All the ex-F1 drivers competing at the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans

As the Formula 1 paddock prepares to move on to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix, several familiar faces from F1 past will be gearing up to compete in the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans, taking place on Saturday, June 14 through to Sunday, June 15.

The famous endurance event has witnessed some memorable success stories for drivers currently on the grid, with Nico Hulkenberg having triumphed for Porsche in 2015 while Fernando Alonso took back-to-back wins as part of the Toyota team in 2018 and 2019.

But can any of the 19 ex-F1 stars competing in this year’s race follow in their footsteps? We’ve rounded up the candidates below…

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Felipe Nasr / Pascal Wehrlein – #4 Porsche Penske Motorsport

First up in the Hypercar class is a team that features two former Formula 1 racers in Felipe Nasr and Pascal Wehrlein, who will partner with Nick Tandy at the wheel of the Porsche 963.

Nasr spent two seasons on the grid with Sauber back in 2015 and 2016, the Brazilian scoring points on his debut in Australia with a P5 finish. This would prove to be his best result in F1, though Nasr ended his stint in the sport on a somewhat positive note by clinching Sauber’s only points of a challenging 2016 campaign at his home event in Brazil.

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That 2016 season also saw Wehrlein make his first Formula 1 appearance for the Manor team, clinching the squad’s sole point by taking P10 in Austria. The German switched to Sauber in 2017 and scored a further five points before being replaced by Charles Leclerc for 2018.

He went on to win the Formula E championship in the 2023/24 season and is now gearing up for his Le Mans debut.

Kamui Kobayashi / Nyck de Vries – #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing

Two drivers on the #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing squad will be familiar to F1 fans. After making his debut for Toyota at the end of 2009, Kamui Kobayashi went on to race for Sauber across three seasons, during which he scored a memorable home podium at the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix.

Following a comeback with Caterham in 2014, Kobayashi turned his attentions to endurance racing and has a decent record at Le Mans, having won in 2021 as well as finishing second on four occasions.

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Joining him in the Toyota GR010 Hybrid will be Nyck de Vries. The Dutchman impressed on his maiden F1 appearance as a substitute for an unwell Alex Albon at Williams during the 2022 Italian Grand Prix, but a subsequent stint for the then-named AlphaTauri squad in 2023 saw him lose his seat to Daniel Ricciardo midway through the campaign.

Since then he has returned to Formula E – in which he won the championship in 2020/21 – alongside competing in the World Endurance Championship. De Vries and Kobayashi will join forces with Briton Mike Conway for this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Sebastien Buemi / Brendon Hartley – #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing

Like Kobayashi, two of the names on board the #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing are ex-F1 drivers turned Le Mans winners. Sebastien Buemi raced for Toro Rosso between 2009 and 2011, during which he memorably suffered a bizarre moment where both of the front wheels flew off his car at the 2010 Chinese Grand Prix.

In the years since, Buemi has found success in other categories. The Swiss driver won the Formula E championship in 2015/16 and has taken victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans a record four times to date.

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Buemi is tied on this statistic with team mate Brendon Hartley. At the end of 2017, the New Zealander was given his F1 debut with Toro Rosso and completed a full season with the outfit in 2018. His last Le Mans triumph came in 2022 – but can he return to the top spot this year?

Joining Buemi and Hartley in the Toyota GR010 Hybrid is current Haas F1 reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa.

Will Stevens – #12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota

Will Stevens’ time on the F1 grid was brief, the Briton making his debut for Caterham at the 2014 season finale in Abu Dhabi before racing for Manor Marussia in the year that followed. His best result was a P13 on home soil at the 2015 British Grand Prix.

Since then, Stevens has tasted success in endurance racing, winning the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMGTE AM class before taking another victory in the LMP2 category in 2022. The Briton will be hoping to repeat that run of form in the Hypercar class this year as he pairs up with Norman Nato and Alex Lynn.

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Kevin Magnussen – #15 BMW M Team WRT

One of Formula 1’s more recent racers will be at the wheel of the #15 BMW M Team WRT, with Kevin Magnussen set to make his second appearance at Le Mans – this time alongside Dries Vanthoor and Raffaele Marciello – after previously driving in the LMP2 class in 2021.

The Dane is now competing in other categories, having been left without a seat on the F1 grid at the end of last season following his second stint with Haas. Magnussen’s extensive Formula 1 career saw him start in 185 Grands Prix between 2014 and 2024, his best result being P2 on his debut for McLaren at the 2014 Australian Grand Prix.

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Mick Schumacher – #36 Alpine Endurance Team

When Magnussen made a surprise Formula 1 comeback in 2022 after a year away from the grid, he was partnered with Mick Schumacher at Haas as the German embarked on his second year in the sport.

Two mid-season points finishes were not enough to keep Schumacher on the grid in 2023, meaning that he has since switched focus to the World Endurance Championship with Alpine. Schumacher and his team mates Frederic Makowiecki and Jules Gounon have so far claimed two podiums in 2025 – but can they repeat this at Le Mans?

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Sebastien Bourdais / Jenson Button – #38 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota

At the wheel of the #38 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota car will be two more former F1 drivers. Hailing from Le Mans, it seems fitting that Sebastien Bourdais has competed in the 24 Hours on numerous occasions since his first in 1999, going on to win in the LMGTE Pro class in 2016.

