After Cadillac dominated both Test Day and the opening free practice session, qualifying produced a rather different pecking order. With 11 Hypercars covered by less than a second, the margins were razor-thin.
So who impressed? Who disappointed? And are there any meaningful conclusions to draw from a session where outright pace rarely tells the full story? Let’s take a closer look.
Alpine delivers a surprise
Competitive from the opening laps of Test Day, Alpine nevertheless ended the first free practice session on a worrying note when Frédéric Makowiecki crashed heavily at the Esses de la Forêt.
The French manufacturer responded in style during qualifying.
Both A424s secured places in the top 15 and progressed to Hyperpole 1. Ferdinand Habsburg even topped the session with a 3m23.135s lap, improving on Alpine’s previous qualifying benchmark from last year.
Whether Alpine can translate that pace into a genuine challenge over 24 hours remains to be seen, but qualifying offered another encouraging sign that the programme continues to move in the right direction.
Peugeot still searching for answers
The 9X8 made its Le Mans debut in 2023. Three years later, Peugeot’s Hypercar programme has now set an unwanted record: it has never reached Hyperpole.
After qualifying 10th in 2023, 15th in 2024 and 17th in 2025, the best of the two 9X8s will start only 16th on Saturday. Driving the #93, Stoffel Vandoorne ended up 1.843s off the benchmark pace. Malthe Jakobsen, who delivered Peugeot’s first-ever WEC pole position at Spa last month, finished last in the session, 2.5s adrift.
“Our performance deficit hurts us more here than elsewhere,” admitted members of the Peugeot camp afterwards.
If there is one Hypercar that currently looks unlikely to challenge for victory on Saturday, it is the Peugeot 9X8.
Ferrari on the back foot
Only two of the three Ferrari 499Ps entered this year will take part in Hyperpole 1.
The defending race-winning #83 missed out by 0.872s, falling short of the 15th and final transfer spot.
With regulations preventing the driver who competes in qualifying from taking part in Hyperpole 1, AF Corse elected to use Phil Hanson on Wednesday evening. The Briton, whose place in the car owes much to a sizeable budget, was unable to match the pace of the category frontrunners.
More broadly, Ferrari struggled as a whole.
The two factory-entered 499Ps claimed the final two Hyperpole positions, conceding 1.379s and 1.488s respectively to the session’s fastest time.
Ferrari may take comfort from the fact that only one 499P reached Hyperpole 2 last year before the Italian manufacturer went on to dominate the race.
Yet based on what we have seen so far this week, a similar scenario would come as something of a surprise.
Genesis and Aston Martin raise eyebrows
Hypercar newcomer Genesis produced one of the standout performances of the session by placing both GMR-001s 11th and 13th respectively, ensuring both cars progress to Thursday’s Hyperpole.
Pipo Derani and Dani Juncadella were responsible for the impressive result.
“We’re taking both cars to the next stage, so congratulations to the whole team,” said Derani.
While it remains difficult to imagine the two Korean entries completing the race without spending considerable time in the garage, they could well provide some early entertainment.
As for Aston Martin, the Valkyrie appears to have taken another significant step forward.
Few expected both British cars to qualify comfortably for Hyperpole 1. The faster of the two, Tom Gamble’s #007, finished just 0.642s behind Habsburg’s benchmark.
Could Aston Martin yet emerge as a wildcard in the fight at the front?
Cadillac versus BMW, with Toyota lurking?
If Alpine stole the headlines in qualifying, Cadillac and BMW remain the two manufacturers that have arguably impressed most throughout the week.
Seeing a V-Series.R secure Cadillac’s second consecutive Le Mans pole position would come as little surprise.
“Qualifying doesn’t mean much here, but I’m happy to be up front,” said Louis Delétraz. “It shows the car is competitive and that the whole team has done a good job. Now we can continue working towards the weekend because all we want to do is win on Sunday.”
Toyota, meanwhile, cannot be discounted.
Although the best-placed TR010 HYBRID finished only eighth, Sébastien Buemi was just 0.656s away from Habsburg’s benchmark. Given the race management expertise of David Floury’s squad, it would be foolish to rule Toyota out despite an apparent deficit in the second sector.
“To be honest, I could have put together a better lap,” admitted Mike Conway, who ended the session 12th. “On my fastest lap I just touched the gravel and that cost me a little time. There were some things to improve, but I’ve not done qualifying for a while and it’s my first time doing it here at Le Mans. Now it’s over to Kamui and Nyck tomorrow.”
Qualifying has offered a glimpse of the competitive picture.
Whether it has revealed the true hierarchy for race day remains another question entirely.