In a thrilling turn of events, Antonio Giovinazzi, driving Ferrari AF Corse’s No. 51 499P, seized the pole position for the kickoff race of the FIA World Endurance Championship in Qatar. This stunning accomplishment came after Giovinazzi clocked in an impressive 1m38.359s, a feat achieved in the final stretch of the Hyperpole session.
Giovinazzi, an Italian driver, outdid the previous year’s pole lap record of Porsche by a marginal 0.136s. A testament to the team’s relentless work since the Prologue, Giovinazzi remarked, “The last lap was fantastic for me, really challenging — I gave it my all.” This is a prime position to initiate the race, especially considering the Qatar track’s notorious difficulty for overtaking.
Despite the valiant efforts of Dries Vanthoor with the No. 15 BMW M Team WRT M Hybrid V8, his provisional pole was toppled by Giovinazzi in the closing seconds. Despite this, the Belgian team managed to secure a front-row spot, indicating significant progress for the team.
The second row was claimed by Antonio Fuoco’s No. 50 Ferrari and Alex Lynn’s No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R. Sebastien Bourdais, driving for the Britsh team, added to their success by completing the top five with his 1m39.036s lap time.
The rest of the top 10 comprises of the No. 20 BMW, No. 7 Toyota, No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari, No. 35 Alpine, and No. 93 Peugeot.
The Hypercar qualifying stage sprung a few surprises, with neither Penske Porsche making the cut. The No. 5, which grabbed the pole last year, will start 11th, while the reigning champions, the No. 6, will sit at 13th on the grid. Kevin Estre, driver of the No. 6, admitted their one-lap pace was a struggle, saying, “it looks like we are quite far off.”
The No. 8 Toyota also had a hard time, with Brendon Hartley failing to set a competitive time and ending up slowest with a lap time of 1m46.289s, a stark 7.7 seconds off the top time in qualifying. Interestingly, this meant that Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyries didn’t languish at the bottom of the timesheets. The No. 009 will start 15th, with the No. 007 positioned at 17th.
In the LMGT3 category, United Autosports claimed the front row for McLaren with its pair of GT3 Evos, replicating their success from Bahrain last November. The No. 95 GT3 Evo outpaced the No. 59 after swift laps from Sean Gelael and Sebastien Baud. Gelael’s pole time was a razor-thin improvement over last year’s 1m54.3s pole time from TF Sport and Tom Van Rompuy.
Gelael, upon scoring his first WEC pole, joyously stated, “It was a good lap, though I expected more grip. We’re really happy to get a 1-2 here, we worked so hard to deliver. We have a 10-hour race now and I’m excited.”
The 2025 Qatar 1812KM is scheduled to begin tomorrow at 2:00 pm local time, promising an electrifying display of speed and precision. Fans and enthusiasts eagerly await the roar of engines, and the thrilling chase for victory that lies ahead.
