Ferrari wins, BMW and Alpine earn podium at Imola

WECHyperCar

Apr 21

At Imola, Ferrari secured its second consecutive win in the 2025 FIA WEC, celebrating victory with the #51 499P, driven in the race by Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi who, after starting from pole position, climbed the top step of the podium to the applause of the Italian tifosi.

📷© Luc Warnotte at Imola. Ferrari #51 in front of pack at Tamburello

Two Ferrari in first row tomorrow

Antonio Giovinazzi driving the Ferrari 499P #51 did set the quickest time of the weekend so far with a 1:28.920. He is the only one under the 1:30” mark. Robert Kubica clinched first row also as he was second with a 1:29.678 in AF Corse Ferrari #83. Antonio Fuoco’s fastest Qualifying time was deleted for track limits, which prevented him participating to the hyperpole session.

📷© Luc Warnotte at Imola. The #51 Ferrari 499P lead 171 laps of the 212 covered (left). Last splash and Go for leading Ferrari 499P #51 (right).

Antonio Giovinazzi Ferrari - AF Corse #51: “Finally, a win! To achieve it on home turf makes it even more extraordinary. It’s been a perfect weekend – right from the free practice sessions, then the pole position and now this win. It was a long race, but we were well aware of the car’s potential and made no mistakes, neither in terms of strategy nor tyre management. My teammates were excellent, just as the whole team was, and we’re enjoying this moment together.”

James Calado Ferrari - AF Corse #51: “This is one of the finest wins of my career, because I’d never stood on the top step of the podium in front of our own tifosi before. It’s an incredible feeling and I’m proud we managed to return to winning ways after such a long time – and to do it here at home. Today we made the most of our potential, had a bit of luck, and executed a perfect strategy. As a team we did an outstanding job, and we dedicate this success to our wonderful tifosi.”

Alessandro Pier Guidi Ferrari - AF Corse #51: “I’m pleased with this win – we’ve been chasing it for a long time and without doubt we deserved it. Already last season, for one reason or another, we came close on several occasions without quite getting there. And there’s nothing better than clinching this victory in front of our tifosi, here at Imola. After the win at Le Mans, I missed standing on the top step of the podium, but I wasn’t worried because I always focus on the end goal rather than partial results. If I’d had to choose one race to return to the top, it would have been Imola.” Source: Ferrari

BMW Team WRT’s first Hypercar podium

The #20 BMW Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 faced a more challenging start from P13, but thanks to consistent and composed stints from René Rast, Robin Frijns, and Sheldon van der Linde, the car steadily climbed up the order. A strong final hour secured P2 overall — the team’s first Hypercar podium of the 2025 campaign.

The #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 started from 13th place but steadily moved up the order on the tight course. However, Rast collided with another car during an overtaking attempt, which was not his fault, severely damaging the rear wing. This required a complete rear section change during the subsequent pit stop, which the BMW M Team WRT crew accomplished in an extremely short time, thus limiting the time lost. Nevertheless, the journey from ninth place to the podium was long. To gain positions on the track, the team decided to shorten the penultimate refuelling stop, allowing them to take the lead. Van der Linde drove laps at qualifying pace to build enough time to overtake most competitors during their later final stops and cross the finish line in second place.

René RAST, driver #20: "A fantastic result – finally a podium! We didn't expect this after finishing 13th in qualifying, which didn't go as planned. But in the race, we showed how good our car and our team are. We made almost no mistakes, stayed calm, and executed well. In the end, a bit of luck was also involved, but we had so much bad luck in the last races that we now deserve to celebrate." Source: BMW M Team WRT

Alpine Endurance Team secures its first podium finish this season

Alpine Endurance Team secures its first podium finish this season, finishing third in the 6 Hours of Imola. Frédéric Makowiecki, Jules Gounon, and Mick Schumacher worked together with an inspired strategy to deliver the A424's second podium result in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

📷© Luc Warnotte at Imola. Mick Schumacher with Alpine Endurance Team’s #36 Alpine A424 at Variante Alta.

