Breaking:Following McLaren’s WEC Announcement, F1 Drivers Highlight Major Obstacle to…read more
Following McLaren’s WEC Announcement, F1 Drivers Highlight Major Obstacle to…read more
Following McLaren’s recent announcement that it will join the World Endurance Championship (WEC) hypercar class in 2027, Formula 1 drivers Oscar Piastri and Esteban Ocon have addressed a key challenge preventing active F1 stars from participating in the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The legendary endurance race holds a special place in motorsport history, and many current F1 drivers have expressed a desire to one day take part. However, both Piastri and Ocon have made it clear that tackling Le Mans while actively racing in F1 is unrealistic given the demands of both competitions.
When asked about the possibility of racing at Le Mans, Piastri admitted that although he is interested, he won’t consider it until after his F1 career winds down. “One day, for sure,” said the young Australian. “But not for a while. I’m really happy where I am right now in F1.”
Piastri elaborated that participating in Le Mans while still competing in F1 would not allow him to properly dedicate himself to either challenge. According to the McLaren driver, both F1 and Le Mans require complete focus, and trying to split attention would be a disservice to both.
“I don’t think you can do justice to either championship if you try to juggle both,” Piastri explained. “It’s probably not hugely detrimental to your F1 title hopes in terms of timing, but when you’re fighting for big stakes, like we are now, every bit of preparation matters.”
He continued, stressing the importance of respecting Le Mans’ unique demands. “You also need to give Le Mans the preparation it deserves. It’s not an event you want to enter half-prepared or distracted. That’s why for me, I’ll wait until I’ve achieved what I want in F1 before thinking about Le Mans.”
Piastri even joked that he would wait for McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown to offer him a seat once he’s ready to explore endurance racing opportunities.
Esteban Ocon, currently with Haas, echoed Piastri’s sentiments. Like many drivers, Ocon dreams of one day competing at Le Mans, but he also emphasized that now is not the right time.
“Not yet, no,” Ocon said when questioned about whether he would consider racing at Le Mans soon. “Definitely one day, though. Racing at Le Mans is a dream for almost every racing driver.”
Ocon pointed to the packed F1 schedule as a major reason why combining the two worlds would be so difficult. With the current F1 calendar featuring over 20 Grands Prix across the globe, finding time to adequately prepare for an event as demanding as Le Mans is next to impossible.
“Like Oscar said, my full focus right now is on Formula 1,” Ocon added. “The calendar is very busy, and trying to mix endurance racing with F1 would be extremely complicated. You can’t go halfway—you need 100 percent focus on both. That’s the only way to compete at the highest level.”
The comments from Piastri and Ocon highlight a broader issue facing current F1 drivers: the growing demands of the sport make it harder than ever to pursue other racing ambitions simultaneously. In the past, it was more common for drivers to compete in different series during the F1 offseason, but the modern championship leaves little room for such crossover.
With McLaren set to join the hypercar class in just a few years, it’s likely that several of their drivers will consider endurance racing post-F1. Until then, however, stars like Piastri and Ocon are making it clear that F1 remains their sole focus.
