No Peugeot LMP1 return on the horizon

Peugeot Sport will not enter the LMP1 Hybrid ranks in the foreseeable future; the ACO explaining that the French manufacturer has made a decision to put its racing resources elsewhere.

This ends the lengthy bout of speculation that it would join LMP1 in time for the next regulation cycle in 2020 to race against Toyota Gazoo Racing. It would have marked the return of the brand after it pulled out of top-line sportscars on the eve of the FIA WEC's inaugural season back in 2012, when the team's new hybrid cars were withdrawn from competition as part of a major cost-cutting exercise by parent company PSA.

The ACO statement reads:

"The Automobile Club de l'Ouest has learned of Peugeot's decision to intensify its program in a series other than endurance. We can only accept it and fix an appointment with them in the years to come to prove to them the interest of our branch of motor sport, and the validity of the direction taken in endurance in the areas of cost capping and technology, which other manufacturers and other teams working alongside us will prove to them.

"We're pursuing our strategy built around an accessible blue-riband category with budgets that are much smaller than those required in recent years: these grew exponentially as was very often the case in the past because of the involvement of several manufacturers.

"We'll adapt ourselves to this natural cycle in endurance and take appropriate action. More than ever our approach is constructive, and we're actively engaged in boosting the appeal of endurance in a changing global context."

As it stands, Toyota's position after this season is unknown. The WEC stated that it must enter a full season in 2018/19 in order to gain access to race at Le Mans when it revealed the 'Super Season' calendar, a decision that left the Japanese marque unable to immediately confirm its commitment. A decision is expected this month. Should it stay, Toyota would be the only manufacturer left racing with a hybrid LMP1 next year, with Porsche having announced during the summer that it will depart at the end of the current season.