Charles Milesi and Mick Schumacher. Both drivers secured Alpine's first double appearance in the Hyperpole, with Mick Schumacher finishing sixth in the #36. Frédéric Makowiecki started the race on medium tyres dropping to seventh, Jules Gounon (#36) then took over. and moved up to fifth place thanks to a well-timed pit-stop. Mick Schumacher began its stint in the Alpine A424s in seventh. After a safety car period, the German moved up to fifth place. Mick Schumacher left the pits for the last time in tenth position. In a thrilling 35-minute sprint finish, the #36 car moved up to third place with eight minutes to go after its rivals made their final pit stops to reach the finish line.

Last pit stop for Alpine #36. — 📷© Luc Warnotte at Imola. Last pit stop for #36 Alpine A424 with leading Ferrari #51 in background.

📷© Luc Warnotte at Imola. Both Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid.

Jules Gounon: "This podium finish rewards all our hard work over the winter and underlines our progress with the tyres. We went on the soft tyres very early to put in quick out-laps on this track where track position is crucial. The neutralisations didn't help, but I managed to hold my position. The team's strategy was excellent at the end of the race, and Mick took full advantage of it. We now need to keep working to build momentum for the coming races."

Mick Schumacher: "It was a great race, and I'm really happy with the end result. The most important thing is to bring back good results and our strategy was key today, with a little help from a few incidents out front. We managed to pull off something we didn't believe quite possible at the start and we can be proud of our progress so far. Let's keep working hard to build on this momentum at Spa and Le Mans." Source: Alpine Endurance Team.

AF Corse Ferrari fourth

The #83 499P, entered by AF Corse and entrusted to official Ferrari driver Yifei Ye alongside Robert Kubica and Phil Hanson, finished fourth.

Toyota fifth

Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa benefited from a bold strategy and inch-perfect driving to finish fifth in their #8 GR010 HYBRID.

Toyota #8 — 📷© Luc Warnotte at Imola. Toyota GR010 #8 ahead of sister #7

The race started with the #8 in fourth with Brendon Hartley. Ryo Hirakawa took over the #8 but received a drive-through penalty for speeding during the full course yellow.

A safety car late in the fourth hour saw Sebastien Buemi take the wheel of #8 GR010 Hybrid. He brought the #8 back on track in ninth although he was less than 10secs away from the race leader.
Buemi’s alternative strategy helped the #8 lead into the final hour as the rivals ahead pitted, although he needed to defend heroically from the #50 Ferrari to hold that position.
After his final fuel stops, Sebastien Buemi kept his advantage over the #50 and the battle finally ended when the Ferrari hit the #8 and suffered a puncture. Buemi carefully nursed the old tyres through the last stint, even passing the #15 BMW with less than 10 minutes to go.

Sébastien Buemi (Driver, car #8): “It was an eventful race with a little bit of contact and the penalty. Maybe a podium could have been within reach but considering everything, we scored quite a few points today. I think we did the best we could because we were not at the level of the Ferraris. I am quite happy with my performance and congratulations to the team for scoring decent points from both cars. Now we will work very hard so that hopefully in Spa we will have an opportunity to fight.”
Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8): “It was a big fight today. I had a clean first two stints and was running fourth, trying to put pressure on the BMW ahead. We had a good fight but unfortunately, we took a penalty for a full course yellow infringement. Luckily it didn’t cost us much because the team had an amazing strategy after the final safety car to give us clean air and Séb had a great fight with the #50. Finishing fifth was decent damage limitation on a weekend when we didn’t have the pace. There wasn’t a lot more we could do.”
Ryo Hirakawa (Driver, car #8): “It was a very difficult race. We started with solid pace, but the penalty was unfortunate, and this set us back. But we never gave up and we tried a different strategy to help us come back towards the front. It worked and there were some exciting battles. Fifth was probably the most we could realistically expect after the penalty. I have quite mixed feelings because we always want to achieve more, but we will try to come back stronger for Spa.” Source: Toyota

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