Ferrari achieves a new 1-2 in the third round of the WEC at Spa

Ferrari has maintained its unbeaten streak in the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship after securing a dominant 1-2 finish at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps this Saturday. The Ferrari 499P #51 driven by James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi crossed the finish line with just a 4-second advantage over the #50 Ferrari of Nicklas Nielsen, Miguel Molina and Antonio Fuoco. The podium was completed by the Alpine A424 LMDh #36 driven by Frédéric Makowiecki, Jules Gounon and Mick Schumacher, who finished just one second behind second place.

This result allows Ferrari to extend its lead in the championship battle after also securing victories in Qatar and Imola, completing a perfect season start with three consecutive wins.

A much closer race than qualifying

While Ferrari dominated qualifying with its three 499Ps occupying the top positions in Hyperpole, the Belgian race proved to be a much tighter battle than expected. Alpine, BMW and Peugeot put up strong resistance during the six-hour competition, continuing the competitive pattern seen at the season opener in Qatar, where Ferrari had also claimed victory.

The opening hours saw intense action throughout the field, with Nielsen initially leading a Ferrari 1-2-3 in the #50. Meanwhile, Makowiecki in the Alpine #36 became a protagonist in the early stages after moving up from fifth to second place and pressuring the leading Ferrari.

The plans for Porsche didn't materialize when its #5 driven by Julien Andlauer spun to the back of the Hypercar field after a collision on the second lap with the Cadillac #38 of Sébastien Bourdais, who received a drive-through penalty for the incident.

The race was interrupted multiple times by safety car periods. The first neutralization came after 45 minutes when the Porsche 963 of Proton Competition driven by Nicolas Pino stopped at Les Combes with a mechanical issue, triggering a Full Course Yellow period. Shortly after, at 1 hour and 15 minutes, Yasser Shahin became stranded at La Source in the BMW #31, prompting the first safety car intervention.

A second safety car period occurred just before the race's halfway point, after Sean Gelael hit the barriers at the exit of Les Combes following contact with the Mercedes #60 of Iron Lynx driven by Matteo Cairoli. A third neutralization came before the fifth hour due to a crash between the Aston Martin #10 of Racing Spirit of Léman driven by Eduardo Barrichello and the McLaren #59 of United Autosports driven by Sébastien Baud at Stavelot.

Strategy decides the final outcome

Fuel management became the decisive factor in the final hour of racing. The strategies of the two factory Ferraris clearly diverged: Pier Guidi in the #51 opted to push the pace knowing he would need a late stop for refueling, while Nielsen in the #50 switched to fuel-saving mode.

When the two Ferraris made their stops with just over an hour remaining, Pier Guidi in the #51 managed to overcome a 6-second deficit to the #50, where Nielsen had taken over from Fuoco.

Both Ferraris momentarily fell behind the BMW M Hybrid LMDhs of the WRT team, but Pier Guidi was able to pass them quickly, while Nielsen lost time and also dropped behind the Cadillac V-Series.Rs of Jota.

Pier Guidi made his final stop with 12 minutes remaining, emerging with an 11-second lead over his teammate. Nielsen managed to keep Schumacher at bay in the closing stages while managing his energy allocation to the finish.

The Peugeot 9X8s, which had shown competitive pace for much of the race, saw their chances compromised when they opted to split their fuel strategies. Jean-Eric Vergne in the #93 briefly led the race thanks to this tactical gamble, but the appearance of the safety car shortly after his stop neutralized the gained advantage.

Alpine "best of the rest" with a podium that could have been more

For the Alpine team, the final result was marked by what might have been. A slow puncture in the penultimate hour dashed the French manufacturer's aspirations, though it effectively allowed Schumacher to bring forward his final refueling stop.

BMW, which had led the race with the #20 of René Rast and Robin Frijns, lost a clear podium opportunity due to brake issues that caused their retirement in the final hour.

The best-placed Peugeot 9X8 2024 LMH also retired after Malthe Jakobsen in the #94 shared with Loic Duval and Stoffel Vandoorne collided with Frijns at Les Combes.

Toyota and McLaren teams with mixed fortunes

Toyota, which had qualified ahead of only the Aston Martin Valkyrie LMHs, managed to climb to fourth position with the GR010 HYBRID LMH #8 shared by Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa and Sébastien Buemi. Mike Conway in the Toyota #7 had suffered a puncture on the rear right tire in the early stages that forced an unscheduled stop, but the team recovered to finish seventh.

The Jota Cadillacs finished fifth and sixth, with the #12 of Alex Lynn and Norman Nato ending nine seconds ahead of the #38 driven by Jenson Button, Earl Bamber and Sebastien Bourdais.

The McLarens of United Autosports suffered problems during the race. The #59 driven by Sébastien Baud was involved in an accident with the Aston Martin #10 of Eduardo Barrichello at Stavelot, prompting the third safety car intervention. The #95 retired after completing just 68 laps, well below the 150 laps completed by the leaders.

Porsche salvaged a ninth-place finish with the 963 LMDh #6 of Team Penske driven by Laurens Vanthoor, Kevin Estre and Pascal Wehrlein, while the #5, which had suffered the early incident with the Cadillac, managed to recover to twelfth position. BMW completed the top 10 with the M Hybrid #15 driven by Kevin Magnussen and Raffaele Marciello, who received a penalty for an infringement during the Virtual Safety Car period.

Ferrari also wins in LMGT3

In the LMGT3 category, victory went to the Ferrari 296 GT3 of AF Corse driven by Francois Heriau, Simon Mann and Alessio Rovera, despite an early race penalty. Rovera finished with a 40-second advantage over the Ford Mustang GT3 of Proton Competition driven by Dennis Olsen, Giammarco Levorato and Stefano Gattuso.

The Akkodis ASP team with the Lexus #78 initially led the category from pole position with Arnold Robin, but the advantage changed hands during scheduled stops. The BMW #46 of Team WRT with Ahmed Al Harthy took the lead before the safety car period for the issues with the BMW #31. However, the #21 Vista AF Corse established a decisive lead in the final part of the race.

Next stop: Le Mans

With three races completed, the FIA World Endurance Championship now prepares for its most prestigious event: the 24 Hours of Le Mans, to be held from June 14-15, 2025. The Spa race served as a dress rehearsal for all teams, providing valuable data about reliability and performance on a track with particular characteristics that can be applied to certain sections of the French circuit.

Ferrari arrives at Le Mans as the team to beat after its flawless season start, while Alpine, BMW and Toyota will attempt to break this streak in the most demanding race of the calendar.