An impressive lineup of eighteen drivers, each with at least one F1 race under their belt, will kick off the 24 Hours of Le Mans this Saturday. Among them is Dutch racer, Nyck de Vries.
De Vries is the driver with the most recent history in the premier class of motorsport. In 2023, he participated in ten Formula 1 Grand Prix races. His stint with the then AlphaTauri was short-lived. However, this year’s Le Mans also features former Formula 1 drivers with more successful careers, such as former world champion Jenson Button.
Besides De Vries and Button, sixteen other participants have previously competed in a Formula 1 race. Among them is Kamui Kobayashi, De Vries’ teammate at Toyota in car number 7. The other Japanese car (#8) also boasts seasoned drivers: both Brendon Hartley and Sebastien Buemi have a history in F1.
This weekend also marks a new adventure for a familiar name, Mick Schumacher, who is representing Alpine in his first Le Mans race. He is competing in the Hypercar class, as are all eighteen former F1 drivers. Interestingly, unlike previous years, there are no drivers with a history in F1 in other classes of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Former F1 Drivers Lineup:
- Sebastian Bourdais (Cadillac)
- Felipe Nasr (Porsche)
- André Lotterer (Porsche)
- Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries (Toyota)
- Sebastian Buemi and Brendon Hartley (Toyota)
- Will Stevens (Porsche)
- Romain Grosjean (Lamborghini)
- Mick Schumacher (Alpine)
- Jenson Button (Porsche)
- Antonio Giovinazzi (Ferrari)
- Daniil Kvyat (Lamborghini)
- Robert Kubica (Ferrari)
- Jean-Eric Vergne (Peugeot)
- Stoffel Vandoorne and Paul di Resta (Peugeot)
- Jack Aitken (Cadillac)
