Ferrari secured its first World Endurance Championship victory of 2026 at the Lone Star Le Mans, the win coming after Toyota’s No. 7 TR010 suffered a late‑race hydraulic problem.
Early Developments and Strategic Shifts
The six‑hour sprint opened behind a safety car that prompted two additional formation laps, allowing the track to dry and the opening lap to proceed without incident. Antonio Giovinazzi, who had claimed pole with the No. 51 Ferrari 499P, held the lead while Jack Aitken preserved second place in the No. 38 Jota Cadillac V‑Series.R.
Within the first hour, Miguel Molina’s No. 50 Ferrari climbed from fifth to third, then entered the pits for a short fuel stop that catapulted him into the front three. Toyota mirrored the move with the No. 8 GR010 Hybrid, pushing Sebastien Buemi from the lower part of the top‑ten to second, just ahead of Giovinazzi’s Ferrari.
The field gradually split into conventional and offset strategies. Drivers on the conventional pit cycle suffered setbacks: James Calado’s engine failed to restart during the second round of stops, allowing the No. 38 Cadillac to regain first place temporarily.
Toyota’s Mechanical Failure and the Surge of Competitive Cars
Just 15 minutes before the finish, the No. 7 Toyota abruptly slowed on the track due to a hydraulic malfunction. The failure left the defense of the race‑leading group upended and opened the door for Molina to pass the No. 35 Alpine A424, locking the Ferrari in the lead.
Meanwhile, Nyck de Vries, Kamui Kobayashi, and Mike Conway had originally started from ninth on the grid. De Vries broke away from the trailing field, overtaking Tom Gamble’s Aston Martin and later clearing the Alpine behind him. At 2:15 h left, he pierced the front, but then slowed in the final technical glitch, allowing Molina to secure victory.
Podium Standings and Notable Movements
Jack Aitken’s No. 38 Cadillac held onto second place after a full service, while the No. 35 Alpine – with Charles Milesi, Ferdinand Habsburg, and Antonio Felix da Costa – finished third. Milesi incurred a five‑second penalty for an unsafe pit release, moving the Cadillac up the order.
Other finishers cemented their positions during the final safety car: Tom Gamble and Harry Tincknell both finished fourth in the No. 7 Aston Martin Valkyrie. Jules Gounon’s Alpine dropped out of the lead battle after a stop, and Sebastien Buemi’s Toyota ended in sixth. Andre Lotterer, Mathys Jaubert, and Pipo Derani recovered from a late‑draw to finish eighth in the No. 17 Genesis GMR‑001.
Championship Standings and Factory Missions
BMW’s two M Hybrid V8 entries – driven by Kevin Magnussen, Raffaele Marciello, and Dries Vanthoor – captured ninth. Their sister car, raced by René Rast, Sheldon van der Linde, and Robin Frins, finished twelfth. The event saw the No 20 BMW and the No 7 Toyota, both leading the championship before the weekend, fail to score any points in Austin.
Outlook After a Contested Victory
With Ferrari’s dominant finish, the teams now look to carry the momentum into the next rounds while Toyota and BMW regroup to regain their championship footing.
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