Nico Muller will leave Peugeot at the tip of the 2024 World Endurance Championship, to get replaced by rising star Jakobsen.
Muller has been racing for Peugeot within the Hypercar class since his premature departure from Audi at the tip of the 2022 DTM season, when the German carmaker decided to cancel its development LMDh programme.
However, after two years, the Swiss driver will end his cooperation with Peugeot and your entire Stellantis group, and his future stays uncertain for now.
His place within the team might be taken by 20-year-old Jakobsen, even though it shouldn’t be clear exactly what position he’ll occupy within the two-car Peugeot squad.
The Danish driver tested the 9X8 in the course of the Bahrain rookie tests in 2022 and 2023 and was promoted to the team’s reserve driver this yr, gaining additional experience driving the LMH automobile on the simulator as a part of his recent role.
However, he was not included within the Spa 6 Hours when Jean-Eric Vergne and Stoffel Vandoorne were unable to start out attributable to a Formula E collision, and Peugeot fielded two drivers in each of its cars.
He brings a formidable CV with him to the WEC, having won the LMP3 title within the European Le Mans Series in 2022 before triumphing overall within the Asian Le Mans Series earlier this yr.
He currently competes within the top-class LMP2 ELMS for Cool Racing and won the season-opening race in Barcelona alongside team-mates Ritomo Miyata and Lorenzo Fluxa.
“I am delighted to join Team Peugeot TotalEnergies as an official driver for the next season of the FIA ​​​​World Endurance Championship,” said Jakobsen. “I am very proud to have been part of this team for the past two years, first as a junior driver and this year as reserve driver. I would like to thank the whole team for giving me this great opportunity.”
Stellantis Motorsport Director Jean-Marc Finot added: “We are more than happy to supply Malthe a seat in our WEC team for the 2025 season.
“As part of Stellantis Motorsport's strategy to promote talented young drivers, Malthe has shown continued progress and great maturity. His promotion is the next logical step in his career and we are confident that he will be an asset to the team in the PEUGEOT 9X8.”
Nico Muller, ABT CUPRA Formula E Team, initially
Photo: Sam Bagnall / Motorsports images
Muller made his Peugeot 9X8 debut within the 2022 season finale in Bahrain, replacing James Rossiter who retired, before joining the team for a full yr in 2023 alongside team-mates Loic Duval and Gustavo Menezes.
For 2024, he moved to the sister No. 93 automobile, racing alongside Jean-Eric Vergne and Mikkel Jensen, and was heading in the right direction to say his first podium finish on the season opener in Qatar, however the automobile slowed down with just minutes to go after running out of fuel.
After the automobile was later disqualified from the Losail round for 2 rule breaches, fourth place on the 2022 Bahrain event stays his best lead to the WEC.
“It’s been a wild ride @nico_mueller and it’s not over yet,” Peugeot announced on social networking site X (formerly Twitter).
“But at the tip of the season, our favourite Swiss driver will leave Team Peugeot TotalEnergies to write down a brand new chapter in his racing adventure.
“Thank you, thank you, merci Nico for your hard work and good atmosphere!!”
The news of Muller's departure from Peugeot comes after he announced he would also leave Abt's Formula E team after the ultimate race in London this weekend, just before the German team begins recent partnerships with Lola Cars and Yamaha.
The 32-year-old is claimed to be moving to Porsche client Andretti within the all-electric championship next yr, even though it is unclear how it will affect his future within the WEC.
Muller previously had a long-standing partnership with fellow Volkswagen Group brand Audi, which saw him claim quite a few DTM race victories, in addition to taking victory within the 24 Hours of Nurburgring in 2015.
Malthe Jakobsen in Peugeot
Photo: Peugeot Sport
