Le Mans 24 Hours: Do the drivers sleep during the race? (2024)

Saturday afternoon sees the 90th edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours get underway, as the greatest endurance test returns at the Circuit de la Sarthe.

One third of motorsport's Triple Crown, Le Mans sits alongside the Indy 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix, which both happened at the end of May, as one of the most prestigious events in all of racing.

Over four classes, a huge field will be looking to take victory in their respective categories whilst it's the Hypercar class that will surely provide the overall winner once again, as Toyota, Alpine and Glickenhaus Racing battle for victory.

It's the ultimate examination of driver endurance and concentration, with three sharing the seat of each car as they take it in turns of four-hour stints behind the wheel to guide their car through it all.

When they're not at the wheel, though, can they grab any sleep during the small hours? In a bid to keep their focus levels as high as possible?

LE MANS, FRANCE - JUNE 09: The #08 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid of Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa drives at the Le Mans 24 Hours practice and qualifying at the Circuit de la Sarthe on June 09, 2022 in Le Mans, France. (Photo by Ker Robertson/Getty Images)

Certainly, you'd imagine it's difficult to come in from pounding around a circuit at 200mph and then switching off quick enough to get in some shut-eye, before then waking up a few hours later and focusing back onto the race, but it can be done - and there are other methods to keep alert over the race as well.

Driver Paul-Loup Chatin reckons: "In theory, you can get five hours sleep over the course of the race."

Whilst Nicolas Lapierre says: "We joke about it between ourselves. The 02:30–03:00 is awful. We use light therapy lamps to stay awake and exercise bikes and warm up routines to get into the swing of things. We force our bodies to wake up."

Naps are also in order for some, with Thomas Laurent saying: "Last year, I managed pretty well. I had two 15-20 minute naps. It was enough to keep up the pace."

Clearly, the drivers do try and sleep where they can but it's obviously not ideal, even if the teams bring beds to their motorhomes in a bid to help them nod off.

Whoever manages it best this weekend, then, could be earning victory come Sunday afternoon.