Ferrari crowned Hypercar champion as Toyota wins finale

Toyota scored its first victory of the 2025 World Endurance Championship within the Bahrain 8 Hours finale, whereas Ferrari clinched each drivers’ and producers’ titles within the Hypercar class.

Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway, and Nyck de Vries managed the vast majority of the race within the #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid, securing a long-awaited victory for the Japanese producer and ending its winless streak relationship again to final season’s Bahrain spherical.

Nevertheless, the day and the season belonged to Ferrari, with the #51 499P trio of James Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi and Antonio Giovinazzi sealing the drivers’ title with a charging drive to fourth place.

Calado, Pier Guidi and Giovinazzi arrived into the ultimate weekend with a 13-point buffer to the #83 AF Corse Ferrari of Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Phil Hanson and an extra eight factors away from the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 of Laurens Vanthoor and Kevin Estre.

With the #83 Ferrari managing solely fifth and the #6 Porsche failing to even rating factors, the 2023 Le Mans 24 Hours winners comfortably wrapped up their maiden drivers’ title in Hypercar.

Their outcome additionally helped Ferrari clinch its first prototype title at this stage since 1972, aided by the Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen and Antonio Fuoco bagging a wholesome bag of factors in third within the sister #50 entry.

Ferrari did briefly problem Toyota for victory in Bahrain, with Giovinazzi closing inside three tenths of Conway in the midst of the second hour. However this may be as shut as Ferrari would come to snatching the highest spot, with the #7 GR010 pulling away due to its superior tempo and tyre administration.

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 – Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck De Vries

Picture by: AG Picture – Daniele Paglino

The one time Toyota misplaced the lead was at across the midway level of the race, when Aston Martin’s determination to place new tyres on the #009 Valkyrie LMH earlier than the race automotive restart allowed Alex Riberas to cost to the entrance.

However shortly after the top of the fourth hour, Aston was handed a drive-through penalty for an FCY infringement, permitting the Japanese producer to retake the highest spot.

At this stage, the #8 Toyota was working forward of the #7 automotive, with Hartley having handed De Vries on the restart within the earlier hour. However the #8 Toyota was hit with a drive-through for overtaking underneath FCY, giving the #7 crew a transparent run to the entrance.

A final-hour security automotive, attributable to the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 stopping on observe, launched some late jeopardy, however the #7 Toyota held on to take a cushty 20s win.

Though the race winner was successfully determined by the fifth hour, the struggle for second place raged on, with crews working diversified methods late into the race.

Finally, Buemi introduced the #8 Toyota house in second to finish a 1-2 for the Japanese model, with the #50 Ferrari securing the ultimate podium spot after the Italian model instructed the 2 manufacturing facility crews to swap positions on the ultimate lap.

This allowed the #50 crew to leap to 3rd place within the championship and full a 1-2-3 for the Italian model within the drivers’ standings.

The #51 Ferrari sealed the drivers’ title with fourth place, with Kubica taking fifth in AF Corse’s satellite tv for pc automotive.

The highest LMDh automotive was the #12 Cadillac V-Collection.R, with Alex Lynn, Will Stevens and Norman Nato driving a strong race to complete sixth.

#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi

Picture by: Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Community

Aston Martin couldn’t totally get well from its mid-race penalty, with Riberas, Marco Sorensen and Roman de Angelis ultimately ending up seventh within the #009 Valkyrie.

BMW recovered from a poor first half of the race to take eighth, with Rene Rast, Robin Frijns and Sheldon van der Linde hauling the #20 M Hybrid V8 again into the factors.

Peugeot, nevertheless, went within the different course, as a technique determination to pit once more on the finish of the fourth hour – shortly after the primary security automotive restart – price the French producer a shot on the podium.

Mikkel Jensen, Paul di Resta and Jean-Eric Vergne completed ninth in the very best of the Peugeot 9X8, simply forward of the sister #94 automotive of Malthe Jakobsen, debutant Theo Pourchaire and Loic Duval.

The #93 9X8 ran eleventh within the ultimate levels, however Jensen – competing in his ultimate race with Peugeot – barged previous each the #35 Alpine of Charles Milesi and Jakobsen to say ninth.

Porsche’s farewell Hypercar race led to disappointment, as its two manufacturing facility Penske vehicles dropped down the order after switching to medium tyres through the cooler situations within the second half of the race.

#6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor, Matt Campbell

Picture by: Andreas Beil

Estre and Vanthoor, who have been in rivalry for the drivers’ title, ultimately completed the race outdoors the factors in thirteenth within the #6 963 they shared with Matt Campbell.

The #5 Porsche pushed by Julien Andlauer, Mathieu Jaminet and newcomer Laurin Heinrich ended up simply behind the sister 963 in 14th. 

Jenson Button completed his ultimate skilled race two laps down in sixteenth place after inflicting a collision with the #54 Ferrari 296 GT3 of Thomas Flohr within the fourth hour. The 2009 F1 champion was hit with a 30-second cease/go penalty for the incident, which noticed Flohr ending up within the limitations and the security automotive being deployed for the primary time within the race.

The #38 Cadillac Button shared with Earl Bamber and Sebastien Bourdais had already been working close to the again of the tempo and was delayed additional when Bamber ran off observe and spun at Flip 1 within the penultimate hour.

WEC Bahrain 8 Hours outcomes

Pictures from Bahrain – Race

We would like your opinion!

– The Motorsport.com Workforce