Jakobsen completes McLaren's Hypercar line-up

McLaren Racing's full time Hypercar roster is now complete with the reveal that Malthe Jakobsen has signed as its sixth and final driver for the program's debut season in 2027.

The 23-year-old Danish racer joins McLaren from Peugeot's ranks, after spending two seasons as a full-time WEC driver in the 9X8.

Jakobsen's rise from talented up-and-comer to a sought-after factory driver was rapid. He made a name for himself in sportscar racing in the ELMS, winning the LMP3 title with Swiss outfit Cool Racing at 18 years old back in 2022. Further standout drives earned him a place in Peugeot Sport's line-up as a development driver, before he was promoted to a full-time driver for the 2025 campaign.

In addition to several eye-catching performances with Peugeot – scoring its first pole position with the 9X8 earlier this year at Spa, and helping guide the team to the podium in tricky conditions at CoTA in 2025 – Jakobsen has also played a starring role in multiple LMP2 programs. With Algarve Pro Racing, he has racked up three Asian Le Mans Series titles, a championship in LMP2 Pro/Am and a class win at the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Now, for the next step in his career, he joins McLaren's highly-anticipated top-class program, and will race with MCL-HY with Mikkel Jensen, Laurens Vanthoor, Alex Lynn, Leonardo Fornaroli and Gregoire Saucy.

“I am super excited to join the team, it feels unbelievable to be part of this project and this brand, in particular as it competes across WEC, F1 and IndyCar in pursuit of the Triple Crown," he said.

"This history of the team, including the Le Mans win in 1995, is so special and it will be an honour to represent McLaren on a global stage. James (Barclay), Richard (Dean) and Zak (Brown) have created an impressive team of drivers and staff and I'm really looking forward to working with them all.”

James Barclay, the team principal at McLaren Hypercar Team, added: “We are delighted to welcome Malthe. He has already established himself as one of endurance racing's most exciting young talents, combining impressive speed and consistency with the technical ability that is so important at the highest level of the sport.

"As we continue to build towards our WEC debut in 2027, Malthe is a fantastic addition to our driver line-up and we look forward to seeing him race in the MCL-HY.”