24 Hours of Le Mans 2026: Preview of the hypercars part 1

The time has come: this week sees the 2026 edition of the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. The great classic in western France is already 103 years old. This time, 18 hypercars will be battling it out for overall victory. These are divided into nine vehicles according to LMH rules and nine according to LMDh design. Without going into detail at this point - and in short: an LMH has much more technical freedom than an LMDh and is therefore also much more complex. A BoP (Balance of Performance) brings the racing cars of both variants to the same level.

Ferrari is the favourite going into the race. The Italians returned to the top sports car class in 2023 after a 50-year break from the factory and immediately took overall victory with the 499P driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi. The second works 499P driven by Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2024. The defending champion is the privately entered 499P of Phil Hanson, Robert Kubica and Yifei Ye, who won the classic in 2025. This Ferrari is easy to recognise. Instead of red, the private 499P is painted a striking yellow. The 499P was particularly strong at top speed in the past - and top speed has always been the trump card at Le Mans with all the long straights.

The big challenger is undoubtedly Toyota. The Japanese team won the 24 Hours of Le Mans five times in a row from 2018 to 2022 (2021 and 2022 with the GR010 Hybrid hypercar and before that with the TS050 Hybrid LMP1 model). The Cologne-based works team has been racing in the WEC without interruption since 2012 and therefore has the most experience compared to its class rivals. The GR010 Hybrid has been updated for 2026 and is now called the TR010 Hybrid. The aerodynamics in particular have been revised. Toyota will line up with the driver trio of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries as well as Sébastien Buemi, Ryo Hirakawa and Brendon Hartley.

How will Peugeot and Aston Martin fare?

It will be exciting to see how Peugeot performs. In 2025, the two 9X8s were not really competitive at Le Mans. But in the FIA WEC, the French LMHs have recently put in strong performances. Peugeot has made some changes at the wheel for 2026. Nick Cassidy, Paul di Resta and Stoffel Vandoorne as well as Loïc Duval, Malthe Jakobsen and Théo Pourchaire are now in the cockpit. Peugeot may even be able to aim for the podium this year.

The two Aston Martin Valkyrie cars are no longer just outsiders in the race either. This was demonstrated by the best time in the pre-test last Sunday. The British cars are equipped with a 6.5 litre V12 engine and therefore offer a great sound. At the wheel are Tom Gamble, Ross Gunn and Harry Tincknell as well as Roman de Angelis, Alex Riberas and Marco Sørensen in the sister car. The Aston Martin Valkyrie made its debut at Le Mans in 2025. Similar to Peugeot, the results in the FIA WEC are currently getting better and better. A place in the top five would certainly be a great success for the British manufacturer. Part 2 of the preview will then focus on the nine LMDh.