Reduced energy allocation, two Safety Car periods, three Full Course Yellows, the use of Michelin’s Hard tyres, rain showers, crashes and retirements: the nearly 70,000 spectators who made the trip to the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, certainly got their money’s worth.
After Antonio Giovinazzi (#51 Ferrari 499P) and Jack Aitken (#38 Cadillac V-Series.R) set identical times in qualifying, the race confirmed just how closely matched the field has become: four different manufacturers filled the top four positions, and seven the top seven.
Cruel for some, exhilarating for others, the outcome above all points towards a particularly open end to the season. Anyone willing to make a prediction at this stage would be brave indeed.
Winner: Ferrari
#50 Ferrari 499P: 1st
#51 Ferrari 499P: 11th
#83 Ferrari 499P: 14th
On Saturday, Antonio Giovinazzi gave the Ferrari 499P its third pole position in as many attempts at the Circuit of The Americas. But come race day, without the retirement of the #7 Toyota with 12 minutes remaining, victory would undoubtedly have slipped away.
“Thanks to a little bit of luck, we achieved a great result,” admitted Antonello Coletta, Global Head of Endurance and Corse Clienti.
“There were various situations that worked against us, especially the neutralisations at the wrong moments, and the problem during the pit stop when an accidental error by Giovinazzi caused the car to shut down, making a reset necessary,” added Ferdinando Cannizzo, Head of Endurance Race Cars at Ferrari.
“In any case, we achieved a great victory, and we will bring home several areas for improvement to continue fighting for the championship right to the end.”
The Italians have every reason to believe they can still do it. With three races remaining, Ferrari now trails Toyota and BMW by just 26 and 17 points respectively.
Loser: Toyota
#7 Toyota: DNF
#8 Toyota: 6th
Toyota’s Texas curse continues, with the Japanese manufacturer now winless in nine races at the Circuit of The Americas, which remains one of only four circuits visited by the WEC since 2012 where the Japanese giant has yet to triumph.
“Clearly, this place hasn’t been kind to us,” said a dejected David Floury, Technical Director of Toyota Racing.
The #8 lost its chances of victory after receiving a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Fourteenth at the final restart with less than an hour remaining, Sébastien Buemi produced a remarkable recovery to sixth, although that was hardly enough to put a smile back on his face.
But the biggest blow came for the #7. Heading towards victory, the Le Mans-winning Toyota was forced to retire with a hydraulic issue just 12 minutes from the chequered flag.
“It shows that we still have some progress to make in our validation processes,” explained Floury. “It’s an issue we had never encountered before on a car that has been racing since 2021. We could have left here with a comfortable lead in the championships, but we let that opportunity slip away, which is frustrating. The level is extremely high and, when you’re fighting for the title, you simply can’t afford this kind of setback…”
Winner: Alpine
#35 Alpine A424: 3rd
#36 Alpine A424: 5th
Having come within a whisker of pole position, Alpine was not far from being able to win the race on Sunday either. Nevertheless, the A424 secured its first podium since winning the 6 Hours of Fuji last year.
“At the start of the week, we said the target was to get both cars into the top five,” Philippe Sinault told us, struggling to hide his frustration. “We’ve done that, so we have to be happy with it. That said, given the level of performance we’ve shown since we arrived here, whether in practice, qualifying or even the race, both cars could genuinely have hoped for more than P3 and P5.”
Late in the race, the French team opted for two different strategies, with the #36 caught out by a Safety Car intervention. As for the #35, it lost second place due to a five-second penalty for an unsafe release.
Special mention must go to the excellent performances of Charles Milesi and Victor Martins. But it was the team as a whole that showed its best side in Texas. Hopefully, despite the time difference, that did not go unnoticed in China among Geely’s senior management, whose commitment is still awaited.
Loser: BMW
#15 BMW M Hybrid V8: 8th
#20 BMW M Hybrid V8: 12th
Unable to explain BMW M Team WRT’s disappointing performance ourselves, we went to Andreas Roos for answers after the chequered flag.
“The championship is the same as before, but we didn’t do a good job today,” replied the Head of BMW M Motorsport. “We didn’t have pace, we didn’t have clean races with both cars, and this is why we have to work and analyse and understand. This was not what we expected when we came here.”
A disappointing outcome for BMW M Team WRT, which arrived in Texas on the back of three consecutive podiums, including two victories, following a string of highly accomplished performances.
