Lone Star Le Mans, the fifth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, delivered a chaotic and strategic six hours at the Circuit of The Americas, with Ferrari emerging victorious after a race that swung between several manufacturers before being decided in the closing minutes.
Antonio Giovinazzi started from pole in the #51 Ferrari 499P after an extraordinary Hyperpole session in which he and Jack Aitken recorded exactly the same 1:52.445 lap. Giovinazzi took pole by virtue of setting the time first, giving Ferrari the advantage over the #38 Cadillac.
The race itself began in difficult conditions. Rain arrived shortly before the start, leaving parts of COTA wet while others were already drying. Two additional formation laps were required before the field finally went racing. Once the green flag fell, Giovinazzi held the lead while Aitken remained close behind.
The opening hour was already eventful. Andre Lotterer charged forward in the #17 Genesis before making contact with the #50 Ferrari while attempting a move, spinning the Genesis and dropping it down the order. Giovinazzi benefited from an early caution period, while Aitken was held up by LMGT3 traffic. After one hour, the Ferrari led the Cadillac by 4.679 seconds.
From there, however, the race became increasingly difficult to predict. The various pit strategies shuffled Ferrari, Toyota, Cadillac and Alpine into the lead at different stages. Miguel Molina brought the #50 Ferrari to the front during the second hour, while penalties and differing fuel strategies continued to alter the order.
By halfway, Earl Bamber had moved the #38 Cadillac into the lead. A Virtual Safety Car for debris then developed into a Safety Car period, effectively resetting a race in which the leading Hypercars had been following different strategies. Antonio Felix da Costa’s #35 Alpine and Tom Gamble’s #007 Aston Martin followed Bamber at the halfway mark, while Ferrari’s #51 had recovered from a lengthy pit-stop delay after the car initially failed to refire.
The second half turned into a battle of strategy and outright pace. Toyota remained firmly in contention, with the #7 and #8 cars repeatedly featuring near the front alongside Ferrari, Cadillac and Alpine. With only 20 minutes remaining, the #7 Toyota, #50 Ferrari, #35 Alpine and #38 Cadillac were separated by just ten seconds. Then came the decisive moment: with around only 12 minutes left, Nyck de Vries lost the lead in the #7 Toyota due to a hydraulic pressure problem, forcing the car into retirement. Nicklas Nielsen consequently inherited the lead in the #50 Ferrari 499P and brought the car home to secure Ferrari’s victory. It was a heartbreak for Toyota, which had been chasing its first COTA win, but a triumph of strategy and reliability for Ferrari.
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