Peugeot appoints new Hypercar team principal for WEC 2026

Peugeot has announced that Emmanuel Esnault will become its team principal in January ahead of the start of the 2026 World Endurance Championship.

It follows the news that Peugeot’s technical director and de facto leader Oliver Jansonnie will take on a bigger role in 2026 as the head of Stellantis motorsport, replacing the retiring Jean Marc Finot.

Esnault brings with him decades of technical and managerial experience to Peugeot, having mainly worked in Formula 1 and sportscar racing in his career.

The Frenchman initially built his career working for Renault in the now-defunct Formula Renault 3.5 Series, before moving to McLaren, where he held a wide variety of roles. Initially joining as support operations manager, he managed the demo team, testing and the driver development programme, before becoming directly involved in its F1 team as its race team coordinator in 2013.

He was also involved in setting up McLaren’s independent foray into IndyCar in the late 2010s and, crucially, representing the British brand in the technical working groups when the present-day regulations were being drafted.

Most recently, he served as the racing director for Lamborghini and Iron Lynx’s joint LMDh programme in both the WEC and IMSA last year.

“I am truly honoured to have the opportunity to join Team Peugeot TotalEnergies,” said Esnault. “This is a major and highly motivating project, with a manufacturer that is fully committed at the highest international level. 

“I would like to especially thank Alain Favey, Jean-Marc Finot and Olivier Jansonnie for their vote of confidence. It is a great responsibility, and it is up to us to be worthy of it and meet the brand’s objectives.

«I am fully aware of the responsibility of this role, as well as the rich racing heritage Peugeot carries in endurance. There is tremendous potential in this project, and I am convinced that we have everything we need to do things right and progress together.”
 
Finot, who will step down from his role as the head of Stellantis’ motorsport division at the end of next month, added: «We are delighted to welcome Emmanuel Esnault as team principal of Team Peugeot TotalEnergies. His experience will be essential in shaping and implementing our strategic approach as he takes on the challenge of pursuing the ambitious goals set by the Peugeot brand.

“In a championship where manufacturer competition is incredibly intense and the grid is more competitive than ever; we have full confidence in his ability to lead the team forward and support our continued progression in the FIA WEC.”

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— The Motorsport.com Team