“Performance wise we could have been fifth or sixth but that’s not what we come here for,” Roos continued. “We have to analyse it, we expected to be better, but we also have to look into detail.”
With only four points scored, this was BMW’s worst race since last year’s 6 Hours of Fuji. The fact that the German manufacturer nevertheless sits just nine points behind Toyota in the Manufacturers’ Championship borders on miraculous.
Winner: Aston Martin
#007 Aston Martin Valkyrie: 4th
#009 Aston Martin Valkyrie: 13th
Fastest in both the second and third free practice sessions, Aston Martin THOR confirmed in the race that the Valkyrie’s progress is no longer just a matter of isolated flashes of performance.
Fourth, only a few seconds shy of the podium, it equalled its best WEC result, achieved at the 6 Hours of Spa. A fine performance from Harry Tincknell and Tom Gamble.
“To finish just a couple of seconds away from the podium was a spectacular performance by Valkyrie,” said team principal Ian James. “It just shows how much progress we continue to make with this car and this team.”
In the championship, Aston Martin has pulled clear of its pursuers Peugeot and Genesis and now sits just 14 points behind Alpine. Who could have imagined that at the start of the season?
Loser: Genesis
#17 Genesis GMR-001 Hypercar: 7th
#19 Genesis GMR-001 Hypercar: 15th
Race after race, the GMR-001 continues to demonstrate that it has serious potential. But if the team is to turn that potential into stronger results, it will need to raise its game.
Without André Lotterer’s collision and the resulting penalty, the #17 would undoubtedly have been knocking on the door of the top five. As for the #19, its hopes of securing a strong finish disappeared during the final race interruption.
The team waited too long before calling Mathieu Jaminet into the pits. It proved a costly mistake, forcing the Frenchman to make one final fuel stop under green-flag conditions, unlike all of his rivals.
“We made several mistakes in several different areas, so it was a bit of a wake-up call,” admitted Chief Engineer Justin Taylor. “We need to polish up our procedures and be a bit smarter next time we come to the track to battle these guys. It’s part of the learning process.”
Despite a performance that could hardly be described as convincing, Genesis Magma Racing still came away with its best WEC result to date.
Winner: Cadillac
#12 Cadillac V-Series.R: 2nd
#38 Cadillac V-Series.R: 9th
Disappointed by fourth place at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and then second at the 6 Hours of São Paulo, Cadillac can take considerably more satisfaction from another runner-up finish in Texas.
The #12 carried its 15th-place grid position like a millstone throughout the race. The strategic risks taken in an attempt to move it up the order did not pay off. Starting second, the #38 eventually finished in the same position, benefiting from the penalty handed to the #35 Alpine.
“We’ve done a lot of work since São Paulo,” the Team JOTA owner explained. “And also on the procedure in the pit lane. So, no, it was good. Without the Virtual Safety Car at the beginning, I think the 38 could have won.”
Cadillac is still without a victory this season despite having an extremely competitive car, but the team now appears to have found some momentum. Next stop is Fuji, a circuit that has traditionally suited the V-Series.R.
Winner: Heart of Racing
#23 Aston Martin Vantage AMR: 3rd LMGT3
#27 Aston Martin Vantage AMR: 1st LMGT3
After locking out the front row of the grid and then securing a double podium, Heart of Racing comprehensively outperformed the opposition. On home soil, the American team claimed its second WEC victory and its first since winning at this very circuit two years ago.
The triumph was completed by third place for the sister #23 Aston Martin Vantage AMR and, across the wider THOR operation, fourth place for the Valkyrie in Hypercar.
“It feels like we have finally got the monkey off our back,” said Ian James, who is also the THOR team principal. “We’ve been so close over the last two seasons, and to come here, have such an impressive weekend all around and finish first and third speaks volumes about this team and what we can do.”
In the championship, the big winner was Vista AF Corse and the #21 Ferrari of Alessio Rovera, Simon Mann and François Heriau, which finished fourth in Texas. They benefited from the fact that the crews who arrived in Austin occupying the top four positions in the standings all failed to score, among them the #33 Corvette, #32 BMW, #92 Porsche and #34 Corvette.
TF Sport therefore retains the championship lead, with respective advantages of 22 and 27 points over Vista AF Corse and a pair made up of The Bend Manthey and Heart of Racing.