Stoffel Vandoorne to return to Peugeot in WEC 2026, replace Jean-Eric Vergne

Stoffel Vandoorne will rejoin Peugeot’s World Endurance Championship squad in 2026 after a brief departure, replacing Jean-Eric Vergne in the team’s line-up.

Vandoorne had stepped down from his role with Peugeot after the penultimate round of the season at Fuji in September, ahead of his planned switch to Genesis’ new LMDh programme in 2026.

However, his deal with Hyundai’s luxury marque is understood to have fallen through at the last-minute, prompting him to return to the Stellantis brand with which he had been racing since 2023.

He will take the place of another Peugeot long-timer Vergne, who will step back into the role of development driver as the French squad explores plans to build an all-new prototype to replace the 9X8 LMH.

This arrangement will last only a year, with Vergne - who has three podiums with the marque so far - returning to racing in 2027. The 35-year-old will combine his new role with another campaign in Formula E, where he will represent the newly-rebranded Citroen (previously DS Penske) team.

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The news of Vandoorne replacing Vergne was confirmed in a social media post on Tuesday ahead of the WEC 2025 title decider in Bahrain this weekend. The eight-hour race will also entail Theo Pourchaire making his Hypercar debut aboard Peugeot's #94 entry alongside Malthe Jakobsen and Loic Duval.

While the exact make-up of the driver combinations is yet to be revealed, Peugeot has now essentially confirmed the six drivers that will be racing for the team next year. Duval, Jakobsen, di Resta and now Vandoorne have been retained from 2025, with Pourchaire and Formula E star Nick Cassidy joining the squad as newcomers.

Mikkel Jensen, who finished second with Vergne and di Resta at Fuji, will depart the outfit after Bahrain and could join McLaren’s upcoming LMDh programme in 2027.

Peugeot is seventh in the manufacturers' standings ahead of the final round of the season, ahead of newcomer Aston Martin and just three points behind BMW.

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