Team Peugeot TotalEnergies has confirmed Robert Shwartzman as a full-time driver of the PEUGEOT 9X8 from the 2027 FIA World Endurance Championship season. The 26-year-old, a former FIA Formula 3 champion and Formula 2 runner-up, returns to endurance racing after two seasons in the United States. He will run several test sessions with the 9X8 during 2026 before the switch becomes official.
Team Peugeot TotalEnergies has strengthened its endurance line-up for the 2027 FIA World Endurance Championship, confirming Robert Shwartzman (26) as one of its full-time drivers aboard the PEUGEOT 9X8 Hypercar. The French squad announced the signing on 8 September 2026, with the driver’s competitive debut for the team set for the 2027 season.
From karting to Formula 1 reserve duty
Born in 1999, Shwartzman started karting at the age of five and worked his way up the single-seater ladder. He took the FIA Formula 3 title in 2019 and finished runner-up in the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2021, a season that brought him two wins and eight podium finishes. He later held a Formula 1 reserve role before changing direction.
A fast start in endurance racing
Shwartzman moved into endurance racing in 2023, beginning in the GT class, and set the fastest time of the FIA WEC Rookie Test in Bahrain the same year. His first race start in the championship could hardly have gone better: in 2024 he won the Lone Star Le Mans round at Circuit of The Americas on his FIA WEC debut, driving a Hypercar.
In 2025 he relocated to the United States for the IndyCar Series, where he became the first rookie since 1983 to take pole position for the Indianapolis 500 — the sort of result that tends to travel well between disciplines.
Testing through 2026
Rather than a straight swap, the move is staged. Peugeot says Shwartzman will complete several test sessions with the 9X8 during 2026 before joining the race line-up for the 2027 FIA WEC season, giving him time in a car and a category that ask very different things of a driver than a single-seater does.
“I’m extremely happy to be returning to the FIA World Endurance Championship after my time racing in the United States. Endurance racing is something I’ve really missed over the past two seasons, and I’m thrilled to be joining Team Peugeot TotalEnergies. From my very first discussions with the team, I felt genuinely welcomed and immediately part of the project, within a highly professional and ambitious environment. The 2027 programme is particularly exciting, and I can’t wait to contribute to this new chapter and help write the next stages of the story together.”
Team Principal Emmanuel Esnault describes the Russian-born driver as “unquestionably one of the most promising talents of his generation”, pointing to his experience at the highest level in both single-seaters and endurance racing. According to Esnault, Shwartzman’s “natural speed, adaptability and maturity” suit the project, and he is already involved in preparing the team’s 2027 programme.
What it means
Hypercar grids have become one of the busiest driver markets in motorsport, with manufacturers competing for the same pool of experienced prototype racers and ex-single-seater talent. Securing a driver of Shwartzman’s record more than a season ahead of his first race gives Peugeot an unusually long run-up — and signals that the brand’s endurance effort is being planned well beyond the current season.
Career in brief: Robert Shwartzman
- Age: 26 (born 1999)
- FIA Formula 3 Champion: 2019
- FIA Formula 2 runner-up: 2021 (two wins, eight podiums)
- Fastest driver, FIA WEC Rookie Test, Bahrain: 2023
- FIA WEC debut win: Lone Star Le Mans, Circuit of The Americas, 2024
- Indianapolis 500 pole position: 2025 (first rookie since 1983)
- Joins Team Peugeot TotalEnergies: full-time from the 2027 FIA WEC season
The team has not yet detailed its full 2027 driver line-up. Shwartzman’s testing programme with the PEUGEOT 9X8 runs through 2026.
Source: www.media.stellantis.com