Written by Aaron Carroll, Edited by Owen Bradley
On Friday AF Corse and Ferrari walked away with a dominant performance in the opening round of the World Endurance Championship (WEC), securing a 1-2-3 finish, completely locking out the podium. But a result like that begs the question, is this pace sustainable for the whole season?
After securing pole position on Friday, the No.51 of Antonio Giovinazzi, Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado, led the field away at the beginning of the 10 hour spectacle, and as the race unfolded it became clear with roughly two hours to go, no one had the pace to challenge any of the 499P’s.
They crossed the line with the No.50 of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen taking the win, with the privateer No.83 AF Corse of Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Phil Hanson coming just behind them in second, with the pole sitting No.51 just behind.
The closest challengers to the trio at the flag were the two pairs of BMW’s and Toyota’s. They finished just behind the podium lockout, with the No.15 BMW in fourth, and then the No.8 and No.7 Toyotas, with the No.20 BMW behind in seventh. Despite being the closest to the Ferrari’s, they didn’t exactly look to be contending for a win in the closing stages, it was clear to all that it was Ferrari’s race to lose.
The two Hertz Team Jota Cadillac’s were on the pace of the Ferrari’s early in the race, but after they collided with each other on a safety car restart, it was very difficult to come back with the damage from the collision.
Reigning champions Porsche Penske were also nowhere to be found up the front of the grid, a distinct lack of pace for the German marque, despite coming off of a dominant 2024 season and a win in IMSA’s Rolex 24 at Daytona. The two Penske cars just managed to be 10th and 11th and the flag, the first two cars off of the lead lap.
With no competition in the way in Qatar, what stops Ferrari from continuing this form into Imola and Spa, and going for the third win in a row at Le Mans. The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) may choose to make some Balance of Performance (BoP) changes to even out all of the cars a bit more, but they won’t want to make any drastic changes, in fear of overdoing it and negating Ferrari’s real pace.
We also have to be aware that at last year's Qatar 1812 km, Porsche managed a very similar 1-2-3 finish. The factory Penske cars finished first and third, and the privateer Hertz Team Jota entry splitting them in second. Very similar to the finish this year by Ferrari. But Porsche didn’t win again until Spa, two races later with the privateer entry. Neither of the factory entries would win again until the penultimate round in Fuji, their only other win.
Another important factor to consider is what Ferrari’s competition has in store. Cadillac showed that they could already challenge Ferrari before their collision, and BMW and Toyota weren’t too far away at the end of the race either. A few small updates for any of these teams could put them right in the driver's seat of this championship.
Manufacturers like Alpine and Peugeot will also be looking to make that final jump up to the front of the grid, and Porsche will certainly be looking at what went wrong in Qatar and will be already searching for a solution.
No matter the case, going into Imola, Ferrari are the team to beat. But with how unpredictable WEC has been over the past two seasons, you can’t overlook anyone for a win. Ferrari will have a big target on their backs for the rest of the season, the only question is, can anyone hit the target?
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