The 2026 FIA WEC season concluded with high drama at Monza, where Cadillac Hertz Team Jota wrapped up their campaign with a long-awaited and hard-fought victory. The #38 Cadillac V-Series.R shared by Jack Aitken, Sebastien Bourdais, and Earl Bamber delivered a flawless performance to conquer a chaotic six-hour season finale peppered with multiple neutralization periods.
Meanwhile, the ultimate prize in the Hypercar class heading into the weekend safely found its way to the Toyota garage. Despite finishing down in 12th place and outside the points, the #8 crew of Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ryo Hirakawa successfully sealed the Drivers' World Championship based on their strong consistency across the previous rounds of the championship.
The race itself was heavily disrupted by four Virtual Safety Cars and three Full Course Yellow interventions. Starting from third on the grid, Aitken wasted no time making his intentions clear. He sliced past Miguel Molina's pole-sitting Ferrari before executing a decisive and daring overtake at Parabolica to grab the lead from Daniel Juncadella's Genesis.
Genesis had briefly controlled the opening laps following a strong start, but Aitken’s race-craft on lap seven shifted the momentum permanently. From that moment onward, Cadillac managed race interruptions, tire degradation, and intense pressure from chasing rivals with composure. Bourdais maintained track position through the middle stints before handing over the wheel to Bamber during a critical fourth-hour Virtual Safety Car.
The closing stint transformed into a tense strategic chess match. Cadillac’s comfortable ten-second advantage began to shrink as Alpine’s Victor Martins charged forward on an alternate fuel strategy. Bamber was forced to carefully balance raw pace with stringent fuel conservation to keep the chasing #36 Alpine at bay before securing the checkered flag.
"Yeah, I mean it was a really tough race. There’s a lot of strategy going on," Bamber explained regarding the final stages of the race.
"We pulled away eight seconds, and then they came back to us three or four, but managed to get the number. Then we could free up, and I think they over-consumed in the middle."
The winning margin stood at just 5.607 seconds at the line, carrying massive significance beyond the race victory itself. The triumph extended JOTA's remarkable streak of winning at least one ACO-sanctioned race for 15 consecutive years while providing Bourdais with a fairytale send-off in his final appearance with the squad.
"It’s always bittersweet moments, but there’s definitely no better way to end," Bourdais reflected on his emotional final outing.
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