Grégoire, until now, your career has been focused on single-seaters. You are in a year of total discovery. Not too stressful?
Everything is new. It's a good change with, on the one hand, the LM P2 in ELMS with RICHARD MILLE by TDS, and on the other the WEC season in LMGT3 with a McLaren in the United Autosports team. It's not stressful, no. I like this novelty. I just have to adapt to new cars and switch from one to another, depending on the schedule and I like it.
Do you have to change your driving style depending on the weekends?
Yes, it's easier to go from LMP2 to GT3, rather than the other way around. At the beginning, my first rides were a bit complicated, but I got the hang of it. THE GT3 requires a rather particular way of driving. My experience in single-seaters helps me, but it is especially in LMP2 that I can most find similar sensations. THE presence of greater aerodynamic downforce, in comparison with the GT, is palpable.
Without wanting to flatter your ego, it is rumored in the paddocks that you have a certain ease in playing with something new..
I don't like to say it, but that's actually the feedback I get regularly from my engineers. I could quite easily feel comfortable in a new car, on a new circuit or when the weather conditions are changeable. I know how to react and understand quickly. I feel confident. When I signed for the McLaren program, I was warned. I was told that it was going to take time for me to find the rhythm. And then, after the first sessions, I quickly found my bearings. Richard Dean and Zak Brown (United Autosports team owners) told me they were very happy.
There is another central parameter that you discover in Endurance: That which consists of sharing the car.... and driving for a long time!
From that side, we can say, it’s totally new. Previously, when I started a race, I also knew that I was going to have to finish it. I was responsible for the car alone. During my WEC races, in Qatar, as in Imola, I was the last of my crew (with James Cottingham and Nicolas Costa. Editor's note) to ride. So I had no logic of "keeping" the car to give it to another driver, I had to go as quickly as possible to the finish. I'm discovering this aspect and it's very nice.
How did this switch to Endurance come about?
It's not my doing alone. I have always been used to listening and I have people around me who advise me. It was decided with them, with my sponsors too. I had the possibility of continuing in Single-seater or going in another direction, Endurance.
By discussing with Richard Mille, who has supported me since I started competing in 2016, we decided to follow this path, because accession to Formula 1 remains complex. I'm not closing the door to single-seater racing, but I see that the series linked to the 24 Hours of Le Mans are experiencing growing popularity. Being there makes sense.
Two programs for a first season in the discipline, it is not without posing a slight problem....
It is, in fact, quite a dance and I have the chance to drive for two very great teams. The 24 Hours of Le Mans unfortunately presents a clash between my two programs and I therefore had to make a choice. My priority went to United Autosports in LMGT3, because I wanted to be part of McLaren's return to La Sarthe.
Can you detail the ambitions for us?
Results are the best way to prove performance, but I don't just focus on rankings. I'm focusing on getting stronger. Until the middle of the season, I have to build things, I have to progress, and then I have to have a high level of performance and consistency. Being consistent and fast is my goal, and the results will follow.
Le Mans will also be a discovery! We can guess your impatience!
Totally. I have never driven on the big circuit. My only experience is limited to the start of my career driving on the Bugatti circuit. This makes a few turns in common. (Laughs) But of course, I know the route, its legendary turns. I can not wait to be there. I have been following the 24 Hours of Le Mans for years in its entirety, without ever taking my eyes off my television! Being there is a dream. I'm also impatient to discover the extras, the atmosphere. It's legendary. I like driving and experiencing Le Mans. I'm looking forward to being there. With a good result for a first, I hope so.
With McLaren wearing the No. 59 on the doors, are you counting on a nod from history?
I like that the team uses a number that refers to the McLaren F1 GTR that won in 1995. And by the way, the sister car is numbered 95 in reference to the year of victory. Everything is linked, this epic has remained in legend.
You were not born! Do you understand the importance of this return of the brand?
Of course, and we talk about it frequently with Richard Mille, the ambition is to display a very good performance, then to progress in 2025. But if we can aim for victory this year, we won't be embarrassed!
