Di Resta hopes to stay at Peugeot for the rest of his career

Ex-Formula 1 racer di Resta was one of six original signings when the French manufacturer revealed the driver roster for its return to the top class of endurance racing last year with the all-new 9X8 Le Mans Hypercar.

He made his race debut for Peugeot in July’s Monza round, sharing the #93 entry with fellow grand prix racing veteran Jean-Eric Vergne and youngster Mikkel Jensen.

Despite being a relatively late convert to sportscar racing, having spent spells in the DTM either side of his F1 stint, di Resta told Motorsport.com that he now envisages staying at Peugeot in the WEC for many years to come.

Asked if he could see himself staying there until the end of his career, he replied: “Yes, absolutely. That was clear for me when I arrived. 

“You’d always like to have arrived a bit earlier, but I just turned 36 so I think I’ve a good few years left in me. This is where I see the future being.”

 

Di Resta got his first experience of sportscar racing in 2018 with LMP2 outfit United Autosports, as long-time employer Mercedes announced its intention to quit the DTM at the end of that season.

After one final DTM campaign with R-Motorsport, di Resta switched to the WEC full-time in 2019-20, winning Le Mans alongside teammates Filipe Albuquerque and Phil Hanson, before being signed by Peugeot in late 2020.

Reflecting on a career that also yielded the 2010 DTM title and a subsequent three-season spell in F1 with Force India, di Resta said: “I wouldn’t change what I’ve done until now. When I was 23, 24 I had absolutely zero interest in sportscars. 

“Everyone always talked about Le Mans, but until you go there and experience it…now it’s a highlight of the year and I love it. But because I was with Mercedes, I had never been to a Le Mans until I raced at Le Mans. So I had no idea what I was missing before.”

Speaking about the atmosphere inside Peugeot, di Resta said he didn’t find the “very French” nature of the Satory-based outfit at all off-putting in terms of his integration inside the team.

“This team is absolutely very French, I’m surprised how French it was when I first joined, the influence it has,” he admitted. “But they have a long history, they have a lot of people they are relying on from their last [LMP1] programme who have given them success. 

 

“There’s a lot of French chatter that I don’t understand, but at the same time I trust them to tell me the information I need to know. And it was brought up early on that it was one thing that would not stop my progression in any way.

“We have two French drivers [Vergne and Loic Duval], but we’re all there together doing the same thing. And because we were all signed up so early and we’ve been working together so long, we’re all getting along.”