WEC 2025 closes with Ferrari crowned champions and a surprise one-two finish for Toyota

The 8 Hours of Bahrain closed the 2025 World Endurance Championship season with Ferrari clinching both Hypercar titles and Toyota achieving its first podium of the year. Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and Nyck de Vries won with the #7 GR010 Hybrid, followed by the #8 of Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ryo Hirakawa.

The fourth-place finish of the Ferrari #51 driven by Antonio Giovinazzi, James Calado, and Alessandro Pier Guidi was enough to crown them drivers' champions, also sealing the manufacturers' title for the Italian marque.

Photo By DPPI

Conway Holds Pole and Toyota Dominates from the Start

Conway held the pole position at the start with Hartley alongside him in the #8. The Toyotas built an early advantage over the rest of the field while the Ferraris settled into the points-paying positions needed for the championship. The first pit stop changed the plans: Hartley only took fuel, Conway changed tires, creating an offset that swapped the lead between the two Toyotas during the first hours. Kobayashi regained the lead after 90 minutes when De Vries took the wheel of the #7. A yellow flag in the fourth hour mixed up the positions before Kobayashi and Hirakawa took over their respective cars well into the second half of the race.

Photo By DPPI

Penalty Complicates #8 but Hirakawa Fights Back

The #8 received a drive-through penalty for overtaking under a yellow flag, dropping it down to ninth place. Hirakawa executed a brilliant comeback, passing several cars to climb into the top six, including an intense battle with the #94 Peugeot for the final podium spot.

A yellow flag in the final hour closed up the field and set up an intense restart with 32 minutes remaining. De Vries controlled the race perfectly from the lead while Buemi held second place under pressure from the Ferrari #50.

Ferrari Crowns Historic Season

Ferrari arrived in Bahrain needing to confirm its first world title since 1972. The Italian marque had built a decisive advantage with four victories in the first five races: Qatar (Miguel Molina in the #50), Spa (one-two for #51-#50), Le Mans (Robert Kubica in the #83), and São Paulo also for Kubica.

Other manufacturers resurgented in the second half of the season. Defending champion Porsche broke Ferrari's control in Austin with Kévin Estre in the #6. Alpine took its first win at Fuji with Charles Milesi, and Cadillac scored its first success in Brazil with Alex Lynn in the #12. The #51 arrived with a 13-point lead over the #83, needing only to finish. Its fourth place confirmed both titles for Ferrari, which finished with 245 points in the manufacturers' standings, 74 points ahead of Toyota (171). In the drivers' standings, the #51 trio finished with 133 points, 16 points ahead of their teammates in the #83.

Photo By DPPI

Manthey Repeats as Champion

José María López, Clemens Schmid, and Petru Umbrarescu won in LMGT3 with the #87 Akkodis ASP Lexus by eight-tenths of a second over the #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG in a nail-biting finish. Richard Lietz, Riccardo Pera, and Ryan Hardwick of the #92 Manthey 1st Phorm were crowned champions with a fourth-place finish, achieving consecutive titles with 123 points, 14 ahead of the #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari.

Photo By DPPI

Multiple Farewells

The 8 Hours of Bahrain marked multiple farewells from the WEC. Porsche Penske Motorsport contested its final race before concentrating efforts solely on IMSA, closing three years in the world championship with the 963 LMDh. Proton Competition also faces a likely exit as it lacks the budget to operate two cars, a minimum requirement of the regulations.

Photo By DPPI

Jenson Button bid farewell to professional motorsport with the #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA, marking the end of a career that included the 2009 F1 World Championship.

Final Classification - 8 Hours of Bahrain 2025

Hypercar

LMGT3