The Le Mans manufacturer magic that could hand F1 a boost

While the World Endurance Championship is overflowing with high-quality manufacturers, Formula 1 remains a closed shop with 10 permanent teams, only four of which have manufacturer backing. Rather than focus inwards, should F1 actually be looking towards the sportscar category for inspiration on how to grow?

Twenty-three cars graced this year's Hypercar class at the Le Mans 24 Hours, three more than the current 20-strong Formula 1 field. It was quite the statement of success for the current rules cycle at the top level, one that had become increasingly sparse in the final days of the LMP1 formula across a World Endurance Championship season.

Let's not forget that the Hypercar ruleset had been devised to renew interest among the manufacturer entities for endurance racing. The decision to unify those regulations with those in the new GTP category - a replacement for the DPi class - at the top of the IMSA SportsCar Championship has bolstered the field further; Lamborghini, Cadillac, BMW, Porsche, and Alpine all based their cars on the greater standardisation present in the LMDh platform. Add that to the 'pure-blood' LMH cars of Toyota, Peugeot, and Ferrari, and you have a hugely compelling line-up brimming with star power.

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Author Jake Boxall-Legge

Jake studied engineering at university, as his original ambition was to design racing cars. He was bad at that, and thus decided to write about them instead with an equally limited skillset. The above article is a demonstration of that. In his spare time, Jake enjoys people, places, and things.