Ferrari locks out podium at Qatar 1812KM

Text: Rick Kiewiet

Images: FIA WEC

Ferrari kicked off the 2025 FIA WEC season in dominant fashion, locking out the podium at the Qatar 1812KM. The #50 AF Corse 499P of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, and Nicklas Nielsen took the victory after an intense strategy battle, finishing ahead of the privately-entered #83 AF Corse Ferrari of Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye, and Phil Hanson. Completing the podium was the #51 factory car of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, and Antonio Giovinazzi, overcoming multiple penalties to secure third.

It was a race of tire wear and strategy at Lusail International Circuit, with Ferrari executing a flawless plan to profit from the setbacks of its main rivals, BMW and Cadillac. The #50 started third on the grid but gained control in the final third of the race, making the most of a balanced tire strategy to prevail under the floodlights.

The first significant moment of the race came when Miguel Molina surged past the #83 AF Corse Ferrari, which had led for a long stretch. A slow ninth pit stop briefly cost the #50 the lead, but a faster final stop allowed Fuoco to regain control and ultimately secure victory by a margin of just 2.3 seconds. Kubica held second despite heavily worn tires, having attempted to stretch his stints by taking fuel-only stops towards the end.

The #51 Ferrari had quite an eventful race, starting from pole but dropping down the order due to a series of infractions, including a VSC infringement, pit lane speeding, and an on-track collision with the #20 BMW. Despite these setbacks, the crew managed to claw their way back to third place, though Pier Guidi was unable to find a way past Kubica in a tense final stint.

Just off the podium, the #15 WRT BMW came home fourth, executing a bold fuel-only final stop to jump the two Toyotas in the closing stages. Kevin Magnussen and his teammates showed promising pace, but an early electrical issue, a front clip change, and a drive-through penalty following a clash with the #50 Ferrari stifled their chances of challenging for victory.

Toyota Gazoo Racing endured a challenging start to its title defense, with both GR010 HYBRIDs lacking raw pace. The team salvaged fifth and sixth places, a solid return given their low-key weekend, but far from the dominant performances of previous years.

The #20 BMW secured seventh, while Cadillac's best-finishing car, the #12 Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R, could only manage eighth after a dramatic early-race incident involving its sister car. The British squad had been leading at the time of a restart, but an unfortunate collision between Jenson Button in the #38 and Alex Lynn in the #12 saw both cars drop down the order. The #12 eventually recovered to eighth, while the #38 could do no better than 16th.

Porsche Penske Motorsport, last year’s dominant force in Qatar, had a weekend to forget. The #5 Porsche 963 suffered a slow puncture and a rear damper issue, finishing 10th, while the #6 endured similar difficulties and came home 11th.

It was a tough outing for both French manufacturers as well. Alpine’s A424s showed glimpses of speed but were plagued by issues and finished outside the points. Peugeot’s revised 9X8 was largely anonymous, with its best finisher in ninth.

Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyries made its WEC debut, but the weekend proved a baptism of fire. The #009 finished 23 laps down after losing its passenger door in the first hour and later suffering a vibration issue. The sister car retired with a transmission failure.

In LMGT3, TF Sport secured a thrilling victory with its #33 Corvette Z06 GT3.R, winning from 13th on the grid. Daniel Juncadella held off a relentless charge from Gregoire Saucy in the #59 United Autosports McLaren in the final hour, despite the latter appearing to have superior pace. The Bend WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo claimed third, climbing the order after starting outside the top 10.

A good result for the #78 AKKODIS ASP Lexus, finishing fourth, while the #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari completed the top five. The pole-sitting #95 United Autosports McLaren led large portions of the race but fell to seventh after a late drive-through penalty.

Last year's champions Manthey Porsche struggled with both cars throughout the weekend, finishing outside the points after a frustrating race where they lacked straight-line speed. It was also a forgettable race for Ford’s new Mustang LMGT3 program, with one car retiring due to a fire and the other finishing 10th.

Next WEC-round will be in Imola, between the 18th and 20th of April.