Cadillac takes pole position in WEC São Paulo with Alex Lynn

Alex Lynn once again demonstrated why Cadillac trusts him for qualifying sessions by setting a time of 1:22.570 at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, enough to secure his third pole position in the FIA World Endurance Championship. The British driver from team Jota repeated the feat achieved a month ago at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, though this time without his teammate joining him on the front row.

Sébastien Bourdais had initially completed the Cadillac one-two with a time of 1:22.670, but the stewards determined that the French driver obstructed Paul di Resta at turn 12 during the first qualifying session. The one-position grid penalty allows the #5 Porsche of Julien Andlauer, who set a 1:22.834, to share the front row with Lynn.

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Bourdais' penalty means he will start third alongside Malthe Jakobsen, who placed the Peugeot 9X8 in fourth position with a 1:22.948. The Danish rookie surprised by outperforming more experienced drivers in his second event of the year.

Ferrari and Toyota endure forgettable qualifying

Ferrari's troubles began early when their two factory cars failed to make it into the Hyperpole session. Antonio Fuoco in the #50 qualified 14th while Antonio Giovinazzi in the #51 finished 17th. Only Robert Kubica partially saved Maranello's honor by sneaking into the top 10 with a last-minute lap, though the Le Mans winner could only manage ninth place in AF Corse's #83 car.

Toyota experienced an even more dramatic drop compared to 2024. Kamui Kobayashi, who had started from pole last year at Interlagos, ended up last among the Hypercars in 18th place. His compatriot Ryō Hirakawa was the Japanese manufacturer's only representative in Hyperpole, finishing tenth.

Sheldon van der Linde placed the best BMW in fifth position for WRT with a 1:23.062, while di Resta finished sixth despite the incident with Bourdais. Kevin Estre and Dries Vanthoor completed the top 8 with the second Porsche Penske and second BMW respectively.

Barrichello electrifies Interlagos in LMGT3

Eduardo Barrichello, son of 11-time Formula 1 winner Rubens Barrichello, created the most emotional moment of the day by securing pole position in LMGT3 in front of his home crowd. The 23-year-old Brazilian set a 1:33.489 in the Aston Martin Vantage for Racing Spirit of Léman team, beating Clemens Schmid in the Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F by just 24 thousandths of a second.

Finn Gehrsitz completed Lexus' strong showing with the third fastest time, while teenage sensation Lin Hodenius placed the Iron Lynx Mercedes in fourth position.

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The 6 Hours of São Paulo, the fifth round of the 2025 WEC, will start this Sunday at 11:30 local time (16:30 CEST).