Two drivers could possibly be banned from racing within the Hypercar class of the WEC next season.
The potential rule change to field three standard drivers is being discussed in response to calls from teams and manufacturers following Ganassi Cadillac's decision to field a two-driver squad within the six-hour races this season, news confirmed by series co-organiser Automobile Club de l'Ouest.
“We are considering it, but you will have to wait for the answer,” ACO president Pierre Fillon said, without going into further details.
Vincent Vosse, whose WRT team got here up with the Hypercar campaign for BMW, confirmed that his team was amongst those that raised the difficulty.
“I would like the regulations to clearly state how many drivers they have to field, whether it's two or three,” he told Motorsport.com.
“Having two drivers gives a clear advantage in terms of track time and team strategy, but we decided to field three because that is the number of drivers needed for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the most important race of the year.”
Sam Hignett, the Jota team principal who will take over the Cadillac programme for 2025 in an unconfirmed decision, suggested the regulations should remain unchanged and teams needs to be left to decide on two or three drivers.
“Two drivers are an advantage in six-hour races, there’s no doubt about that,” he said. “But you’ve to be ready for Le Mans, that’s why we have now three.
“It’s a team choice and should be left at that.”
#12 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963: Will Stevens, Callum Ilott
Photo: JEP / Motorsports images
The rules governing the composition of the Hypercar driver team are currently free, the one stipulation being that Bronze category drivers cannot participate.
The rule change requiring teams to field three drivers would should be supplemented by driving time regulations for the all-important WEC category.
Currently, the one requirement within the regulations regarding the period of time a driver must spend behind the wheel is the minimum hour required to earn championship points.
Ganassi’s decision to field Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn as a duo within the regular six-hour races aboard a solo Cadillac V-Series.R bucked a trend within the top-flight WEC that had emerged because the series was revived in 2012.
Since then, only five WEC races have been won by two drivers.
Toyota triumphed at Interlagos and Shanghai with Alex Wurz and Nicolas Lapierre in a partial start within the inaugural season of the reborn WEC.
Sebastien Buemi and Anthony Davidson raced as a pair within the second half of the 2014 season, after Lapierre dropped out of the No. 8 Toyota. They won at Fuji and Shanghai to say the LMP1 title.
This 12 months Jota triumphed at Spa, driving a Porsche 963 LMDh with Will Stevens and Callum Ilott when Norman Nato was unavailable because he was racing in Formula E in Berlin.
