Magnussen among ex-F1 trio to get Peugeot WEC seats for 2022

Ex-Haas Formula 1 driver Kevin Magnussen has been named as a driver for Peugeot’s new World Endurance Championship entry in 2022, alongside fellow former F1 drivers Paul di Resta and Jean-Eric Vergne.

The full roster of drivers also includes Le Mans winner Loic Duval, Gustavo Menezes and Mikkel Jensen, while ex-F1 test driver James Rossiter will serve as development and reserve driver for the French manufacturer’s return to the top flight of sportscar racing.

Magnussen recently made a successful sportscar debut in the Daytona 24 Hours last month, finishing fifth with Ganassi Racing Cadillac teammates Renger van der Zande and Scott Dixon after a late puncture ruined their chances of victory.

The six drivers will be split across two Peugeot LMH hybrid prototype entries, though the exact line-ups for the 2022 WEC season are yet to be announced.

“Le Mans is the biggest endurance race in the world, it’s the race everyone wants to win, it has a lot of history and Peugeot is a big part of that history, and I hope to be able to add to that history,” Magnussen said in a Peugeot video.

“I’ve learned a lot, I’ve gained a lot of experience in the seven years I’ve had in F1, working with complex and advanced racecars but also being in a high-pressure environment.

“When we go to Le Mans and the World [Endurance] Championship, we’re going to face a lot of pressure and I think working in that environment is something that I’m very accustomed to. So I’m looking forward to this new chapter.

“I have high ambitions and I think, looking at the past, Peugeot have always been very successful in every motorsport programme that they’ve joined, and that matches my ambitions at Le Mans and the world championship.”

Vergne has competed at Le Mans and WEC events since 2017 in the LMP2 category, which he has combined alongside full-time campaigns in Formula E with the DS Techeetah squad, with whom he has claimed two FE titles.

2013 Le Mans winner and WEC champion Duval will return to the championship on a full-time basis having largely focused his racing commitments on the DTM and FE in recent years.

American Menezes has established himself as a WEC regular, finishing second in the 2020 Le Mans 24 Hours with Rebellion Racing, while Jensen was crowned the European Le Mans Series LMP3 champion in 2019.