Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA have finalised their driver crews for the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship season, the team's first with Cadillac.
The British team confirmed after the WEC season finale in Bahrain the six drivers that would make up the two-car effort, but now have assigned the seats for the #12 and #38 V-Series.Rs.
But why have the Hypercar race-winners picked these particular triplets?
Phil Oakley
'Each of these drivers brings something unique to the table, and as a team, our job was to establish which combinations made the most sense to maximise the overall strengths of the group', said JOTA team principal Dieter Gass.
'While character and personality play a big role in team dynamics, driving style and preferences were also key factors in determining who would be paired in each car.'
Let's take a look at each car.
#12 - The hungry young guns after trophies
The #12 Cadillac V-Series.R has a driver lineup that should demand attention from competitors given their on-track tenacity and overall speed.
Will Stevens is criminally overlooked in terms of his ability behind the wheel of a current top class prototype. The 2022 WEC LMP2 champion has helped propel the Team JOTA Hypercar programme to be considered genuine threats to the manufacturer teams, most notably with the march to the first privateer win of the Hypercar era at last year's 6H Spa.
Phil Oakley
Stevens and 2024 teammate Norman Nato are once again reunited in the #12, with the Frenchman looking to take a step forwards in his second season with Team JOTA.
Dovetailing his race seat with Formula E commitments saw him miss out on that historic Spa victory, so he'll be hungry to ensure the next win comes when he's in the car. But how he adapts to the Cadillac will be interesting to follow, and that process may be accelerated by the third driver in this squad.
Cadillac factory driver Alex Lynn, formerly of the #2 Chip Ganassi Cadillac Hypercar squad, will play a crucial part in advancing Stevens' and Nato's understanding of the V-Series.R across all scenarios.
The British driver has proven a stellar talent behind the wheel of the American prototype, marked particularly by his performances in the first four races for the programme in WEC where the #2 was one of only two cars to finish in the top five – the other being the championship-winning #8 Toyota.
In a sentence: Quick, bold, and a threat to the big names.
#38 - The 'Three Bs' and their shared experience
Coined JOTA's 'Mighty 38' for what feels like forever, the Cadillac carrying the number synonymous with JOTA sees the more experienced drivers in one car.
2009 Formula 1 Champion Jenson Button was retained by the team for 2025, with the British driver joined by Cadillac factory aces Earl Bamber and Sebastien Bourdais.
Bamber has been a mainstay in the GM brand's time in Hypercar, racing the Chip Ganassi-run #2 alongside Lynn throughout the 2023 and 2024 seasons – peaking with an overall podium at Le Mans. Bourdais moves across from his two seasons in the #01 IMSA GTP Cadillac, where the Frenchman won three races including the 2024 season finale at Petit Le Mans.
Phil Oakley
Beyond the trio being similar physically in terms of height and weight, placing two factory Cadillac drivers alongside Button could pay dividends for Team JOTA. There's no denying that the 45-year-old is seen as the weaker driver of the three in current prototype machinery, but unlocking his ability in the V-Series.R will prove vital for helping the #38 towards the sharp end. That's where Bourdais and Bamber step in.
The duo have been part of the car's development in 2022, it's first forays into competition, and latterly it's development into a championship challenger in GTP and vastly improved package in WEC – you simply won't find two drivers with more combined experience with the V-Series.R.
Additionally, the driving styles of the trio compliment each other well. Bamber can be aggressive and make his way through the field. Button is smooth and fast, and excellent in wet or changeable conditions. Bourdais is quick and known to be excellent at car setup, although that could apply to all three.
In a sentence: Bamber and Bourdais are the drivers who can unlock Button's undeniable pace.