McLaren's first Hypercar driver signing for 2027 is Mikkel Jensen, the British manufacturer has announced, as they continue to make progress with their programme ahead of debuting next year.
Jensen is an accomplished sportscar driver, having spent the last four seasons with Peugeot racing both iterations of the 9X8. Before that, he raced in IMSA for TDS Racing in the LMP2 class, winning the championship in 2021 with race victories at Sebring, Watkins Glen, and Laguna Seca.
McLaren, meanwhile, are readying themselves for a year of development on their Dallara-based Hypercar. They formally unveiled the car at Le Mans last year, but there are still quite a few details still unknown about the car.
Phil Oakley
We do know it'll be powered by a V6 twin turbo engine and aligned with the LMDh ruleset, using the Dallara chassis as its base. This is the same route as BMW and Cadillac have taken for their M Hybrid V8 and V-Series.R, both of which have been racing since 2023.
United Autosports will run the programme in the FIA World Endurance Championship, with the team name being 'McLaren United AS'. The Yorkshire-based team has history with McLaren, having run the manufacturer's customer LMGT3 campaign in WEC for the past two seasons.
For 2026, though, the LMGT3 programme will switch to Garage 59, with United Autsports not racing in WEC for the first time since the 2019-2020 season. Instead, the team will focus on the development and testing of McLaren's Hypercar.
Phil Oakley
Jensen, meanwhile, will be a key part of this development programme, as the first driver McLaren have officially signed.
'I’m extremely proud to be joining the World Championship-winning McLaren family and excited to be a part of its Hypercar project from the early stages,' said the 31-year-old Dane.
'Stepping onto the boulevard at the McLaren Technology Centre gives me goosebumps – it not only brings to life how much history McLaren has in Formula 1 but the 1995 Le Mans-winning F1 GTR reminds me that we have an incredible endurance story to continue.'
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McLaren Endurance's team principal, James Barclay, said: 'Announcing Mikkel is another important milestone in the formation of our new Hypercar team. He has already proven himself as one of the most competitive andwell-rounded sportscar racing drivers in the world and will bring with him a wealth of experience from the Hypercar category.
'We will enter the World Endurance Championship and Le Mans in what will arguably be the most-competitive season of all time. We are delighted to have a driver of Mikkel’s calibre, experience and future potential.
'Like us, he is a true racer and is therefore a great fit with our philosophy on people and culture, which has been integral to McLaren Racing’s world championship-winning success in Formula 1. Our World Endurance Championship team is coming together nicely and Mikkel is a fantastic addition.'
Feature image: McLaren