Ever since the idea of the hypercar regulation surfaced on the international endurance scene and when it was implemented in two different versions ( LMH and LMDh ), rumors of a possible McLaren involvement have grown.
However, those from Woking are still waiting to officially announce that they will really enter the category. Why? “We haven’t made a decision on WEC yet,” said McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown , shortly after they confirmed their presence in Formula E after taking over from Mercedes from 2023. Endurance World Cup, the American once again stressed that his team is a “fanatic of the category.”
Why is there no news (yet) about McLaren’s possible WEC entry? With current projects in Formula 1, IndyCar, Extreme E and, from 2023, Formula E, the staff currently have their hands full.
For this reason, the head of the McLaren company knows that his people will not be left without work: “I think that first we have to fully focus on getting Formula E to integrate with us and get it up and running.”
“And as the World Endurance Championship is unfolding, we certainly have time to make a decision,” said Brown , who, however, gives at least a rough timeframe.
“When we get to the 2024 or 2025 season, we will already know about some changes in our engine department. When we get into the WEC, that will be linked to our power unit business one way or another, but I think we will make a decision on that. before the end of the year,” the McLaren boss said.
Lando Norris, who has a contract with the Formula 1 team until 2025, has already hinted that he would like to participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans one day. The Englishman has already contested another legendary 24-hour race, Daytona, in 2018, when he competed in the American classic as a teammate of Fernando Alonso, among others, for United Autosports, Zak Brown’s privateer team.
