10/11/2025

Toyota retains all six Hypercar drivers for WEC 2026

Toyota will head into the 2026 World Endurance Championship with an unchanged driver line-up across its two factory Hypercar entries.

Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries will continue to share the #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid next season, with Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa continuing in the sister #8 car.

The announcement was made shortly after Toyota ended its victory drought with a commanding 1-2 finish in the season-ending Bahrain 8 Hours on Saturday.

“Victory brings a challenging season to a positive close,” the Japanese manufacturer said in a statement.

“The team now turns its full focus to 2026, aiming to build on this momentum. Next season sees the introduction of an updated car, which will be raced by an unchanged driver line-up.

“Mike, Kamui and Nyck will race together for the third consecutive season, while Sebastien, Brendon and Ryo compete alongside each other for a fifth year.”

#8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 — Hybrid: Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, Ry? Hirakawa, #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 — Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck De Vries

Photo by: Jakob Ebrey / LAT Images via Getty Images

Toyota has not made any changes to its Hypercar roster since de Vries rejoined the team in 2024 after a failed stint in Formula 1 with AlphaTauri the year before.

Since then, de Vries, Toyota stalwart Conway and driver/team principal Kobayashi have racked up two Hypercar wins as a trio, including most recently in the Bahrain finale on Saturday.

The #7 crew was also Toyota’s top representative in the drivers’ championship in both 2024 and ‘25, finishing third in their first season together before slipping to sixth this year.

Meanwhile, the 2026 season will mark the sixth for Hartley, Buemi and Hirakawa as team-mates. The trio won the Le Mans 24 Hours on their first attempt in 2022 and also clinched back-to-back Hypercar titles in ‘22 and ‘23.

While no reserve driver has been named, Toyota has also been able to call in Jose Maria Lopez as a substitute on several occasions in the last few years. The Argentine was part of the #7 crew during a very successful period for the Japanese manufacturer in LMP1 and the early years of Hypercar, but stepped into the #87 ASP Lexus RC F GT3 at the start of the LMGT3 era in 2024.

Toyota will enter an upgraded car next year, with a new aerodynamic package changing the look of the car that made its debut back in 2022 at the start of the Hypercar era.