Five rounds into the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar battle, and it is advantage Ferrari in the chase for the coveted crown – but a new winner last time out in Brazil proved that nothing is decided yet...
The Prancing Horse bolted out of the stable in commanding fashion in the Qatar 1812km, galloping to a top three lockout in the ten-hour curtain-raising contest with its trio of 499P Hypercars, as the #50 Ferrari AF Corse entry piloted by Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen and Miguel Molina laid down an early marker.
In the following two outings at Imola and Spa-Francorchamps, it was the sister #51 factory car that prevailed. Allied to a third-place finish in the season’s showpiece event – June’s 24 Hours of Le Mans – that has been sufficient to install Antonio Giovinazzi, Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado at the summit of the standings with three races remaining.
The #51 crew sit 12 points clear of their closest pursuer, the #83 AF Corse car shared by Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Philip Hanson. It was the yellow Ferrari that emerged on top at La Sarthe – thanks in large part to an extraordinary quintuple final stint from the Polish former grand prix-winner – and next up is COTA, scene of the privately-entered 499P’s first win just under 12 months ago...
After triumphing in Qatar, the #50 Ferrari’s championship ambitions were dealt a blow by a qualifying penalty for a track limits transgression on home soil at Imola followed by a contact-induced puncture in the race that restricted the early-season pace-setters to a lowly 15th place. Those receding hopes were then hit again by disqualification from a fourth-place finish at Le Mans due to a technical infringement, leaving Fuoco, Nielsen and Molina a distant fourth in the classification.
Fourth, because third is the #12 Cadillac, breaking up the Italian manufacturer’s stranglehold on the top three positions in the standings. That is courtesy of a milestone maiden triumph for Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA at Interlagos last month – the Alex Lynn, Will Stevens and Norman Nato car leading home the sister #38 V-Series.R of Earl Bamber, Sébastien Bourdais and Jenson Button in an historic one-two.
The American manufacturer had been threatening such a stellar result all season – after running at the head of the field in Qatar and sewing up the front row of the grid at Le Mans – and having now finally broken through, Cadillac will be aiming to maintain its burgeoning momentum on home soil in the US.
It has been a somewhat more challenging campaign for Porsche Penske Motorsport, with a solitary podium finish for each of the famous German brand’s 963 Hypercars. The #6 entry scooped the runner-up spoils at La Sarthe courtesy of a heroic performance by defending world champions Kévin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor alongside stablemate Matt Campbell, with the #5 similarly reaching the rostrum in São Paulo – though elsewhere, reasons for cheer have been few-and-far between.
Defending Manufacturers’ title-holder Toyota has endured an even tougher time, with no visits to the rostrum at all for the most successful marque in FIA WEC history. There have, conversely, been champagne celebrations for both BMW and Alpine – one for the #20 M Hybrid V8 at Imola, and back-to-back podium visits for the #36 A424 in Italy and Belgium.
Fellow French outfit Peugeot showed promising early form in the same two races but has struggled to convert that into strong finishes with its 9X8, while Aston Martin’s new Valkyrie took steps forward at Le Mans – scoring its first championship point – and Interlagos, where the striking British prototype produced its most competitive display to-date.
Watch FIA WEC live or on-demand via the official FIA WEC TV app – your full-access pass to the FIA World Endurance Championship including the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans. Don’t miss a moment. For further information, check out the app.