Amongst racing in the endurance event and other categories, Bourdais made his Formula 1 debut for Toro Rosso in 2008 and was initially kept on for 2009, only to be replaced by Jaime Alguersuari midway through the campaign.

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One of Bourdais’ team mates at Le Mans this year enjoyed greater success in F1 – that being 2009 World Champion Jenson Button, whose career spanned 17 seasons, 15 wins, eight pole positions and 50 podiums.

This will mark the Briton’s fourth entry in the 24 Hours, with his best result to date being P9 in last year’s event. Only five Formula 1 World Champions have won at Le Mans – but could Button become the sixth to do so as he pairs up with Bourdais and Earl Bamber?

Antonio Giovinazzi– #51 Ferrari AF Corse

A man who knows what it feels like to triumph at the 24 Hours of Le Mans is Antonio Giovinazzi. The Italian previously made two appearances for Sauber in 2017 before three seasons with Alfa Romeo between 2019 and 2020, his strongest result being fifth place in the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix.

As well as continuing to act as a reserve driver for Ferrari in the years since, Giovinazzi joined the World Endurance Championship in 2023 and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans on the Scuderia’s return to the top class. His Ferrari AF Corse team – also featuring Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado – currently lead the standings of the 2025 championship, and it will be fascinating to see if that run extends at Le Mans.

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Robert Kubica – #83 AF Corse

Robert Kubica’s Formula 1 career was something of a rollercoaster, the Pole enjoying success – including a race win – between 2006 and 2010. Injuries in a rallying accident cut short his time in the sport, before Kubica made a remarkable comeback to race again for Williams in 2019.

Unfortunately his return did not pan out as he might have hoped, but the Polish racer has notched up a solid record in endurance racing since then, having twice won the European Le Mans Series in the LMP2 class. This year he is competing for AF Corse in the World Endurance Championship alongside Yifei Ye and Philip Hanson.

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Paul di Resta / Jean-Eric Vergne – #93 Peugeot Totalenergies

Paul di Resta drove for Force India between 2011 and 2013, with the Scot’s best result being a P4 achieved in Singapore (2012) and Bahrain (2013). Other than a one-off appearance for Williams in 2017, di Resta went on to switch focus to punditry as well as racing in other categories.

This has seen di Resta enter the 24 Hours of Le Mans on four occasions, which included a victory in the LMP2 class in 2020. For the 2025 event, he will race the #93 Peugeot Totalenergies with Mikkel Jensen and another ex-F1 driver, Jean-Eric Vergne.

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Vergne progressed through the ranks with the Red Bull Junior Team before making his F1 debut with Toro Rosso in 2012. After leaving the squad at the end of 2014, the Frenchman explored other motorsport categories and has since become a two-time Formula E champion.

As well as this, Vergne has competed in endurance racing and will make his fifth appearance in the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year.

Stoffel Vandoorne – #94 Peugeot Totalenergies

Racing in the other Peugeot Totalenergies car will be Stoffel Vandoorne. The Belgian driver made his full-time Formula 1 debut with McLaren in 2017 and remained with the squad in 2018 – but after struggling with an uncompetitive car, he found himself without a seat in 2019.

Like others in this list, Vandoorne has gone on to enjoy success in Formula E – picking up the championship in 2021/22 – as well as racing in the World Endurance Championship. This year he will partner up with Loic Duval and Malthe Jakobsen.

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Jack Aitken – #311 Cadillac Whelen

Jack Aitken had perhaps one of the briefest Formula 1 careers of the drivers listed here. The British driver stepped in at Williams to replace George Russell – who was substituting for a Covid-positive Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes – during the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, ending the race in P16.

Now Aitken is preparing for his third 24 Hours of Le Mans appearance, where he will be joined by current F1 reserve drivers Felipe Drugovich and Frederik Vesti in the #311 Cadillac Whelen vehicle.

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Andre Lotterer – #18 IDEC Sport

One of the team at the wheel of the #18 IDEC Sport in the LMP2 class is Andre Lotterer. After acting as a test driver for Jaguar in F1 back in the early 2000s, Lotterer did not make his race weekend debut until the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix – but his outing ended after just one lap owing to a mechanical issue on his Caterham.

While this will be his 13th 24 Hours of Le Mans – a race he has previously won on three occasions – the 2025 event marks the first in which Lotterer will not be competing in the top class. The German is set to team up with Jamie Chadwick and Mathys Jaubert.

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Pietro Fittipaldi – #22 United Autosports

Also in the LMP2 category is Pietro Fittipaldi, the Brazilian who stepped in to replace Haas’ Romain Grosjean during the final two races of the 2020 campaign following the Frenchman’s fiery crash in Bahrain.

Whilst he still acts as a test and reserve driver for the American outfit, Fittipaldi has since raced in the likes of Stock Car and IndyCar. He has twice competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and this year will drive an ORECA 07-Gibson alongside Renger van der Zande and David Heinemeier-Hansson.

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Honourable mentions

Elsewhere, there are no former F1 drivers competing in the LMGT3 class – but there is the offspring of one, with Eduardo Barichello, son of Rubens, set to make his Le Mans debut.

And an honourable mention in this category goes to Valentino Rossi, the Moto GP legend who will make his second appearance in the endurance race. While he is known for his success on two wheels, Rossi previously took part in a ride swap with Lewis Hamilton in 2019 and also tested for Ferrari in 2006.