There are numerous changes in the hypercar field in preparation for the 2026 WEC season. Alpine has announced the signing of Antonio Felix da Costa. The Portuguese driver will compete for the French team in the future while continuing to drive in Formula E, where he will switch from Porsche to Jaguar. It is still unclear which of the current drivers – Mick Schumacher or Paul-Loup Chatin – he will replace at Alpine.
Porsche is also making headlines: the Penske works team is withdrawing from the WEC and will concentrate exclusively on competing in the North American IMSA series in future. It is currently unclear whether private Porsche 963s will still be on the grid next year.
Meanwhile, Toyota is working on an extensive update to its GR010 Hybrid. The revised hypercar prototype is set to compete with significantly reduced drag and a new, more modern design. The newly designed headlights, which are clearly different from the previous LMP1 look, are particularly striking.
Development is also progressing rapidly at Genesis. The team completed a 32-hour test in Portimão to test the stability of the new GMR-001. At the wheel were Dani Juncadella and young driver Mathys Jaubert, who gained important experience. Jaubert in particular, for whom it was his first outing in a hypercar, was impressed by how quickly he got used to the car.
Shortly beforehand, Genesis had also officially confirmed the two as regular drivers for the 2026 season. Both come from the company’s own “Trajectory Program” and currently compete in the European Le Mans Series for Idec Sport, where they have already won several times.