Milestone Qualifying for Ferrari & United
Today’s FIA WEC Qualifying session produced a number of key statistics. For Ferrari AF Corse’s Antonio Giovinazzi, it’s his second overall pole position after CoTA last year. It means that the team has also become the fourth team to score five overall poles in the WEC, after the Audi, Toyota and Porsche LMP1 teams.
In addition, the 499P is the second car to score five pole positions in Hypercar competition, after the GR010 HYBRID.
LMGT3 saw a third pole position for McLaren after Inception Racing and United Autosports’ performances at Le Mans and Bahrain. It was also the second front-row lockout in a row for United, which has become the first team to claim LMGT3 pole twice in a row too.
The two LMGT3 poles mean that the total for class pole positions for United reaches 13, its success with the GT3 Evo adding to its 11 poles in LMP2. And Sean Gelael, who drove the #95 in Hyperpole, has become the first Indonesian driver to take pole in WEC history.
Both pole-sitters are close friends, with Gelael’s family businesses helping to fund the single-seater career of Giovinazzi. The pair shared LMP2 drives previously in the Asian Le Mans Series, scoring two wins with Eurasia in 2015/16, the European Le Mans Series in 2016 with SMP Racing and two races in the FIA WEC that same year with Extreme Speed Motorsports.
All said though, only one Hypercar – the #8 Toyota at Bahrain – and one LMGT3 – the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin at CoTA – won from pole position in 2024.
Andlauer: Tomorrow’s race “Damage Limitation” for Porsche Penske
Porsche Penske Motorsport driver Julien Andlauer feels his team will need to adopt a ‘damage limitation’ strategy in tomorrow’s race, after struggling for pace this year with its 963s, which dominated the 2024 edition of this race.
The Frenchman, who is new to the factory team, will start 11th after neither factory Porsche made it into the Hyperpole shootout.
“On the Quali runs we did in the Prologue and practice this is where we expected to be,” he said. “Also on the long runs though, this feels like our place, fighting to get in the top 10. This is pretty much the maximum speed we have got. The car feels good, there’s always more to gain and driving wise I may have gained one or two more tenths on a perfect lap.
“Hopefully we can improve in the race and execute a strategy to score big points. I’m new, we have a new engineer and Mathieu (Jaminet) is new to WEC so I think this is just good practice for us. We need to maximise everything and limit the damage.”
Shahin confident ahead of opener despite qualifying setback
The Bend WRT’s Yasser Shahin told DSC he feels confident that he and his teammates can fight at the front of the LMGT3 field tomorrow with their M4 GT3 Evo, despite starting 14th.
The Australian had his fastest lap deleted for track limits, and felt he had the car underneath him to challenge for a top-10 grid space.
“Tomorrow’s going to be a better day,” he commented. “We’re not happy with where we are starting but the car has been coming to us as the week has gone on. I’ve actually got a spring in my step about the race. The track feels so different because the conditions have changed so much and it’s wreaked havoc with set up.”
Vanthoor: Second on the grid another progress marker for BMW
BMW M Team WRT’s Dries Vanthoor was disappointed to narrowly miss out on pole today in the #15 M Hybrid V8, but says that the whole team is still thrilled with second on the grid.
“We’ve made a great step forward if you compare to last year where we were 15th and 16th and at the back. To be that close to pole is great, it’s nice to see our progress confirmed.
“We know Cadillac and Ferrari are going to be strong tomorrow. I’m not surprised by the Qualifying order. It will be difficult to beat them both on the long run, but never say never.”
Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA “satisfied” with Qualifying performance
Alex Lynn told DSC that JOTA is aiming for a top-five finish as a minimum return for its first race as Cadillac’s factory team, after showing strong pace throughout the Prologue, Free Practice and Qualifying.
“I think that was decent. Fourth for us in the #12,” Lynn said. “I’d be lying if I said we had more than that. I’m proud of what we did, but I think tomorrow will be a long day. Ferrari is going to be strong. We just need to execute a clean race. A win is always possible but I think Ferrari is very strong. Our ‘C goal’ is top five and my hope is that we can sneak a podium.”
Hardwick: Manthey Porsches “Lacking Power”
Manthey 1st Phorm driver Ryan Hardwick says the two Porsche 911 GT3 R 992s in the WEC’s LMGT3 class failed to make it into Hyperpole as they are “down on power”.
Nevertheless, he feels that if the team can execute a good strategy tomorrow then a strong points finish will still be possible as he and his teammates Richard Lietz and Riccardo Pera look to fight for the 2025 title.
“Our goal was top 10 but we knew it’d be tough. We’ve been the slowest car in terms of top speed and acceleration all week. We’re way down on power, with 10 percent less than the Prosches had last year.
“It sucks to miss Hyperpole by six hundredths, but that’s all we had. I think it’ll be a tough race with lots of drivers making mistakes because of the traffic and new gravel traps. There are tons of cars faster than the Porsche this weekend. I don’t think we have the package to win, but if we stay error-free we could finish in the top five.”
Peugeot deploys spare chassis
Peugeot TotalEnergies rebuilt the #94 9X8 around a spare monocoque overnight ahead of Free Practice 3 earlier today. It was a job that took the crew 14 hours to complete.
No details on the reason for the switch were given by the team, aside from a somewhat enigmatic “the decision was taken to prevent any potential issues” from a team spokesperson.
It will start tomorrow’s race 12th.
DSC believes the team was experiencing significant vibrations and opted to investigate during FP2. It is understood to have found some significant damage and opted to start the rebuild before the end of track action that day.
