Toyota #7 maximised potential with a P6

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing took on a tough challenge in the season-opening Qatar 1812 KM. It is the first time since Silverstone in 2018 that Toyota Gazoo Racing has missed the podium in a WEC race.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lusail (Qatar). Toyota #7 end sixth the **Qatar 1812** race.

Mike Conway started on the front row but suffered oversteer going into turn one, forcing him wide and dropping the #7 down to seventh.

Shortly before the two-hour mark, Mike Conway handed over the #7 to Nyck De Vries. Both cars were fitted with new Michelin tyres on the left side to continue their battle to gain positions, with new right-side rubber coming at the next stop as the team explored different strategies. A battling performance from Nyck moved the #7 into the top six and he handed over to Kamui Kobayashi after almost four hours. With just over two hours remaining, a final driver change saw Nyck De Vries resume the battle under lights in the Qatari night. As the clock counted down, the various fuel strategies played out and Nyck was in seventh entering the final lap. That became sixth when he passed the stricken #93 Peugeot in the final metres of the race.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lusail (Qatar). Nyck De Vries in Toyota GR010 Hybrid #7.

Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car #7): “Unfortunately for this first race of the season we struggled all the way through the race to find strong performance. Finishing sixth was the best we could realistically achieve today, and this isn’t what we hoped for coming here. Obviously, our car was not well suited to this circuit; it is very surprising how challenging this event has been for us. But, despite the difficulties, all team members worked very hard to score points with both cars. The drivers didn’t make any mistakes and the engineers and mechanics performed great too. We will look at everything from this race and work hard to come back stronger at Imola.”

Mike Conway (Driver, car #7): “That was quite a tough race. We didn’t have the pace to fight up front, but our pace was ebbing and flowing depending on what stage in the race we were at. At some points we were more competitive, and at others less so. Going into the race we were not sure what we would take home from Qatar, but it has been pretty good in terms of points. We got a bit fortunate at the end to get sixth, which is a decent result all in all. We will keep pushing and aim for better at Imola.”

Nyck de Vries (Driver, car #7): “After 10 hours of battling, it was a hard-fought result. We were lacking pace compared to the leading cars, so we have to be happy with sixth, although we definitely needed a little bit of luck to finish there because on merit the top six was probably just out of reach. We have scored good points and I think that was the best we could do today. We had to maximise the weekend and we did that.” Source Toyota Gazoo Racing

Difficult debut for 499Ps

The Ferrari – AF Corse team finished round one of the FIA World Endurance Championship with eighth (#50 with Antonio Fuoco-Miguel Molina-Nicklas Nielsen) and 14th place (#51 crewed by and Alessandro Pier Guidi-James Calado-Antonio Giovinazzi).

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lusail (Qatar). #50 Ferrari 499P.

The contacts suffered, which constrained the mechanics to recall the 499Ps to the pits for the necessary work, and the penalties incurred for several errors undermined the official crews’ chances of contending for the top positions despite Molina and Calado’s excellent start. The Ferrari – AF Corse team left Qatar with six points in the Drivers’ and 12 in the Manufacturers’ standings.

ANTONIO FUOCO: “The year’s first outing wasn’t positive. First, we must work on ourselves because we made too many mistakes today. Now our goal must be to start again even stronger. We are already thinking about the next race at Imola in which I hope we’ll again prove our worth.”

MIGUEL MOLINA: “The 1812 KM was very long, and so much happened over the ten hours. We made a good start, although we knew that our pace wouldn’t give us much of a chance to challenge for the podium. In the end, we picked up some points that will be precious over the course of the season, but looking ahead to Imola, I hope we can do better and bag a significant result in front of our fans.”

NICKLAS NIELSEN: “We can’t be satisfied with eighth place, even though we climbed a few positions at the end, gaining some important points for the team and perhaps finishing in the best possible position given the circumstances. It’s a shame because Miguel had an excellent start, but we couldn’t contend for a top position during the race”. Source: Ferrari

Successful baptism for the Alpine A424

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lusail (Qatar). Both Alpine A424.

The two Alpine A424s made their first start, with Nicolas Lapierre and Ferdinand Habsburg avoiding the hazards of the first corner. On hard tyres, both drivers applied themselves in their double stint, and the #35 car briefly took the lead just before the two-hour mark.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lusail (Qatar). Alpine A424 #35

Mick Schumacher and Charles Milesi took over shortly afterwards to continue their teammates' efforts despite a five-second penalty for incorrect positioning during a pit-stop for the #35 and contact with an LMGT3 for the #36. Matthieu Vaxiviere and Paul-Loup Chatin relayed them, with each putting in a double stint on hard tyres.

