Vanthoor sets pace in closely-contested FP1 at Interlagos

Hypercar

• Track action for the 2025 Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo got underway with the first of three practice sessions at the challenging Interlagos track
• The fifth round of this year’s FIA World Endurance Championship sees the title chase enter its second half
• Laurens Vanthoor set the early pace in the #6 Porsche Penske 963 Hypercar with the Belgian setting a best lap of 1m25.175s. 
• That lap, for the Le Mans runners-up and defending WEC champions, was 0.084s quicker than the #50 Ferrari AF Corse 499P Hypercar in which Antonio Fuoco peaked on 1m25.260s
• BMW M Team WRT made it three different manufacturers inside the top three as René Rast lapped just 0.070s adrift of Fuoco’s Ferrari 
• The fastest Toyota in FP1 was the #7 GR010 Hybrid, as Mike Conway claimed the best time in car he shares with Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries
• The second BMW placed fifth, as Marco Wittmann returns to FIA WEC to replace the indisposed Robin Frijns; Raffaele Marciello posted the car’s quickest effort with a 1m25.348s
• Completing the top was the first of the Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA entries, as the #38 V-Series.R Hypercar set a best time of 1m25.352 in hands of Sébastien Bourdais
• The top ten was rounded out by the #12 Cadillac, the Le Mans-winning #83 Ferrari, the #36 Alpine and the #94 Peugeot 
• The #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing GR010 Hypercar runs with just Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa this weekend, as Sébastien Buemi misses his first FIA WEC race since Shanghai 2012. The duo placed a lowly 16th in FP1

LMGT3

• The notoriously close LMGT3 category sees intra-manufacturer battles already developing 
• Akkodis ASP Team continued its strong 2025 form by occupying the top two spots for the majority of the session, with the #87 car just outpacing the sister #78 machine
• José María López set the best lap of the session with a rapid 1m35.010s run, a slender 0.124s ahead of young FIA WEC sensation Finn Gehrsitz
• Third and fastest non-Lexus was the Qatar-winning #33 TF Sport Corvette, with Daniel Juncadella peaking on a lap of 1m35.293s
• The #10 Racing Spirit of Léman placed fourth, as hometown hero Eduardo Barrichello takes part in his first world championship event at his local track
• Barrichello shares the car with series newcomer Anthony McIntosh and Valentin Hasse Clot, with the latter sealing the best time for the Aston Martin Vantage on a 1m35.360s
• The top six in LMGT3 was completed by the Le Mans podium-visiting #81 TF Sport Corvette and the #88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang; Charlie Eastwood and Dennis Olsen set the times respectively
• The session saw a single Full Course Yellow period, when the #54 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari 296 had to be recovered after stopping near the Ferradura corner

FP2 begins at 15.45 local time.

Click HERE for FP1 lap times.

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.