From Monza to Austin, with a stop in Maranello. After the triumph at the Italian Grand Prix in Formula 1, Ferrari also climbed to the top step of the podium in the World Endurance Championship. The AF Corse team, with flawless management of the Ferrari 499P LMH, made the Italian national anthem resonate in Texas during the sixth round of the FIA WEC. The victory was achieved by the trio of Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye, and Robert Shwartzman, who performed impeccably and demonstrated remarkable speed on the Circuit of The Americas (COTA).
The Lone Star Le Mans kicked off with Antonio Giovinazzi in pole position, followed closely by Kubica. One of the initial surprises was Miguel Molina's lightning-fast start; he quickly moved up from fifth place to tail the other two Ferrari 499P LMH cars. In the early stages, the Ferrari trio set the pace, with Giovinazzi, following a different strategy, letting Kubica pass during the sixteenth lap.
While Kubica continued to maintain a steady pace even after the first pit stop, Giovinazzi had to fend off Molina's recovery efforts, who unsuccessfully requested team orders from the Ferrari pit wall. After regaining his initial rhythm, Giovinazzi made contact with the Lexus RC F GT3 driven by backmarker Arnold Robin, earning a five-second penalty to be served at the next pit stop.
The impact with the GT3 car caused irreparable damage to one of the wheels on Giovinazzi's 499P. The situation worsened further as the second hour came to a close when the former F1 driver spun out in Turn 11 while attempting to avoid Stoffel Vandoorne’s lapped Peugeot 9X8. After initially being stuck on the track, Giovinazzi managed to return to the pits using only electric power, only to find out that the transmission was broken, ending his race.
Despite losing one car, Ferrari continued to lead the race, with Kubica followed by Molina. However, after the second round of pit stops, the AF Corse team faced a challenge from Toyota's comeback. Ye, who had taken over for Kubica, found himself defending against the advances of Mike Conway first and then Nyck De Vries. In agreement with the pit wall, Ye opted for a double stint on hard tires, successfully keeping the Toyota driver at bay.
Toyota attempted a strategic pass by pitting earlier than Ferrari, allowing Kamui Kobayashi to take the lead, while Shwartzman had taken over from Ye. However, during the heated race phases, Kobayashi committed a violation under yellow flags, receiving a drive-through penalty that cost him the lead, handing it over to Shwartzman.
With a gap of about ten seconds from Shwartzman, Kobayashi tried a desperate comeback, but the Ferrari driver kept his cool and managed his advantage well. At the end of the 6 Hours of COTA, Shwartzman crossed the finish line first, with a margin of just 1.780 seconds over Kobayashi. This victory made Kubica, Ye, and Shwartzman the sixth different crew to win a WEC race in as many rounds so far.
Ferrari also celebrated a third-place finish, thanks to Molina, Nicklas Nielsen, and Antonio Fuoco. Cadillac had a strong performance as well, with Alex Lynn and Earl Bamber securing fourth place in their home race. Alpine achieved its best result of the season with a fifth-place finish, thanks to a comeback by Charles Milesi and Paul-Loup Chatin, despite Ferdinand Habsburg receiving a drive-through penalty for colliding with Bamber’s Cadillac.
Porsche, despite not being particularly competitive at COTA, managed to minimize the damage. André Lotterer, Laurens Vanthoor, and Kevin Estre finished sixth, even after Estre clashed with Sebastien Buemi in the final stages. Following an early stop to remove a cover from the Pitot tube, Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen, and Frederic Makowiecki ended in seventh place.
The BMWs, after a strong start, gradually lost ground, with Marciello, Wittmann, and Vanthoor finishing in eighth place, while the other BMW team ended up in thirteenth after penalties for track limits and technical infractions. Peugeot also had a tough race, with only one car finishing.
In the LMGT3 class, Heart of Racing dominated with their Aston Martin Vantage GT3, driven by Ian James, Alex Riberas, and Daniel Mancinelli, securing their first WEC victory in front of their home crowd. Two Porsche cars also made it to the podium, while the McLaren of James Cottingham, Nicolas Costa, and Gregoire Saucy narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth after a close battle with Valentino Rossi, who had to retire due to power steering issues.
In the WRT garage, Augusto Farfus, Sean Gelael, and Darren Leung lifted the team's spirits by securing a fifth-place class finish. The Ford Mustang of Hardwick, Robichon, and Barker finished sixth, while the sister car, driven by defending champion Ben Keating, along with Mikkel Pedersen and Dennis Olsen, retired due to a driveshaft failure in the final hour. The Iron Dames, although having secured a solid podium position, saw their hopes dashed after contact with the Corvette Z06. However, thanks to the hard work of their mechanics, the all-female team managed to get back on track and finished in thirteenth place.
© Cavalieri Garage & Co.
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