Buemi Set to Skip Sao Paulo Amid Formula E Clash

Sebastien Buemi is set to miss next month’s 6 Hours of Sao Paulo round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, as the Toyota driver prioritizes his Formula E campaign.

Sportscar365 understands that Buemi is poised to join Peugeot duo Stoffel Vandoorne and Jean-Eric Vergne, as well as BMW’s Robin Frijns, in skipping the WEC’s visit to Brazil on July 11-13 in favor of the clashing Berlin Formula E round.

Nyck de Vries and Norman Nato, the other two drivers impacted by the clash, will be present in Brazil with Toyota and Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA respectively.

Buemi told Sportscar365 last month that a final decision on whether he would race in Sao Paulo or Berlin would be made after the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

It is believed that Buemi’s contract offers some flexibility on missing WEC races that take place post-Le Mans, where the No. 8 Toyota finished 15th after losing a wheel in a severe blow to any hopes of contending for this year’s drivers’ title.

Sao Paulo will therefore mark the first WEC round Buemi has been absent for since the final race in 2012 at Shanghai, before he became a full-time Toyota driver.

Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa are likely to tackle the Brazilian race as a duo in the No. 8 car, in what would mark the first time the Japanese marque will have used a two-driver lineup in one of its cars since the COTA round in 2016.

Sportscar365 has contacted a Toyota spokesperson for comment.

Peugeot looks certain to employ two-driver lineups in Sao Paulo in the absence of both Vandoorne and Vergne, although reserve driver Theo Pourchaire is likely to be on-site to provide cover in the event any of its four remaining regulars cannot race.

Meanwhile, it remains unclear whether BMW plans to replace Frijns in its No. 20 car or run as a two-driver lineup, as it did with both of its cars at Spa in May, when both Dries Vanthoor and Sheldon van der Linde missed the race.

In the LMGT3 ranks, Yuichi Nakayama looks set for a second outing with Akkodis ASP as a stand-in for Ben Barnicoat, who is otherwise engaged in the clashing IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship round at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Toyota-contracted Nakayama has already stood in for Barnicoat this season at Spa.

Iron Lynx has yet to name a replacement for Martin Berry, who is skipping Sao Paulo due to a prior commitment in the Fuji round of the GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS, aboard the No. 61 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo.

An entry list for the 6H Sao Paulo is expected to be revealed this week.