Carlos Tavares (Stellantis): "What counts is how we react"

For Peugeot's return to Sebring after the unfortunate episode of withdrawing from the WEC in 2012, the French marque was hoping to play well with the competition in the real debut of the Hypercar category.

Unfortunately, the Peugeot 9X8s were not spared from problems. Between the gearbox selector causing problems even before the start, a hybrid problem, a contact followed by a change of front bonnet where the number of the car had to be changed in a hurry, Peugeot suffered well before the halfway mark.

Carlos Tavares, a great motor sport enthusiast and racing driver himself, certainly expected better from his team. Is there a fire in the Peugeot house? The boss of Stellantis Motorsport spoke to Ouest France during the race.

"I'm always frustrated when we don't win," Carlos Tavares told Ouest France. The Stellantis boss spoke about problems at the beginning of the race : "The gearbox control, which have an electric part, broke. Everything must be back in order before the next meeting in Portimao next month because the changes could not be made in time for administrative reasons."

"What matters is how we react to the incidents we encounter, how quickly we understand the cause, provide the solution and bring it to the track," explained Carlos Tavares. "We're not worried, we're just realistic and we'll do what it takes to make it better."

The next meeting in Portimao is coming up quickly, which will force the French team to work hard to approach the Portuguese event with serenity.

At 5:36, the two Peugeot 9X8s were still on track, but far from the leading positions. The rest of the 1000 Miles Sebring turned into a big test session for the two French prototypes.