Free Practice 1
The 2025 WEC season kicked off in Qatar with uncharacteristically chilly conditions for FP1. Ferrari #51 topped the session, with James Calado behind the wheel. The 2023 Le Mans winner was nearly three-tenths quicker than the #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA, driven by Sébastien Bourdais. Another Ferrari, #50, rounded out the top three, with Miguel Molina behind the wheel. Aston Martin’s #009 car suffered reliability issues, stopping on track.
In LMGT3, Ben Barnicoat led the way in his first-ever session for Akkodis ASP. Corvette’s #33 finished just over a tenth behind, with #81 close to complete the top three. Meanwhile, Iron Lynx Mercedes skipped the session, opting to test their new AMG machinery later.
Free Practice 2
Cadillac wasn’t content with just P2 and sped up the pace in the second session, with Alex Lynn putting the #2 car on top. His time was more than two seconds faster than the benchmark set by Calado in FP1. This time, Ferrari #50 emerged as his closest rival, but still over three tenths slower in P2, with Antonio Fuoco behind the wheel. The top three was completed by the #20 BMW, driven by Robin Frijns, who certainly had a better time here than during his last two Formula E races in Saudi Arabia. It was a closely contested session in the Hypercar class, with all top ten cars separated by just 1.2 seconds.
In LMGT3, Sean Gelael pushed his McLaren to the top of the timesheets, while Ben Barnicoat continued to impress, securing P2, just over a tenth behind the #95 McLaren. José María López put the #78 Lexus in third place for this session. Meanwhile, Iron Lynx Mercedes continued to struggle, running at the back of the field as they focused on collecting data ahead of their first race.
Free Practice 3
Ferrari dominated the final free practice session in the Hypercar class, locking out all three top spots. The #50 car led the way, followed by #51 and #83. Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA proved to be the best of the rest, with the #38 car finishing fourth, closely followed by #12 in fifth place.
In, LMGT3, Sean Gelael continued his strong form, once again finishing P1 in the #95 McLaren. The #78 Akkodis ASP Lexus repeated its second-place finish, this time with Finn Gehrsitz behind the wheel. Another McLaren, #59, completed the top three, driven by Grégoire Saucy. Meanwhile, Iron Dames and Iron Lynx struggled, finishing at the bottom of the timesheets.
Qualifying and Hyperpole
Antonio Giovinazzi secured pole position for the #51 Ferrari, edging out the #15 BMW. The BMW squad, featuring another ex-F1 driver, Kevin Magnussen, finished ahead of another Ferrari #50, with Antonio Fuoco behind the wheel. Fuoco might have had a shot at the Hyperpole had he not gone wide while avoiding a fellow Ferrari on his last lap.
In LMGT3, Sean Gelael continued his superb form, claiming his first-ever pole position. He led a McLaren 1-2, with #59, driven by Sébastien Baud, securing P2. The #78 Akkodis ASP Lexus, piloted by Finn Gehrsitz, impressed with his debut P3 qualifying.
The Race
Hypercar
Ferrari dominated from the start, running 1-2 early on. Cadillac, however, had a nightmare opening, with #38 dropping to P17 and #12 pushed off on lap one. Both recovered quickly, with Earl Bamber setting an early fastest lap.
The #15 BMW collided with an LMGT3 car, damaging its pit limiter, while Toyota’s Sébastien Buemi and Mike Conway made similar contacts. Porsche had a similarly troubling start, #6 suffered rear wing damage, and #5 picked up a puncture. Further down the standings, Aston Martin’s #009 had its door fly off mid-race in hilarious scenes, forcing an unexpected pit stop.
Pole-sitter #51 Ferrari fell to P8 after a VSC penalty later on. Cadillac had a shot at the lead, but a collision between Alex Lynn and Jenson Button under Safety Car ruined their chances at any good result. That opened the door for Toyota to charge forward, with Brendon Hartley climbing to P3 from the back. Meanwhile, #15 BMW’s race unravelled further with a drive-through penalty for hitting Antonio Fuoco.
A long Safety Car period brought Toyota into contention, with Nyck de Vries and Ryo Hirakawa running P3 and P4. Despite multiple penalties, James Calado recovered to P5, running just 20 seconds behind the leading Ferrari. Aston Martin’s hyped #007 Valkyrie, designed by a mastermind Adrian Newey, suffered a technical issue at the same time, retiring from the race.
Antonio Fuoco overtook Robert Kubica in the closing laps to take victory. Kubica defended against Pier Guidi, securing Ferrari’s first 1-2-3 finish since 1967 (in Daytona). Dries Vanthoor took P4 for BMW despite earlier struggles. Toyota had to settle for P5 and P6, followed by the second BMW entry. Cadillac has to be considered the biggest loser of the race, finishing a disappointing P8 and P16 after leading the race before the unfortunate Safety Car restart.
LMGT3
The two McLarens and Akkodis ASP Team Lexus battled hard for the lead at the start, with Arnold Robin sneaking into P1 early on for Lexus. The #81 Corvette retired due to alternator issues, while the #87 Lexus fell back after contact with the #21 Ferrari, which also dropped down the order.
It was an incredibly close fight, with the top five cars separated by just seven seconds at this stage. Rookie Finn Gehrsitz led the pack at halfway mark, closely followed by the McLarens. Eventually, the #95 McLaren took over the lead with Marino Sato behind the wheel, while the #33 Corvette climbed to third after early struggles.
Proton Competition briefly led the race before catching fire and retiring altogether. In the closing stages, Gehrsitz regained P1, running ahead of the fully recovered #33 Corvette. The latter snatched the lead late on, holding off a last-minute challenge from Grégoire Saucy in a McLaren. The two crossed the finish line almost nose-to-tail in a thrillingly close finish. All credit to Daniel Juncadella and his team for securing the win after a tough start. Sébastien Baud completed the podium, fending off both Ben Barnicoat in a Lexus and Alessio Rovera in a Ferrari.
Between Ferrari’s dominant 1-2-3 in Hypercar and a dramatic late-race battle in LMGT3, it was an action-packed season opener. As teams now shift focus to the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, can Ferrari maintain its momentum on home turf, or will its rivals strike back? Tune in for the 6 Hours of Imola starting on April 18!