Could we see McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri participating in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the future? If it’s up to McLaren CEO Zak Brown, the answer is yes. The American reveals that both drivers are certainly open to participating in the prestigious 24-hour race. ‘I’ve talked to both Lando and Oscar about this,’ Brown discloses.
Max Verstappen took his first steps in endurance racing during his free weekend between the Grands Prix of Italy and Azerbaijan. The Dutchman participated in a race on the Nordschleife Nürburgring for the first time, thereby obtaining his A-license. This allows Verstappen to participate in GT3 races on the famous German track from now on.
However, the four-time world champion is not the only Formula 1 driver with ambitions beyond the premier class. According to McLaren CEO Zak Brown, his drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri also want to participate in an endurance race in the future, specifically the most famous of them all: the 24 Hours of Le Mans. “I’ve talked to both Lando and Oscar about this, and it’s certainly an option for the future,” the American reveals to European Le Mans Series TV.
McLaren’s Line-up
McLaren will be returning to the World Endurance Championship (WEC) with a team from 2027. The racing stable is therefore busy finding the right drivers to embark on this new adventure. “We certainly want someone with experience, but also a young driver,” Brown continues. “We have already contracted a few drivers, of course, we have not announced these yet. There are also a few drivers with whom we are still negotiating.”
Although Brown does not want to reveal too much about McLaren’s line-up for the WEC, the American does reveal that it will essentially involve two drivers. “Of course, this is not the case at Le Mans, where you need to have three,” Brown adds. “The race in Qatar also lasts ten hours, but for all other races, we have a line-up of two drivers.”
