New signing Magnussen confirmed in BMW’s FIA WEC Hypercar line-up
Fresh from a decade-long stint in Formula 1, Kevin Magnussen will switch to the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2025, with the official confirmation that the Dane will form part of BMW M Team WRT’s assault in the headlining Hypercar category.
It was announced last week that Magnussen had been recruited as a BMW M works driver and would race the podium-finishing BMW M Hybrid V8 next year, but at the time, it was not specified in which series. Now, it has been revealed that the former F1 pole-sitter and veteran of 185 grand prix starts will join Dries Vanthoor and Raffaele Marciello in the German manufacturer’s #15 entry in FIA WEC, replacing IMSA-bound Marco Wittmann.
The son of multiple 24 Hours of Le Mans class-winner Jan Magnussen sensationally reached the rostrum on his F1 debut in Melbourne in 2014, and is no stranger to endurance racing either. The 32-year-old gained experience from a full campaign in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2021, achieving one victory and five podiums in its top-tier DPi category. The same year, he also competed in the LMP2 class at Le Mans alongside his father.
“I’m happy and proud to represent such an iconic motorsport brand as BMW in some of the world’s most legendary races,” Magnussen enthused. “After ten years in Formula 1, I am embarking on a new and exciting chapter, and I look forward to taking on the challenge in the most innovative and advanced sportscars in the history of endurance racing.
“A huge ‘thank you’ to BMW M Motorsport for this fantastic opportunity. I can hardly wait to start the preparations and look forward to kicking off the 2025 season with the rest of the team.”
The crew of BMW’s #20 Hypercar remains unchanged, as Robin Frijns, René Rast and Sheldon van der Linde join forces once more for the Bavarian brand’s sophomore campaign at the international pinnacle of the discipline.
“We have high goals for 2025 with our BMW M Hybrid V8 prototypes,” asserted Head of BMW M Motorsport, Andreas Roos. “To achieve these, we are striving for optimisations in all areas, with the objective of intensifying the development of the BMW M Hybrid V8 in collaboration with the specialists at our teams and at BMW M Motorsport.
“Kevin is an outstanding addition to our programme. He has regularly demonstrated his speed at the highest level in Formula 1 over the past decade, and thanks to his extensive experience, he is a true asset to our project. His previous full season with a sportscar prototype is another advantage for us, as it will surely ease his acclimatisation to the BMW M Hybrid V8. I am delighted that Kevin is now part of the BMW M Motorsport family.”
The 2025 FIA WEC campaign will get underway with the Qatar 1812km on 28 February.
