FERRARI
Ferrari 499P

Either factory entry will fancy snatching that Le Mans hat-trick for Ferrari, but the yellow AF Corse 499P has an equal chance of being in contention too. Don’t forget, Robert Kubica and Yifei Ye led the race last year, although how Kubica took out Laurens Vanthoor’s BMW left a stain on the performance. Phil Hanson has switched from Jota, with whom he drove a Porsche last year, to replace Robert Shwartzman – and at 25, will relish the drive of his young life. An overall victory in the biggest race of them all, in a Ferrari, at what will be his ninth Le Mans start, would be quite a story.

The Ferraris kicked off their 2025 World Endurance Championship campaign with a dominant 1-2-3 in Qatar, with the AF Corse car sandwiched by the winning No50 and No51. Safe to say, the hat-trick bid is on.

No50 Antonio Fuoco (I), Nicklas Nielsen (DK), Miguel Molina (ESP)
No51 Alessandro Pier Guidi (I), James Calado (GB), Antonio Giovinazzi (I)
No83 Robert Kubica (POL), Yifei Ye (CHN), Phil Hanson (GB)

PORSCHE
Porsche 963

As Porsche chases its record-extending 20th Le Mans win, Britain’s Nick Tandy will have other landmarks in the back of his mind. He and Felipe Nasr would sweep the big three for 2025 if they can add Le Mans to their recent Daytona 24 Hours and Sebring 12 Hours victories. Tandy has already joined the sports car Triple Crown club having won Le Mans previously for Porsche in 2015, while the Daytona success gave him a unique quadruple of 24-hour overall wins added to those he’s previously collected at Spa and the Nürburgring. Clearly, he’s having a stellar year – but is it too much to expect it to get even better?

A notable addition to Porsche Penske Motorsport’s works roster is Pascal Wehrlein, who joins Nasr and Tandy. The reigning Formula E world champion is new to Le Mans, and Porsche will be hoping he can echo Nico Hülkenberg’s rookie win in 2015. If it happens, Tandy would be the common denominator.

No4 Felipe Nasr (BR), Nick Tandy (GB), Pascal Wehrlein (D)
No5 Julien Andlauer (F), Michael Christensen (DK), Mathieu Jaminet (F)
No6 Kévin Estre (F), Laurens Vanthoor (B), Matt Campbell (AUS)
No99 Neel Jani (SUI), Nicolas Pino (CHN), Nicolás Varrone (ARG)

TOYOTA
Toyota GR010 Hybrid

A sixth Le Mans victory faces Toyota. Somehow Mike Conway has only a single La Sarthe win to his name from all those years of Toyota dominance, but missed the race last year through injury. Driver-team principal Kamui Kobayashi has that single victory too from 2021, plus five seconds and a third, while Nyck de Vries will be hungry to go one better than last year when the No7 Toyota was narrowly defeated by the No50 Ferrari.

In the sister GR010 Hybrid, Sébastien Buemi is bidding to join Derek Bell, Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro as a five-time Le Mans winner, while Kiwi Brendon Hartley is only one behind his team-mate.

Ryo Hirakawa, who made his first Formula 1 appearance in free practice at the Japanese Grand Prix for Alpine, still has a Le Mans score to settle after his late-race prang in 2023 while chasing the eventual winning Ferrari.

No7 Mike Conway (GB), Kamui Kobayashi (J), Nyck de Vries (NED)
No8 Sébastien Buemi (SUI), Brendon Hartley (NZ), Ryo Hirakawa (J)

CADILLAC
Cadillac V-Series.R

Cadillac has both experience and weight of numbers on its side, although victory at Le Mans would probably still be counted as a shock result. Jota will hope for a less disrupted build-up to the race in its first attempt as a works entry, following the drama of its campaign with a pair of Porsche 963s last year.

