Malthe Jakobsen : “Nicolas Lapierre is a bit like my dad when it comes to racing”

How did you get into motorsport?

My father was a racing driver and although he was never a full-time professional driver, he competed in Formula Ford and a bit in F3 in Germany. So you could say that racing is in our family’s blood! He bought me my first kart when I was three years old, and it has just gone on from there.

After competing in karting and a little in single-seater racing, you opted quickly to compete in prototype racing, which is a fairly unusual route for an aspiring young driver. Why?

The main reason we switched from karting to single-seater racing was financial. A full season in International karting was a lot more expensive for us, and we had the chance to enter the Danish F4 championship in 2018, when I was only 14 years old, for around half the cost of a season in international karting. My dream has always been to be a professional racing driver and that was why we made this initial switch. We thought that the simplest and most efficient way to achieve this was to leave karting as soon as possible. And learn about racing in a car. I did two seasons in F4 and after a while, a similar problem arose. The budget needed to move into F3 was incredibly big and that was when we opted to go for Endurance racing. I have always liked these racing cars, both the prototypes and the GTs, with the aerodynamics. And then as a Danish driver, we have a special affection for Le Mans given Tom Kristensen’s success there with Audi. It has always been my goal to compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the elite class. That’s what I had in mind when I started in LMP3 and I have gradually moved up the ranks to get to where I am today.

You spent five seasons in ELMS, including three years at Cool Racing where the team manager, Nicolas Lapierre, is an iconic driver not only for TotalEnergies but in Endurance racing in general. What have you learned from rubbing shoulders with him?

He taught me so many things about how a driver should behave. He really took care of me. He’s a little bit like my dad when it comes to racing. He was like a mentor to me, both on and off the track, right from the outset when I joined the team. In my first year, I was racing in LMP3, so I probably didn’t learn so much from him that year, at least in terms of driving. However, towards the end of 2022, and then afterwards when I moved into LMP2, I was very lucky to make my debut appearance at Le Mans with Nico in LMP2 Pro-Am. A lot of things were made much easier with his support and by being able to follow his example.

You managed to win two races in LMP2 Pro during the 2024 ELMS, one of which was at the last round in Portimão, but you also had a few difficulties and ended up third in the championship standings. How would you assess your season?

It was a challenging season for us. It started really well in Barcelona with a win and then at Paul Ricard, we were leading with twenty minutes to go when the gearbox failed. At Imola, we also had to retire. At Le Mans, we finished the race but with an hour to go, one of the windscreen wipers stopped working just as it started to rain. Spa and Mugello were also very difficult. However, what we managed to do in Portimão at the final weekend shows that you must never give up. You have to keep believing in yourself.

What did you learn in ELMS that you will be able to use in the FIA WEC?

The ELMS is a bit like school for me because I started racing in the series when I was only sixteen years old. I was one of the youngest ever to compete in the championship at the time, and since then, I have improved as a driver. With my experience of LMP3, which is one of the classes in the championship, I got used to being surrounded by faster cars and having to deal with traffic. I know what it’s like to be in a slower car and get caught by cars from behind, so I’m sure that experience will help when I’m in the Hypercar overtaking a GT, for example.

You are also used to being in a very competitive environment…

It’s true that this year, especially, the standard was incredibly high. It helps you to be really on your toes as soon as you get in the car, ready to deal with the fierce competition on the track. But regardless of the car or the class in which I am racing, I always give my absolute best every time I go out on the track. That won't change in Hypercar. I want to show myself in my best light and obviously keep improving, as I'm still very young. I certainly hope I still have plenty of things to learn in the future.

Just how big is the step between the ELMS and the FIA WEC?

Obviously, it’s going to be a big step for me, both as a driver and as a person. I have to get used to all the extraneous stuff that goes on around the race itself. There will be more fans, more media and overall, the show will be bigger than I’m used to. But I feel very lucky to have at least competed at Le Mans twice already in the LMP2, finishing both times. So, I have had a chance to familiarise myself with the track itself, but also see the madness of the week leading up to the race with the parade, scrutineering and the weigh-in (“pesage”), all the stress created by the side issues, and know how to manage it in order to be fully focused on racing once behind the wheel.

And in terms of driving, how different is the Hypercar to an LMP2?

I'm very fortunate to have been gradually introduced to the status of official driver for Team Peugeot TotalEnergies. I did my first Rookie test at the end of 2022 and since then, I have become increasingly involved, first as Junior driver and then as reserve driver this year. I have already racked up a lot of miles in the Peugeot 9X8 during tests, endurance runs and on the simulator. I have also attended races at Spa and Imola this year, so I could see for myself what happens during a racing weekend from within the team. I feel very prepared and I can't wait to get started. I know that the level of competition is really high, and the championship line-up is very impressive.