As night fell, Mick Schumacher and Ferdinand Habsburg were back behind the wheel, with the hard compound on the left flank and medium tyres on the right. On a track becoming increasingly treacherous with gravel on the racing line, the two trios increased the pace before handing over the final sprint to Nicolas Lapierre and Charles Milesi.

Thanks to excellent energy management during a race that included two short neutralisations, the #35 Alpine made one less stop, with Charles Milesi taking the opportunity to move up the order. The team's efforts paid off as the Frenchman crossed the line in ninth place and first among the new manufacturers in the Hypercar category. Meanwhile, the #36 and Nicolas Lapierre were 13th after changing front-end bodywork damaged by contact in the field earlier on.

Charles Milesi: "It was a good race, and we didn’t expect to finish in the top ten on our debut on a new track. It was a great achievement to cross the finish line with both cars, but having one in eighth place is a genuine bonus. Our pace looks promising against several other manufacturers, which is encouraging for the future, even though there's still much to learn and understand. The team has done a great job, and we are all looking forward to Imola."

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lusail (Qatar). Chatin takes over from Milesi.

Ferdinand Habsburg: "I was extremely proud and happy to be in the Alpine A424 for its first start. I was also a little nervous, but I knew I was in the right place with the right people. We had an excellent strategy and almost made a faultless run to get this result, which we're thrilled with. It's a bit like climbing a mountain from the bottom up. As an Austrian, I've climbed many of them before, and I can guarantee you the feeling is incredible when you are at the top. That's how I feel at the moment!"

Paul-Loup Chatin: "It was a good one, and I'm delighted for the team, who have done an amazing job over the last two years to give us a competitive and reliable car right from the first race. I don't think anyone know all the effort that goes into this behind the scenes. It was important not to make any mistakes and see where it would take us. In the end, we finished first among the newcomers and eighth out of 19 Hypercars, ahead of some of the big names in the championship. These first points are just great and reward the whole team's efforts." Source: Alpine Endurance Team

Toyota # 8 salvaged two points with P9

The #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid lost positions at the start from 11th on the grid and Sébastien ended the first lap in 14th.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lusail (Qatar). Toyota GR010 - Hybrid #8.

Shortly before the two-hour mark, Brendon Hartley replaced Sébastien Buemi. A difficult stint for Brendon Hartley meant Ryo Hirakawa faced a battle to return the #8 to the top 10, and his task got tougher when an issue with the rear left wheel cost time and positions at his next pit stop. Hirakawa completed the race in 10th to make it a double points finish for the team, despite the challenging circumstances.

Sébastien Buemi: “It was a difficult race for us, but we still salvaged two points. We didn’t have the performance so we just did the best we could and brought both cars to the chequered flag. Even when we cannot win, at least we still try to score points. It has been a tough week, but we will work hard and come back stronger for Imola, which is a new track for WEC. We have never been there, but I am sure it will suit our car better than here and we obviously expect to have a better result.”

Brendon Hartley: “It has been a challenging day, at the end of a challenging week, particularly on our side of the garage. Neither car had the speed to fight for the podium. Nevertheless, we salvaged points on both cars, and we all fought really hard for them. I am proud of all the team for the way we responded and kept fighting. We raced as hard as we could and now we will focus on fighting back at the next race.”

Ryo Hirakawa: “Obviously this has been a really tough week for us here, tougher than we expected. I am really disappointed we could not compete for a better result, but everyone pushed as hard as possible, and this was the most we could achieve. We think Imola should be more suited to us in terms of track layout so I hope we will come back stronger in the next race. We have a lot of things to work on.” Source: Toyota Gazoo Racing

#99 Proton Competition Porsche 969 in top 10

The #99 Porsche 969 fielded by Proton Competition with Julien Andlauer, Neel Jani and Harry Tincknell finished the season opener in tenth position, taking third place in the FIA World Cup for Hypercar Teams standings.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lusail (Qatar). Bourdais hand over the #2 Cadillac V-Series.R to Bamber.

Harry Tincknell: “It was a kind of learning week for us. The last time I drove the car was in Bahrain in 2023. A lot of things were new and unfamiliar. It’s great to have Julien on board. The teamwork runs smoothly. Our race pace was great at times but we need to maintain this even more consistently. I’m thrilled that a Porsche won.” Source: Porsche

Hypercars post race classification