How the team worked flat out to repair its No12 963 after Callum Ilott crashed on the Wednesday evening has gone down in Le Mans folklore. A new chassis was required and once supplied by Porsche, Jota completed a preparation job that usually takes three weeks to run the car in a specially sanctioned shakedown on the Le Mans airport runway that runs adjacent to the circuit on the Friday evening. In the circumstances, its 8-9 finish was a victory of sorts. A repeat result this time would only be considered a disappointment.

No12 Will Stevens (GB), Norman Nato (F), Alex Lynn (GB)
No38 Earl Bamber (NZ), Sébastien Bourdais (F), Jenson Button (GB)
No101 Ricky Taylor (USA), Jordan Taylor (USA), Filipe Albuquerque (POR)
No311 Jack Aitken (GB), Felipe Drugovich (BR), Frederik Vesti (DK)

ASTON MARTIN
Aston Martin Valkyrie

As our cover story explains, this is a long-awaited and groundbreaking debut for the Valkyrie at Le Mans. The Aston Martin THOR team has a right to a year’s grace
as it plays catch-up on this Hypercar era. Then again, Ferrari’s 499P won first time out in 2023. High expectations come with the territory at this level.

No007 Harry Tincknell (GB), Tom Gamble (GB), Ross Gunn (GB)
No009 Marco Sørensen (DK), Alex Riberas (ESP), Roman De Angelis (CDN)

BMW
BMW M Hybrid V8

Speed isn’t a problem for the WRT-run BMWs, which should be a factor at Le Mans. Kevin Magnussen makes his second appearance at the 24 Hours following his 2021 debut, when he shared an LMP2 ORECA with his father Jan.

No15 Dries Vanthoor (B), Raffaele Marciello (SUI), Kevin Magnussen (DK)
No20 René Rast (D), Robin Frijns (NED), Sheldon van der Linde (RSA)

ALPINE
Alpine A424

Allez les Bleus! Mick Schumacher gains in his second Le Mans appearance by the arrival of experienced hand Frédéric Makowiecki, fresh from Porsche. Opportunity knocks too for Jules Gounon, son of 1990s F1 racer Jean-Marc, in his first Le Mans start in sports car racing’s premier division. In the other Alpine, Charles Milesi is among the quickest of the era.

No35 Paul-Loup Chatin (F), Charles Milesi (F), Ferdinand Habsburg (A)
No36 Mick Schumacher (D), Frédéric Makowiecki (F), Jules Gounon (F)

PEUGEOT
Peugeot 9X8

It’s all been so underwhelming in the first two complete seasons for Peugeot’s novel-looking 9X8. Will it ever come good? If it doesn’t happen soon, what price on the three-time Le Mans winner becoming the first major car manufacturer to pull out of the Hypercar era? Loic Duval is the only Peugeot driver with an overall Le Mans win on his résumé, dating all the way back to 2013 with Audi.

No93 Paul di Resta (GB), Mikkel Jensen (DK), Jean-Éric Vergne (F)
No94 Loic Duval (F), Malthe Jakobsen (DK), Stoffel Vandoorne (B)

LMGT3: A grand entry

How about a McLaren fairy tale 30 years on from its F1?

You can read about LMP2 elsewhere in this issue. As for LMGT3, the sophomore year for the category offers another bumper entry of 24 cars representing nine manufacturers. There is strength in depth too.

Beyond the return of Mercedes, McLaren would love a fitting class win 30 years after its famous overall victory with the F1. United Autosports once again runs a pair of 720S GT3 Evos, with historic racing graduate James Cottingham back for a second crack.

Ferrari has the numerical advantage with five 296 GT3s listed on the entry, but one of the two Aston Martin Vantages catches our eye. Not content with balancing the stresses of managing the Valkyrie’s Le Mans debut from the garage and pitwall, team chief Ian James will also pitch for a class win from the cockpit, sharing driving duties with Canadian Zacharie Robichon and Italian Mattia Drudi.

As in LMP2, all bets are off when it comes to predicting who will win. But we’ll tip Sussex-based TF Sport to feature at the class’s sharp end with its pair of Corvette Z06 LMGT3.Rs.