The 28-year-old from California announced on his Instagram page that he will be leaving the French manufacturer’s 9×8 Le Mans Hypercar program after the final race in Bahrain in November.
“After a three-year journey of ups and downs, this will be the last race for Bahrain to officially take on Peugeot in the FIA WEC,” he wrote.
“It was a real pleasure to build this project together and create memories that will last a lifetime.
“When one door closes, a new one opens. It’s too early to tell you all about our plans for 2024, but they will happen soon. We wish the team the best of luck.”
Menezes has been an integral part of Peugeot’s No. 94 line-up since the long-awaited return of the prototype at Monza in 2022.
He initially raced alongside Loic Duval and James Rossiter, but the Brit has since announced his retirement and moved into the role of team principal for the Maserati MSG Formula E team.
Rossiter replaced Nico Muller in the 2022 Bahrain 8 Hours, where the #94 Peugeot tied for fourth at Monza, and in the 2023 season. The #94 crew’s high point this season is his 5th place in Portugal.
Menezes joins the Peugeot program after three years as part of the Rebellion LMP1 operation, where he achieved three WEC wins and a best finish of second place at the 2020 Le Mans 24 Hours.
#94 Peugeot Total Energy Peugeot 9X8: Loic Duval, Gustavo Menezes, Stoffel Vandoom
Photo courtesy of Andy Chan
He previously spent two years in LMP2, winning his class at Le Mans and winning the WEC title in 2016. The Signatech Alpine team will return to the hypercar class next season and will use the Oreca-based A424_ß LMDh chassis for the first time on pole. Tested. Mr. Ricard last month.
Peugeot could replace Menezes with reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne. Vandoorne made his racing debut for Peugeot at the most recent WEC round 2 at Fuji, with Muller out due to a collarbone injury.
Vandoorne described himself as “feeling comfortable with the car”, although his 9X8 struggled to perform in the slow final sector of the track, finishing seventh and eighth despite a clean run.
Vandoorne was enthusiastic about the idea after discussing the possibility of adding Peugeot WEC Drive to its current Formula E duties with the DS Penske team, which belongs to the same Stellantis group as Peugeot.
But he admitted that the clash between May’s Berlin E-Prix and Spa WEC rounds could pose complications.
“I’m a racing driver and I want to drive as many programs as possible,” Vandoorne said. “The more you can drive, the better.
“Sometimes people say it’s bad to combine programs because they’re different cars, but I think the opposite: It’s actually good to combine different cars because you learn a different skill set with each car you drive. I think.”
“There’s a big question mark over the whole schedule. It’s not just about me, it’s about a lot of people in this paddock who work in Formula E and WEC.
“We hope that talks will take place between both championships and a solution can be found to separate them.”
Additional reporting by Gary Watkins