WEC silly season building up with a lot of pieces in flux

The driver marketplace in the FIA WEC's Hypercar class is already well alight as the end of the current season and the start of the next one come into focus.

The first change is expected to be seen before the end of the current season, with a potential scenario of Stoffel Vandoorne departing Peugeot, making way for current reserve driver Théo Pourchaire for the Bahrain season finale.

"We will not release anything more for now. Théo is driving for us. At some point, he will drive. The question is when and how we do it so he arrives with the best preparation and at the right time for us," Peugeot Sport's technical director, Olivier Jansonnie, told reporters ahead of this weekend's Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of The Americas.

"It's difficult because in the end we are trying to build on the future," he continued when asked about the driver line-ups for the remaining races this year. "Once we know what's going to happen, it's important to optimize the 2026 season, and we need to be ready. We will do whatever we can."

That, as we already know, will not be the only change for the Peugeot squad, with Nick Cassidy already confirmed as a full-season driver for 2026. He'll get his first experience behind the wheel of the 9X8 next week here at COTA, alongside Pourchaire and other members of the current roster.

And these two moves are unlikely to be the only changes for the French factory team. There is an expectation that at least 50 percent of the current driver squad from Peugeot could be changed by the end of next season.

There is one blockbuster move for Peugeot, in particular, that has been rumored heavily in the FIA WEC and has extended to the F1 paddock in recent months, which would send shock waves across the paddock should it come off. However, RACER has spoken to the driver at the center of the rumor and received a robust denial. We shall wait and see...

Peugeot may not have led the way on track much, but is playing a key role in the who-goes-where game. Julien Delfosse/DPPI

Beyond that, it looks likely that the majority of the current field will be affected by many driver changes over the next couple of seasons, not least because of the ramping up for entry into competition next year for Genesis Magma Racing and then track testing for both McLaren and Ford ahead of 2027.

McLaren is known to be currently very active in the driver marketplace, with a number of drivers, both current hypercar drivers and from elsewhere in motorsport, who are understood to be close to inking deals with the UK brand. Mick Schumacher, for instance, is tipped to be high on its priority list (though see below), as Antonio Felix da Costa is set to take his place at Alpine.

Ford, meanwhile, has been relatively quiet. The car's not yet been seen. The service provider choice is yet to be divulged, too.

While at least some of the factory Hypercar drivers might be drawn from within its current stable, it's likely the Blue Oval will have to look further afield to complete what is expected to be a six-driver factory squad.

Genesis, on the other hand, looks, close to confirming what RACER believes will be a factory squad featuring two full-time two-driver teams, plus a pair of floating drivers for some of the longer races.

Genesis will likely staff up further in the not-too-distant future for its IMSA GTP effort in 2027, too. Who appears close to signing up? Mathys Jaubert, who has starred for GMR in the European Le Mans Series this season, is understood to be in consideration, as is his teammate in the series, Daniel Juncadella. Vandoorne also looks to be heading in this direction, perhaps sooner rather than later, as the GMR-001 test program ramps up.

Cadillac has come very close indeed to confirming Mick Schumacher as a replacement for the departing Jenson Button. The German ex-Formula 1 driver has been reported by multiple outlets as pulling away from a deal with the American manufacturer. RACER believes those reports are significantly wide of the mark, a fact that became clear in the immediate aftermath of the publication of this story.

That is not the only movement expected from the Cadillac squad across its IMSA and WEC efforts. Similarly, BMW may find itself making some moves as it transitions to a single-service provider program, with WRT operating both the Hypercar and GTP efforts for the M Hybrid V8 from 2026.

As for Ferrari, there is potential for changes across the three 499Ps in competition. Alessio Rovera, for instance, is often referred to as one to watch, as the Italian continues to turn heads and appears ready to step in.

Toyota, too, could see tweaks made to its group of GR010 drivers. It's no secret that Esteban Masson is thought of highly as a future talent for its flagship sports car efforts for starters. He now forms part of a wider drive to develop a pool of talent that will compete with the brand at each rung of its motorsport ladder, including the WEC.

"He's been performing well, especially in LMP2, leading the ELMS championship," Toyota's WEC vice chairman Kazuki Nakajima told RACER when asked about Masson's future. "He's young, but really mature, so we have high hopes for him. We want to create a path from GT3 to Hypercar, so I really hope he can be a modern case for that.

"We are really keen to develop more international young drivers. We need to expand to have a range of drivers that can perform anywhere in the world. Of course, we are committed to Japanese drivers, but we are open. We have challenges, but we are trying to explore more and more possibilities."

The sands are shifting, and fast. With many driver contracts coming up at the end of the season, new manufacturers coming, and a suite of current factory teams all desperate to find a competitive edge, the next few months are shaping up to be particularly intense behind the scenes.