Double Trouble
Le Mans has been Ferrari's home away from home in the Hypercar era. With double points going to two cars this season, it could be the team's next big step toward a manufacturers' title.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans has been one of motorsports' crown jewels for decades. But for manufacturers chasing the full-season, top-class title, a change in how championship points are awarded means the already monumental event is now even bigger.
The top 10 finishing positions at Le Mans still score more points than at any of the other World Endurance Championship events--twice as much as in the five six-hour rounds, and (for most positions) 1.3 times more than the 10-hour Qatar 1812km season-opener and 8 Hours of Bahrain finale. The differences are a nod to the endurance part of endurance racing--the longer the test, the bigger the payoff.
Starting this season, however, points no longer go to just the top-finishing factory team car. Rather, two factory cars are scored.
The change combined with Ferrari's strong start to the season means the Le Mans results stand to have far-reaching implications.
Ferrari hasn't lost yet this season, though the No. 50 499P's non-points finish in Round 2 at Imola--the Ferrari factory team's only finish outside the top three in the first three races--has kept the Italian team from having an even bigger cushion. As it stands, Ferrari's 136 points are 65 clear of second-place Toyota Gazoo and 72 ahead of BMW Team WRT.
A fourth win this season and third win in a row at Le Mans combined with a strong finish by the second team car will leave the rest of the field scrambling over the season's final four rounds.
Even if someone manages to break Ferrari's streaks, the Italian squad doesn't figure to lose much ground unless neither car scores well and another contender places both team cars ahead of the 499Ps.
Either outcome would break new ground in the 2025 season.
"Three races, three wins, including a one-two-three finish at Qatar [counting the No. 83 AF Corse 499P privateer entry] and one-two at Spa," said Antonello Coletta, global head of Ferrari Endurance and Corse Clienti. "Everyone sees us as the favorites, but we know it won't be easy. The competition has stepped up."
If the Le Mans starting lineup is any indication, Coletta's words may prove prophetic.
Ferrari's top qualifier, the No. 50 of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen that won Le Mans last year, will start seventh--behind the two Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA entries, the two BMW Team WRT cars, and two Penske Porsches, though one of the Porsches is a Le Mans only entry.
The No. 51 499P of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, and Antonio Giovinazzi--which sits atop the drivers' standings, one spot ahead of its teammate--will roll off 11th, right behind the No. 8 Toyota Gazoo GR010, and six spots ahead of the No. 7 Toyota.
Win Or Go Home?
If Toyota has any hope of extending its run of six straight WEC top-class titles, topping Ferrari at Le Mans--or at least matching the Italians point-for-point--is practically a must.
BMW, which entered Spa as Ferrari's closest challenger but left in third place after managing just one point after a 10th-place finish and a retirement, is in a similar spot--minus the championships.
Everyone else needs a full Ferrari meltdown to have any shot at the title, starting at Le Mans. It's a lot to ask for, especially given the team's recent history at sports car racing's signature event.
"Every year, we arrive at Le Mans with a different kind of pressure," Fuoco said. "In 2023, it was linked to our return to the top class after half a century. In 2024, we came here as defending winners. This year, the pressure comes from being at the top of the drivers’ and manufacturers’ World Championship standings.”
Toyota may be the only Hypercar team to win a full-season title, but Ferrari’s recent success has given the team confidence—and perhaps a touch of swagger.
"That’s part of what Le Mans is all about," Fuoco said about the constant pressure. "But so far, we’ve shown we know how to handle these situations in the best possible way."
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