Malthe Jakobsen rose from Danish F4 to a Peugeot Hypercar seat

Malthe Jakobsen is a Danish driver who went from national single-seater racing to the top class of endurance racing in a handful of seasons. He won the LMP3 class of the European Le Mans Series with Cool Racing in 2022, then added Asian Le Mans Series titles, and in 2025 he drove a Peugeot Hypercar in the World Endurance Championship.

His progress came through steady steps between categories rather than one big break, and each step had a clear title or result attached to it.

When did Jakobsen's car racing start?

He entered car racing in his home country in 2018, driving for FSP in the F4 Danish Championship. The first half of that season went poorly, but late on he collected three category podiums and a pole, which lifted him to sixth in the standings.

Later that year two cameo outings in the F4 South East Asia Championship brought his first single-seater victory, at Sepang.

From a 2019 Danish F4 title to a Peugeot Hypercar seat, Jakobsen moved up one class at a time.

How did Jakobsen take the 2019 Danish F4 title?

In 2019 Jakobsen stayed with FSP, though he missed the opening round. A triple of podiums at Jyllandsringen, one of them a race three win, set his title push going. He then won at Djursland and Kinnekulle and took a hat-trick at Padborg Park.

The championship was settled in the finale, where he added three more victories. He finished 78 points clear of the closest challenger, Jonas Lindhard Nielsen, which made the margin a comfortable one.

At the end of that campaign, after the title was secured, he represented Denmark at the first FIA Motorsport Games Formula 4 Cup.

What did his prototype move look like in 2020 and 2021?

For 2020 Jakobsen moved into prototypes, racing in the LMP3 class with RLR MSport and teammate James Dayson. He finished the season tenth overall, and his only podium came at the opener in Le Castellet. Observers said he showed maturity beyond his years for a driver at that stage.

Mike Benham and Alex Kapadia joined him for a second ELMS season with RLR in 2021. RLR began the year with a podium again, a second place at Barcelona, but three of the remaining five races ended in retirements, and the team finished ninth in the standings.

How did the 2022 LMP3 title come together?

In 2022 he moved to Cool Racing for his third European Le Mans Series season. He opened with pole position and a win at Paul Ricard, where the four-hour race was his first victory of the year. A further pole at Imola produced a podium, and then the team retired at Monza.

At Barcelona he finished third, his fourth pole from four races. At Spa a collision with teammate Maurice Smith ended the team's race, which left the title looking unlikely going into the finale.

The Portimao finale was the decider. Jakobsen took pole again and won, and that single weekend carried the title. The main rival, Inter Europol Competition, retired late after a car failure and then a collision, so Jakobsen, Smith and Mike Benham were crowned LMP3 champions.

The title earned Jakobsen a test invitation: the Peugeot 9X8 Hypercar, at the WEC rookie session held in November 2022. It was his first contact with the marque that would later give him a works seat.

How did 2023 change his career in LMP2?

In 2023 Jakobsen moved up to LMP2 with Cool Racing in the European Le Mans Series, the logical step after the LMP3 title. Before that European campaign he contested the Asian Le Mans Series with Nicolas Lapierre and Alexandre Coigny, and that season ended second in the championship.

The Asian opener at Dubai was a tough one. Coigny hit a GT car in race one, but Jakobsen set the fastest lap in race two. At Yas Marina Lapierre gave up his seat time so that Jakobsen could drive more, and Jakobsen took a commanding victory on the Saturday. On the Sunday a pit-stop time infringement penalty and a collision Jakobsen caused cost the team the win, and third was still enough for the runner-up spot.

In Europe the team was third in class at Barcelona and second at Le Castellet. At Aragon Jakobsen made an error into turn one and tangled with the other Cool Racing car, driven by Jose Maria Lopez, which ended his race. It was the only retirement the car suffered that year. Spa brought a Pro-Am victory and second overall. At Algarve a late ten-second penalty for the leader, Mathias Beche, handed the team 25 more points and a class win, and at Portimao Jakobsen closed to within a second of the AF Corse car of Ben Barnicoat, which won the race.

Over the winter he joined George Kurtz and Colin Braun in the Asian Le Mans Series with CrowdStrike Racing by APR. The move was announced at the start of November. Sepang and Yas Marina wins secured the title for that trio.

What did 2024 bring in Europe and Asia?

In 2024 Jakobsen started the year with a second place at the 24 Hours of Daytona for CrowdStrike Racing by APR, losing out to Christian Rasmussen in a late battle. He then stayed with Cool Racing in the LMP2 Pro class of the European series, partnered by the silver-ranked Lorenzo Fluxa and by Ritomo Miyata, the Super Formula champion.

At the Barcelona opener he inherited the lead after a quick pit stop and held on to win. At Le Castellet he was leading again when a gearbox failure ended his race with 43 minutes left. A substitute teammate, Paul-Loup Chatin, crashed an LMP3 car at Imola, and that together with a run of points finishes took the team out of the title fight. At Portimao he managed his gap to the No. 14 AO by TF car, the eventual champion, and that controlled drive earned him third in the drivers' standings.

The winter series brought a new partnership with Algarve Pro Racing, alongside Valerio Rinicella and Michael Jensen. The three of them were dominant, taking a race apiece at Sepang, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and fourth at the closing race was enough for the title.

How did the 2025 Peugeot season go?

For 2025 Jakobsen stepped up to the Peugeot TotalEnergies squad in the WEC's premier category. He shared the No. 94 car with Loic Duval and Stoffel Vandoorne. The first three races brought no points, although the team showed promising pace.

At Spa he was running in the top five until contact with Robin Frijns, following a safety car restart, broke his suspension and ended the race.

The team recovered at Le Mans, where Jakobsen finished 11th. At Sao Paulo he qualified fourth but finished sixth after the team fell back. At COTA rain helped the car to third.

The No. 94 finished the last two races in tenth. Jakobsen's best moment came in qualifying at Bahrain, where he took third on the grid, a result that stood out in a difficult season for the No. 94 car. He finished the 2025 season 19th in the drivers' standings, while Peugeot finished seventh in the manufacturers' championship.

Racing record at a glance