QATAR 1812KM: HISTORIC 1-2-3 FOR FERRARI

The 2025 FIA WEC season opener was painted entirely in Ferrari red, as the Prancing Horse dominated the podium at the Qatar 1812 km. The 499P LMH cars delivered an uncontested performance, setting an unbeatable pace for the competition. The first victory of the season went to the crew of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, and Nicklas Nielsen, who had already triumphed at the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans. They were followed by the AF Corse car driven by Yifei Ye, Philip Hanson, and Robert Kubica. The official trio of Alessandro Pier Guidi, Antonio Giovinazzi, and James Calado completed the podium, solidifying Ferrari's supremacy.

Right from the start, the Maranello red cars took control, with Nielsen skillfully overtaking Kevin Magnussen to position himself behind pole-sitter Calado. The 499Ps then imposed an unsustainable pace, repelling BMW and Cadillac’s attempts to join the fight at the top.

The first twist came in the third hour of the race when a technical issue forced Christian Ried’s Mercedes AMG GT3 to stop in the run-off area, prompting race control to neutralize the event with a Virtual Safety Car, followed by a full safety car period. The situation favored Cadillac, which found itself in the lead after the pit stops.

However, Cadillac’s lead was short-lived: Jenson Button, temporarily leading in the Jota, suddenly braked before the restart, surprising his teammate Alex Lynn, who rear-ended him. The incident damaged both cars, clearing the way for Ferrari. Meanwhile, a spin by Fuoco, triggered by contact with Dries Vanthoor’s BMW, reshuffled the order, as did a drive-through penalty for Giovinazzi due to a Virtual Safety Car infringement. Ye took temporary control for Ferrari AF Corse.

The race continued with multiple neutralizations and restarts, with Molina recovering ground until he was right behind Hanson. Another safety car intervention, caused by debris from Nicolas Varrone’s Porsche 963 LMDh, bunched up the field again. Shortly after, a mechanical failure on Bernardo Sousa’s Ford Mustang GT3 led to another interruption. At the restart, Molina wasted no time overtaking Hanson, putting Ferrari back on the path to victory.

The decisive moment arrived during the final pit stop: Fuoco extended his stint by three laps compared to Kubica, gaining enough of a margin to exit ahead of the Polish driver after refueling. Ferrari’s flawless strategy secured a triumphant finish, with Fuoco crossing the line first. Kubica, after losing the lead, managed to fend off Pier Guidi’s attacks, securing second place for AF Corse. Ferrari #51, hampered by two drive-through penalties and a total of fifteen seconds in penalties, completed the podium.

Behind Ferrari’s historic triple, the BMW M Hybrid V8 LMDh of Raffaele Marciello, Dries Vanthoor, and Kevin Magnussen finished fourth after dealing with electronic issues and a conservative strategy. Toyota, never truly in contention for victory, settled for fifth and sixth place with the GR010 Hybrids of Buemi-Hartley-Hirakawa and Kobayashi-Conway-De Vries.

Cadillac finished eighth with Lynn-Nato-Stevens, while Peugeot, despite showing promising race pace, could only manage ninth place with Vergne-Di Resta-Jensen. The Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 LMDh rounded out the top ten, suffering from an early race puncture. Aston Martin and Alpine struggled to emerge, with the Valkyrie cars far from the pace of other Hypercars and plagued by technical issues.

The LMGT3 class delivered a thrilling finish: after ten hours of racing, the Corvette Z06 of Daniel Juncadella, Ben Keating, and Jonny Edgar triumphed by just 493 milliseconds over the McLaren of Gregoire Saucy, James Cottingham, and Sebastien Baud. The battle between the two crews was decided in the final stint, with Juncadella fending off every overtaking attempt from Swiss driver Saucy, securing TF Sport’s first WEC class victory.

The BMW M4 GT3 of Yasser Shahin, Timur Boguslavskiy, and Augusto Farfus finished third, capitalizing on a penalty for the Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F GT3. A strong comeback saw the Ferrari 296 GT3 of Rovera-Mann-Heriau finish in the top five, while the Aston Martin of Drudi-James-Robichon and the McLaren of pole-sitter Gelael followed closely behind. Eighth place went to the Ferrari 296 GT3 of Rigon-Castellacci-Flohr.

The Ford Mustang GT3 of Giammarco Levorato, Stefano Gattuso, and Dennis Olsen claimed the final point-scoring position, while the duo of Valentino Rossi and Kelvin van der Linde finished outside the top ten due to two drive-through penalties. Porsche and Mercedes endured disappointing performances, with the 911s hindered by Balance of Performance adjustments and the Iron Lynx AMG GT3 cars suffering from technical issues.

The 2025 FIA WEC season thus kicks off under Ferrari’s dominance, sending a clear message to its rivals: the Prancing Horse’s supremacy is stronger than ever.

© Cavalieri Garage & Co.