Di Resta: Peugeot Upgrades Giving Drivers “Confidence”

Paul di Resta says the upgrades that will be applied to the Peugeot 9X8 in the FIA World Endurance Championship this year, including a rear wing, are aimed at giving the drivers more “confidence” behind the wheel.

The French manufacturer struggled for competitiveness in the WEC last year, ending up fifth in the manufacturers’ standings with a sole podium finish at Monza to its credit.

However, Peugeot has been working on a major update of the 9X8 for 2024 as it moves away from its radical wingless concept of the past two seasons, with the revised machine having already been spotted in testing at Paul Ricard.

Peugeot has yet to formally unveil the upgraded car, which could debut prior to Le Mans and not at the season-opening Qatar 1812km in March.

Speaking about the changes that Peugeot has made for the upcoming campaign, di Resta says the initial feedback is that the car is more confidence-instilling for the driver.

“How our [previous] car worked was very different to the others,” di Resta said when asked about the development of the new car by Sportscar365. 

“The rules were decided way back, that’s the direction they went with the car we used last year.

“Throughout out, they saw the weaknesses against the competition through the development. You can’t underestimate the competition, it’s always moving forward. 

“The new benchmark that Toyota came out with last year in Sebring [with a revised GR010 Hybrid] showed the difference you can make between cars. 

“The most important thing for us, is that when you are ready to make that step, you try and do as much as possible. But until you see lap times against the competition, I guess you won’t know if you’ve done a good job. 

“Aesthetically it will be a bit different, people will see one thing (the rear wing) and have an opinion on that, but for us it’s about making sure the car feels good.

“If you give the driver confidence, it’s a big thing for endurance racing.”

Asked to give more detail about how the upgraded 9X8 felt in testing: “Yes, it does feel very different. For the driver, it gives you more feedback in the direction we want.

“It was a new team that designed this car, and now they have gathered the data they need to go forward. They are putting it all to use, and that’s the main improvement.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how it fares against the others and racing at the sharp end, hopefully.”

Driver Shuffle “A Bit Hard When You Are Moved Around”

Di Resta also gave his reaction to Peugeot’s revised driver lineups for 2024, which will see the Scottish driver move across to the No. 94 crew to join Loic Duval and Stoffel Vandoorne.

Last year, he was part of the No. 93 team along with Mikkel Jensen and Jean-Eric Vergne, who will welcome Nico Mueller as their new co-driver for 2024.

“The main thing is we’ve all got such good relationships, we’ve seen that in the endurance tests and any time we’ve had to work together,” said di Resta. 

“It’s a bit hard when you are moved around as drivers because I thought the combination of myself, Mikkel and ‘JEV’ (Vergne) was working well. But I’m open to improving. 

“I’m looking forward to working with (Duval and Vandoorne), they have been in the program long enough so it’s not like we are starting from scratch.”