Pourchaire Confirms Peugeot Exit After Monza

Theo Pourchaire has confirmed that he will not continue with Peugeot in the FIA World Endurance Championship next year amid his Opel Formula E commitments.

Sportscar365 reported in August that the Frenchman was unlikely to remain in the WEC after being announced as racing for Peugeot’s sister brand Opel in its first season in FE.

While Pourchaire has acknowledged that his focus will be on FE next year, he added that he has the desire to compete in endurance racing again in the future, particularly at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“I would like to continue in the World Endurance Championship one day, we’ll see if it happens,” he said.

“I would be super happy to continue with Peugeot as well one day because racing with the French manufacturer in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, for me that’s something that I cannot really miss (out on).

“It would be cool to race again in Le Mans at least because that’s the highlight of the year, but I could combine both (FE and WEC) I think.”

Pourchaire has enjoyed a nomadic career since winning the FIA Formula 2 title in 2023.

After being unable to find a seat in F1, he initially pursued racing in IndyCar before losing his Arrow McLaren drive in 2024 amid controversy over a clash with Agustin Canapino that resulted in Pourchaire receiving abusive messages online

He then made the switch to endurance racing, initially in the LMP2 division of the European Le Mans Series for Algarve Pro Racing before then being signed to race the Peugeot 9X8 this season.

However, it has proven to be a tricky campaign for the French manufacturer with Pourchaire, Loic Duval and Malthe Jakobsen taking a best result of sixth so far this year at the wheel of the No. 94 Peugeot.

“I think I learned a lot because it was my first proper year in a professional racing driver role with a manufacturer as an official driver so I learned a lot working with the engineers, working with my teammates and I think it was positive even if the results were difficult,” he explained.

“I think it was positive for myself because I proved that I was able to be really quick within the team, pushed the limits and showed I belong to those places with manufacturers in those categories.”

Pourchaire says he likes the challenge of constantly changing machinery, adding: “It’s also a quality that I have to be able to adapt myself very well to each car every time.

“It’s something that can be difficult for some racing drivers but, because I change often and I do a lot of simulator work in Formula 1, I am able to adapt quickly.”

Pourchaire’s departure means half of this year’s Peugeot lineup will not be continuing with the French manufacturer in the WEC next season.

Stoffel Vandoorne exited the team after the Fuji round amid his anticipated switch to the Jaguar squad in FE, while this weekend’s Monza race was recently confirmed as Jakobsen’s final outing in Peugeot colors ahead of an anticipated McLaren move for 2027.

Alex Quinn and Robert Shwartzman have already been announced as driving for Peugeot next season and, when Jean-Eric Vergne stepped back from a race seat this year to focus on preparing Opel’s FE entry, it was stated that he would return for 2027.