Despite disappointing results, Peugeot Sport will continue its Hypercar programme next year with a heavily revised car, about which we recently revealed everything we know so far. At the end of July, Peugeot gave the 2027 version of its 9X8 its first run at Circuit Paul Ricard, in the south of France.
Away from prying eyes? Not quite, as the car was quickly spotted by local photographers. That gave us a first look at what the French LMH will look like next year.
But that’s not all. Alongside this “new” car, Peugeot Sport is also set to make major changes to its driver line-up.
The Stint has been looking into it.
Who is leaving? Who is staying?
It is something of an open secret, but three of Peugeot’s current race drivers will no longer be part of the line-up next year: Stoffel Vandoorne, Malthe Jakobsen and Théo Pourchaire. While this has yet to be officially confirmed for the first two, the Frenchman has confirmed his own situation himself.
“For next year, I’m focused on my programme with Opel,” said the 2023 FIA Formula 2 champion. “I’m really happy to be able to drive in Formula E next year. Of course, I would be open to do a double programme, but it’s a lot of… I mean, it’s a big calendar, and I want to be focused on the Formula E. It is going to be my main programme and it’s going to be what I want to do the best in it. I want to win in the future in Formula E, so being focused there, it’s important.”
Why won’t he combine WEC and Formula E? Not because he failed to impress, far from it. But Stellantis Motorsport cannot afford to have three drivers competing in both championships because of clashes between the two calendars — at least one in 2027. Nick Cassidy and Jean-Eric Vergne, Citroën’s two Formula E drivers, will be the ones combining the two programmes next year.
Stoffel Vandoorne, who had been expected to join Genesis last year, had informed Peugeot of his desire to leave. But when the move fell through, he eventually extended his stay at Satory for another season, taking the place left vacant by Jean-Eric Vergne, who had asked to step away from WEC competition for a year.
Eager to return to Formula E, the Belgian will be back in the championship full-time next season, having won the world title there in 2021-22. He will race for Jaguar, where he currently serves as reserve driver.
Malthe Jakobsen, meanwhile, signed a deal with McLaren some time ago. He will join Mikkel Jensen and Laurens Vanthoor, the first two drivers announced by the Woking-based manufacturer for its Hypercar programme.
Nick Cassidy, who joined Peugeot last winter, will remain with the team. So too will Frenchman Loïc Duval and Scotland’s Paul di Resta, both of whom have been involved with the 9X8 programme since its early days.
Who are the not-so-new faces?
First up is Jean-Eric Vergne, who is set to return. Already busy this year with Formula E, development of the Gen4 car and work on the 2027 version of the 9X8, the Frenchman had asked his employer to sit out the WEC season, a request that was granted.
But “JEV” will indeed be back next year, hoping to finally have a car capable of fighting at the front.
And, like the reserve drivers before him — Stoffel Vandoorne, Malthe Jakobsen and Théo Pourchaire — Alex Quinn is expected to step up to a race seat after spending a year in the background.
The 25-year-old Briton has impressed in LMP2 and is understood to have delivered whenever the team has called upon him. Winner of the LMP2 Pro/Am class at the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans, current leader of the IMSA LMP2 standings and winner of the 2026 24 Hours of Daytona in the same category,
Quinn is set to be handed his first opportunity at the highest level of endurance racing. Now it is up to him to take it.
Who is coming in?
If you’ve been keeping count, that still leaves one of the six race seats to be filled, not including the reserve role.
The leading candidate for that final seat is Robert Shwartzman. The 26-year-old Russian, currently without a drive following the collapse of Prema Racing’s IndyCar programme, could therefore return to a championship in which he has already made his mark.
Talks with Alpine for 2026 ultimately came to nothing. For 2027, however, a deal with Peugeot is now looking increasingly likely.
Shwartzman is no WEC newcomer. Before pursuing his single-seater ambitions in IndyCar, he contested the full 2024 season in AF Corse’s #83 Ferrari 499P alongside Robert Kubica and Yifei Ye. The trio went on to win the Lone Star Le Mans at Austin.
What about Doriane Pin?
Peugeot Sport reserve and development driver Doriane Pin was not called upon at Paul Ricard for the first running of the 2027 version of the 9X8.
The 22-year-old Frenchwoman will therefore have to wait a little longer before getting her first taste of Hypercar machinery. But for how long?
Her first outing was initially scheduled for the WEC Rookie Test following the 8 Hours of Bahrain. However, with Bahrain replaced by the 6 Hours of Monza, the test is understood to have been cancelled altogether.
Will the 2025 F1 Academy champion remain with the Satory-based operation next year? That is far from certain, despite an impressive LMP2 campaign as a Silver-rated driver with Duqueine Team.
DID YOU KNOW?
Since the 9X8 made its competition debut in 2022, Peugeot has never retained the same driver line-up from one season to the next. James Rossiter (2022), Gustavo Menezes (2022-2023), Nico Müller (2023 and 2024) and Mikkel Jensen (2022-2025) have all represented the French manufacturer in the WEC but are no longer part of the programme.
This winter, Stoffel Vandoorne and Malthe Jakobsen will also be moving on. Only Loïc Duval, Paul di Resta and Jean-Éric Vergne have been part of the programme since the beginning, although the latter has not competed in the WEC this season.