The second round of the 2025 World Endurance Championship concluded with another victory for Ferrari, securing their second consecutive win after their success in Qatar.
The Ferrari 499P #51 driven by James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi, and Alessandro Pier Guidi crossed the finish line with an 8.4-second advantage at the end of a race that was completely transformed by Safety Car interventions and Virtual Safety Car periods.
The second round of the 2025 World Endurance Championship concluded with another victory for Ferrari, securing their second consecutive win after their success in Qatar.
The Ferrari 499P #51 driven by James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi, and Alessandro Pier Guidi crossed the finish line with an 8.4-second advantage at the end of a race that was completely transformed by Safety Car interventions and Virtual Safety Car periods.
Photo By Maxime Lantz
Race interruptions change initial strategies
What began as a race controlled by Ferrari changed dramatically when the Safety Car appeared at the end of the second hour. This situation, along with another subsequent neutralization and two Virtual Safety Car periods, allowed teams to modify their fuel and tire strategies.
The Ferrari #51 had dominated from pole position during the opening hours, with Calado establishing a nearly 3-second lead over the customer 499P from AF Corse driven by Phil Hanson after the first hour of competition.
The Safety Car intervention opened new possibilities for teams, turning the final four hours into a race where strategy became more important than pure speed.
BMW and Alpine capitalize on opportunities
BMW M Team WRT secured second place with their Hybrid V8 #20 driven by René Rast, Robin Frijns, and Sheldon van der Linde, matching their best championship result to date.
"We opted for short refueling during the second Safety Car to gain track position, knowing we'd have to manage fuel in the final stints," explained Rast after the race.
Alpine completed the podium with their A424 #35 driven by Frederic Makowiecki, Jules Gounon, and Mick Schumacher, finishing 3.8 seconds behind the BMW. This result also marks the French manufacturer's best finish in WEC.
Incidents that shaped the race
The customer Ferrari #83 from AF Corse lost podium chances when Robert Kubica, who shared the car with Hanson and Yifei Ye, made a mistake with eight minutes remaining while running in fourth position.
Toyota saw their options limited when the GR010 #8 of Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa, and Sébastien Buemi received a penalty for speeding under yellow flags. The Japanese team switched to an alternative strategy that allowed them to recover to fifth place.
The comeback plans of Ferrari #50, winners in Qatar and starting last on the grid, ended in the final hour when Antonio Fuoco made contact with Buemi at the Tamburello chicane. The Italian suffered a rear puncture that dropped him to fifteenth position.
LMGT3: Manthey wins by narrow margin
In the LMGT3 category, the Porsche 911 GT3-R #92 from Manthey team driven by Richard Lietz, Ryan Hardwick, and Riccardo Pera won by just three tenths over the BMW M4 GT3 #46.
Photo By Maxime Lantz
Valentino Rossi, who had taken pole position, saw his victory hopes fade after receiving a penalty for contact with the Ferrari 296 GT3 #21 of Simon Mann while trying to regain the lead.
Kelvin van der Linde, teammate to Rossi and Ahmad Al Harthy in the BMW #46, passed the Manthey Porsche on the final lap but didn't have enough time to build the necessary gap before the finish line.
Third place went to the Lexus RC F GT3 from Auto Sport Promotion with Arnold Robin, Finn Gehrsitz, and Esteban Masson.
Race interruptions change initial strategies
What began as a race controlled by Ferrari changed dramatically when the Safety Car appeared at the end of the second hour. This situation, along with another subsequent neutralization and two Virtual Safety Car periods, allowed teams to modify their fuel and tire strategies.
The Ferrari #51 had dominated from pole position during the opening hours, with Calado establishing a nearly 3-second lead over the customer 499P from AF Corse driven by Phil Hanson after the first hour of competition.
The Safety Car intervention opened new possibilities for teams, turning the final four hours into a race where strategy became more important than pure speed.
BMW and Alpine capitalize on opportunities
BMW M Team WRT secured second place with their Hybrid V8 #20 driven by René Rast, Robin Frijns, and Sheldon van der Linde, matching their best championship result to date.
"We opted for short refueling during the second Safety Car to gain track position, knowing we'd have to manage fuel in the final stints," explained Rast after the race.
Alpine completed the podium with their A424 #35 driven by Frederic Makowiecki, Jules Gounon, and Mick Schumacher, finishing 3.8 seconds behind the BMW. This result also marks the French manufacturer's best finish in WEC.
Incidents that shaped the race
The customer Ferrari #83 from AF Corse lost podium chances when Robert Kubica, who shared the car with Hanson and Yifei Ye, made a mistake with eight minutes remaining while running in fourth position.
Toyota saw their options limited when the GR010 #8 of Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa, and Sébastien Buemi received a penalty for speeding under yellow flags. The Japanese team switched to an alternative strategy that allowed them to recover to fifth place.
The comeback plans of Ferrari #50, winners in Qatar and starting last on the grid, ended in the final hour when Antonio Fuoco made contact with Buemi at the Tamburello chicane. The Italian suffered a rear puncture that dropped him to fifteenth position.
LMGT3: Manthey wins by narrow margin
In the LMGT3 category, the Porsche 911 GT3-R #92 from Manthey team driven by Richard Lietz, Ryan Hardwick, and Riccardo Pera won by just three tenths over the BMW M4 GT3 #46.
Valentino Rossi, who had taken pole position, saw his victory hopes fade after receiving a penalty for contact with the Ferrari 296 GT3 #21 of Simon Mann while trying to regain the lead.
Kelvin van der Linde, teammate to Rossi and Ahmad Al Harthy in the BMW #46, passed the Manthey Porsche on the final lap but didn't have enough time to build the necessary gap before the finish line.
Third place went to the Lexus RC F GT3 from Auto Sport Promotion with Arnold Robin, Finn Gehrsitz, and Esteban Masson.
I’ve had a passion for motorsport since my childhood. Even as a child, I used to often have a camera between my hands. Later, I professionalized in the audiovisual field and then the idea to mix these two passions for racing and photography came up. Now, I mainly cover WEC and endurance racing, but also local hillclimb events.
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