The 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans is happening this weekend, and several former Formula One drivers will be making the trip to France to take part in the sports car race. Racing at Le Mans is different from Formula One. The key difference is in the name: Drivers are racing for 24 hours in Hypercars.
Drivers will try to see who will be able to cover the most distance in those 24 hours. Teams are required to rotate between three drivers, which typically happens during refueling or tire-changing pit stops. Some of the fan-favorite former F1 drivers who plan to take part in the race are Kevin Magnussen, Antonio Giovinazzi, Jenson Button, and Sébastien Bourdais.
Magnussen ended his time with Formula One last year after retiring from the Haas team. His father is a well-known racer, Jan Magnussen. His father was also a Formula One driver and had raced the 24 Hours of Le Mans 20 times. Magnussen has recorded 185 Grand Prix starts with F1 and one podium. That win was with McLaren in the 2014 Australian Grand Prix.
Besides F1, Magnussen has also raced sports cars professionally since 2015. He’s taken part in several FIA World Endurance Championships, including the Gulf 12 Hours and the 24 Hours of Daytona. F1 fans know that Magnussen isn’t afraid to race hard, pointing to his aggressive style while with Haas just last season. He’ll drive a BMW M Hybrid V8 with the LMDh program.
Giovinazzi is one of the more recent winners at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The former driver for Kick Sauber started 62 times in F1. The Italian driver saw more success in the FIA World Endurance Championship after winning at Le Mans with Ferrari in 2023.
This was also the first time Ferrari claimed victory at the race since 1965. He did find himself in some late-race drama ahead of that win, after a Toyota Hypercar pushing to pass the car locked up and crashed two hours before the end of the race. His current Ferrari AF Corse team is leading in the 2025 championship standings. This weekend, he’ll drive the Ferrari 499P.
Button is well-known for his time with Formula One, having won the 2009 World Championship while driving with former constructor Brawn GP. He also recorded over 300 starts and 15 Grand Prix wins over 18 seasons. He’s also commentated for several races. After his F1 career, Button became the champion of the 2018 season of the Super GT Series. This will be his fourth time racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, racing with the Cadillac Hertz Team Jota for the second time. Only five Formula One World Champions have ever won at Le Mans.
Button isn’t just known in Formula One and the World Endurance Championship. NASCAR fans might recognize him from his short stint with Rick Ware Racing in 2023. He ran in just three NASCAR Cup Series races in the No. 15. His best finish was at Circuit of the Americas, where he ended the day in 18th.
Bourdais is considered one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, more commonly known as IndyCar racing. He’s won four successive championships in the Champ Car World Series and competed in the IndyCar Series from 2011 to 2021. He raced for Toro Rosso, the Red Bulls B-team, in 2008, where he recorded 27 starts.
Bourdais didn’t see the same success in F1, never winning a pole position or a podium. Bourdais could be considered a hometown favorite because he’s from Le Mans and has raced in the 24-hour event since 1999. He went on to win in the LMGTE Pro class in 2016.
This could be the year Bourdais wins it all at Le Mans. He plans to race with Button in the Cadillac Hertz Team Jota. The pairing of an IndyCar champion and an F1 champion could be what the pair needs to win. They’ll be driving a Cadillac V-Series.R.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is considered to be the biggest day of racing. Sixty-two cars are set to race starting on June 14 with 13 big-name manufacturers. One hundred eighty-six drivers will take part in the race, and with those numbers, anything can happen.
Giovinazzi’s Ferrari AF Corse team is considered the favorite to win, because of the car’s past success last year and in 2024. It’s also easy to argue that Cadillac Hertz has a better chance because of the two different driving champions behind the wheel. The only guarantee is that all 24 hours will be filled with excitement.
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