to be returning to the FIA World Endurance Championship after my time racing in the United States,” Shwartzman explained. “Endurance racing is something I’ve really missed over the past two seasons, and I’m thrilled to be joining Team Peugeot TotalEnergies.
“From my very first discussions with the team, I felt genuinely welcomed and immediately part of the project, within a highly professional and ambitious environment. The 2027 programme is particularly exciting, and I can’t wait to contribute to this new chapter and help write the next stages of the story together.”
As for potential departures, you can read more HERE. Peugeot Sport Team Principal Emmanuel Esnault, however, declined to confirm that information.
“There are still discussions and decisions that need to be made,” he told us. “It’s a puzzle we are trying to put together, but for sure we have the ambition to extract the maximum from the car and from our drivers to get back to winning ways.”
In Shwartzman, Peugeot has secured a complete driver, still in the prime of his career and highly regarded by those who have worked with him. More importantly, he brings the speed of a driver developed at the highest levels of single-seater racing along with significant Hypercar experience.
Why does Shwartzman make sense for Peugeot?
The easiest way to find out was to ask Emmanuel Esnault himself, which we did in the Circuit of the Americas paddock last weekend, during the 2026 Lone Star Le Mans.
“We are really delighted to have managed to convince a driver with such talent to join Peugeot,” he told us. “We share the same vision and the same ambition to get back to the top. We want to build something strong with him, both from a sporting and a human perspective.
“He is unquestionably one of the most promising talents of his generation and already possesses a wealth of experience gained at the highest level in both single-seater and endurance racing. He is already fully involved in the preparation of our 2027 programme and will play an important role in the team’s future.”
Shwartzman is certainly no stranger to endurance racing. He contested the 2024 Hypercar season in AF Corse’s No. 83 Ferrari 499P alongside Robert Kubica and Yifei Ye, with the trio notably winning the Lone Star Le Mans in Austin.
For Peugeot, there are several reasons why his arrival makes sense. At 27 (September 12), Shwartzman can be expected to hit the ground running. His career has also exposed him to very different technical environments, from Ferrari and the 499P to IndyCar, not to mention his work as a reserve and simulator driver for the Scuderia.
Why does Peugeot make sense for Shwartzman?
Because this marriage of convenience works both ways. Robert Shwartzman’s career since leaving Formula 2 has been anything but straightforward. Despite results that might have opened other doors, the Russian never got his chance as a full-time Formula 1 driver. He turned instead to GT racing, then Hypercar, before the lure of single-seaters took him to IndyCar.
His American adventure lasted just one season. Peugeot now gives him a second chance in endurance racing and, perhaps more importantly, the opportunity to establish himself within a factory programme for the long term. Judging by Emmanuel Esnault’s comments, he is also expected to play an important role in it.
There is, of course, an element of risk. Since joining Hypercar in 2022, Peugeot has yet to win a race with the 9X8 and heads into 2027 needing to take a significant step forward. But that is also part of what makes the opportunity interesting for Shwartzman.
For both sides, there is more at stake than a new contract. Shwartzman is looking to bring some stability to a career that has taken several different turns since Formula 2. Peugeot, meanwhile, needs to turn the flashes of potential shown by the 9X8 into consistent results at the highest level.
Who is Robert Shwartzman?
If you have followed motorsport with even a passing interest, chances are Robert Shwartzman needs little introduction. Like many of his contemporaries, the 27-year-old Russian made his name in single-seaters before turning to endurance racing.
After finishing third in Italian F3 in 2015 and the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup in 2017, he joined the Ferrari Driver Academy. He went on to win the FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2019, finished fourth in FIA Formula 2 as a rookie in 2020, then became runner-up to Oscar Piastri the following year.
Despite those results, the doors to Formula 1 remained closed. After competing in GT World Challenge Europe in 2023, Ferrari offered him one of the three seats in AF Corse’s privately entered 499P, alongside his duties as reserve and simulator driver for the Scuderia.
But the lure of single-seaters proved too strong, and the Tel Aviv-born driver headed to IndyCar in 2025 with Prema Racing, itself making its debut in the series. Aside from a surprise pole position for the Indianapolis 500, however, he struggled to make an impact in a team facing difficulties both on track and, even more so, financially.
The adventure ended after just one season. At the same time, Shwartzman explored a return to the WEC, but talks — notably with Alpine — came to nothing. A few months later, another French manufacturer secured his services.
Russians at the 24 Hours of Le Mans
The announcement comes just days after a change in the regulations regarding the possibility for Russian drivers to compete under their national flag.
The first Russians to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans were Nikolay Fomenko and Alexei Vasiliev in 2004. Viktor Shaitar and Aleksey Basov became the first Russian drivers to claim a class victory in 2015, alongside Andrea Bertolini in SMP Racing’s Ferrari 458 Italia in GTE Am. It was also the first Le Mans victory for a Russian team.
More recently, alongside Shwartzman, Daniil Kvyat, Vitaly Petrov and Mikhail Aleshin are among the best-known Russian drivers to have competed at Le Mans.
This year, there is only one Russian driver competing full-time in the WEC: Timur Boguslavskiy, entered in Manthey DK Engineering’s No. 91 Porsche 911 GT3 R. He also finished second in LMGT3 at the Lone Star Le Mans on Sunday.
Among the teams, G-Drive Racing naturally comes to mind, as does SMP Racing, which was behind the BR Engineering programme. Its BR1, despite famously taking flight at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, went on to finish third overall at the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans in the hands of Stoffel Vandoorne, Vitaly Petrov and Mikhail Aleshin.