LED Panels explained
The FIA WEC YouTube channel has released an explainer for the new-for-2025 LED panels that are now fitted to all cars in the Hypercar and LMGT3 classes.
Lapierre adapting to sporting director role
Nicolas Lapierre remains a key part of the Alpine Endurance Team in 2025, despite no longer featuring in the French team’s driver roster. His new role as sporting director sees him take on a new challenge, one which he says he’s enjoying so far.
Speaking with reporters today, Lapierre admitted that he doesn’t feel fully up to speed yet, but is enjoying the new role and has no intention of returning to the cockpit.
“I don’t miss racing. Maybe I will miss it when I’m on the grid tomorrow. To be transparent I didn’t even apply for a race licence this year, I stick to the plan. The food and the wine are great. My wine cellar is finally going down!” He said
“I’m still learning, I’m not 100 per cent comfortable but I am getting there. I really enjoy it. I am involved in strategy and I try to give my driver’s point of view to our engineers. It’s a way to connect the engineers because sometimes they can’t feel what the drivers feel. Sometimes they underestimate what the driver gets in the car. So I am there every time the car is on track.”
Away from WEC races, Lapierre explained that he is involved in other matters such as driver selection and run plans for the team, in addition to his other role with CLX Racing.
“One of the main roles I have is on driver choice, contracts and scouting. It’s very important because the market is very difficult. It’s busy (doing this alongside management duty at CLX), but in a way for me it’s a help because I can see young drivers in ELMS. Always being at circuits is something I like, it gives me a good rhythm.”
Hanson revved up ahead of Ferrari Hypercar debut
Phil Hanson says he already feels settled into his new surroundings at AF Corse, following his move from Hertz Team Jota over the winter.
The 25-year-old Briton has had to adapt quickly to the characteristics of the 499P after previously racing the Porsche 963 with Jota in WEC and JDC over in the US. But, he told DSC, it hasn’t taken too long to adjust.
“The car is very different to the Porsche, so you have to approach certain aspects differently,” he said.
“The Bahrain (Rookie) test last year was satisfying, it gave me an understanding of how the car works. It was good to go straight from the Porsche in the final race to the Ferrari. And now it’s been about taking that experience and adapting it to a different track. Tyre management, for instance, is much less of an issue here than it was in Bahrain.
“When I was there in Bahrain, because tyre deg is so high, you don’t notice the differences because you can’t be too aggressive. Here, you can explore the car in many more ways lap after lap, so it’s showing me how different they are.
“Since that Bahrain test, I’ve done other testing with the team too, which has been useful. There are certain things I haven’t experienced yet, which will come in time, and I haven’t driven the car in a race yet so that’s the next step.”
One aspect he says that isn’t too different is the general team atmosphere at AF Corse.
“A lot of the top teams work in a similar manner now,” he explained. “Often what works for one team, works for the others. Some people say the opposite, but after so many years in motorsport, I feel these teams are more similar than you’d think.
“There’s a lot of migration in terms of personnel, I look around and there are people at AF Corse that five years ago were in LMP2 for instance. The difference between these teams has become smaller. And I’ve worked with Robert and Yifei now for a bit of time. It’s good to work with new drivers. They’re easy to work with and nice guys, so I can say it’s been a good introduction.”
Fillon takes to the track
The Qatar Endurance Challenge field, which had its first 60-minute race today, saw ACO President Pierre Fillon added to the entry. He co-drove a 1971 Chevron B19 and finished 17th overall.
Also on the grid was fellow ACO board member, Francois Bourdin, who piloted his own Chevron.
The field included not only multiple cars that started the Le Mans 24 Hours in the past, but also the overall race-winning Brumos Porsche 911 from the 1975 Rolex 24 Hours and a Porsche 928 which has a competition history that includes multiple starts at the Nürburgring 1000Kms, a class win at the Nürburgring 24 Hours, with ex-Mercedes-Benz motorsport boss Norbert Haugh as one of its drivers.
One somewhat quirky entry came from the only Ginetta in the field. The 1969 G16 was bought for its Belgian owner as an incomplete car and build up to racing condition by its current owner. Today’s race in Qatar marked the car’s first-ever race.
Legends road run
Three Le Mans legends, Tom Kristensen (this week’s Grand Marshal), Jacky Ickx and Emanuele Pirro, all took part in a road run from the circuit to Lusail Boulevard with a number of the historic cars taking part in the Peter Auto support race.
While it was quite the spectacle, unfortunately, it didn’t go entirely to plan. The Prodrive Ferrari 550’s battery failed before it left the circuit and didn’t make out.
Kristensen enjoyed the irony of driving the Porsche 911 GT1 Evo, a car that he competed against in 1997, the year of his first Le Mans win (in a TWR Porsche WSC-95).
“It feels a bit odd driving a car I was racing against back then. But it was quite a privilege,” he told DSC.
On the strength of the WEC, he added: “The paddock is amazing, it’s great to see sportscar racing in such health.”
How to follow
The Qatar 1812KMs will be available with full commentary from the WEC TV team led by Martin Haven, with Anthony Davidson and the DSC editor in the booth. Full-season pit-lane reporter Bruce Jouanny is joined by Alex Lagouix.
The coverage is available on the WEC app and via broadcast partners across the globe. The WEC announced yesterday evening that full race coverage will be available with Spanish commentary, live and free, on YouTube across South America.
The race gets underway at 14:00 local time.
