BMW leads the championship after a stunning 1-2 at Spa, but Ferrari and Toyota are closing in. Preview the 94th 24 Hours of Le Mans and find out how to watch live.
24 Hours of Le Mans 2026 - at a glance (H2)
Round 3 of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship
Location : Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France - 13.626 km
Wednesday 10 June: Free Practice 1, Qualifying & Free Practice 2
Thursday 11 June: Free Practice 3, Hyperpole & Free Practice 4
Saturday 13 June: Race start - 16:00 CEST
Sunday 14 June: Race finish - 16:00 CEST
62 cars: 18 Hypercars, 19 LMP2, 25 LMGT3
Championship lead: BMW (59 pts), Toyota (52 pts), Ferrari (42 pts)
The 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship has already delivered its first major twist. At Spa-Francorchamps, BMW M Team WRT produced one of the season's most emphatic statements, taking a historic 1-2 finish to claim the German manufacturer's first victory in the modern Hypercar era.
René Rast, Robin Frijns and Sheldon van der Linde led home their teammates to leave the Ardennes with BMW sitting 7 points clear of Toyota and 17 ahead of Ferrari in the manufacturers' standings.
Toyota fought hard for a podium in Belgium but ultimately had to settle for a double points finish, slipping to second in the championship. Ferrari's #50 car recovered brilliantly to complete the podium at Spa, keeping the Italian manufacturer within reach of the summit. Three manufacturers separated by fewer than 20 points. Now all roads lead to Le Mans - and here, everything changes.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is not just the centrepiece of the FIA World Endurance Championship calendar. It is the race that defines seasons, ends championships early and builds reputations that last decades. What happened at Imola and Spa matters less here. Le Mans asks different questions, and not every answer comes from qualifying pace or sprint-race strategy.
Ferrari knows this better than most. The Maranello manufacturer is hunting a fourth consecutive victory at Circuit de la Sarthe - a run of dominance that would cement its place in modern Le Mans folklore. After the #50 Ferrari showed its resilience at Spa, the tifosi will arrive at the Sarthe with real belief, even if the points table currently tells a different story.
Toyota, meanwhile, has unfinished business. The Japanese manufacturer opened the season at Imola with the confidence of a title contender, only for BMW's Spa performance to complicate the picture. At Le Mans, where Toyota has come achingly close on numerous occasions, the pressure to convert that potential into victory is as strong as it has ever been.
And then there is BMW. Arriving as championship leaders for the first time in the Hypercar era, Team WRT will face the full weight of expectation across 24 hours - on a circuit where consistency matters as much as raw speed, and where a single mechanical failure can undo hours of patient work.
Watch the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2026 live on FIAWEC+, the official streaming home of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Every session of race week - from Free Practice through Qualifying and Hyperpole to the full 24-hour race - is streamed live and on demand, ad-free, so you never have to choose between watching and waiting.
With live onboard cameras, Live Timing and full race replays, FIAWEC+ brings you closer to Le Mans than any broadcast can. 39 onboard cameras across the Hypercar, LMP2 and LMGT3 fields, Live Timing Pro and real-time race data put you at the heart of every strategic call, every overtake and every moment that shapes the result. Whether you are following the Hypercar title fight, tracking the LMGT3 battles through the night, or reliving the decisive final hour on demand, FIAWEC+ keeps you with the race from lights out to the chequered flag.
For other viewing options and broadcasters, click here.
