In a thrilling showdown at the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship season-opener, Ferrari AF Corse’s Nicklas Nielsen emerged as the leader in the gruelling 1812-km race in Qatar, maintaining a razor-thin edge over his competitors.
As the race entered its sixth hour, a nerve-wracking incident saw Nico Varrone losing control of his #99 Proton Porsche 963 Hypercar, causing debris to scatter on the course and necessitating the deployment of the third safety car. With humid conditions making the race even more challenging, the action resumed with just under five hours remaining.
As the race kicked back into gear, Phil Hanson, driving a privateer-funded AF Corse Ferrari 499P, was in the lead, closely tailed by the factory-entered #50 Ferrari with Miguel Molina at the wheel. The duo were hardly alone, with a pair of Toyota GR010 Hybrids capitalizing on the drama to ascend the grid. The Ferraris were locked in a battle of their own, with Molina hot on Hanson’s tail, and the gap between them less than a second.
However, excitement turned to alarm when the #77 Proton Ford Mustang LMGT3, driven by Bernado Soasa, erupted in flames, causing the race’s fourth safety car to be deployed. A bitter disappointment for a team that had already suffered a chassis fire during the Prologue.
As the race restarted, the #8 Toyota, driven by Ryo Hirakawa, skillfully maintained its fourth position against Rene Rast’s #20 WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 Hypercar. Meanwhile, the #7 Toyota, helmed by Nyck de Vries, was engaged in a fierce chase with Molina’s second-placed #50 Ferrari, a duel that continued as they navigated through the LMGT3 traffic.
Molina and Hanson’s Ferrari face-off reached a climax when Molina overtook Hanson on the main straight, snatching the lead with an inside line into Turn 1.
As the race moved into the seventh hour, the fight for second place intensified, with Hanson now having to fend off de Vries, who was hot on his tail. Further down the grid, a battle for ninth place brewed, led by Peugeot, a team that had shown strong performance but had been cruelly denied victory the previous year due to a fuel shortage.
A dramatic exchange ensued as Kevin Magnussen in the #15 WRT BMW closed the gap on Malthe Jakobsen’s #94 Peugeot. Ultimately, Jakobsen breathed a sigh of relief as Magnussen pitted, handing over driving duties to Raffaele Marciello.
Seven hours into the race, Nielsen led the pack in his #50 Ferrari, followed closely by Hanson in his #83 Ferrari. The Toyotas held the third and fourth positions, with de Vries’ #7 Toyota followed by Hirakawa’s #8 Toyota.
In the LMGT3 class, Marino Sato, driving the #95 McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo, led the way into the sixth hour. Mattia Drudi of Heart of Racing gave him a run for his money in the #27 Aston Martin Vantage LMGT3 EVO. After a safety car deployment due to a mechanical failure, the LMGT3s bunched up again, with Sato having to defend his lead on the restart.
It was a tough day for Iron Lynx, with the #61 Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 having to retire early. Their remaining #60 entrant served as a valuable source of data in what turned out to be more of a test session than a competitive outing.
The race saw a twist when Drudi was penalized with a drive-through for an unsafe pit release, providing Sato some breathing room. The #95 McLaren’s lead was followed by Daniel Juncadella’s #33 TF Sport Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R and the #31 WRT BMW M4 LMGT3 EVO driven by Augusto Farfus. Sebastien Baud and Finn Gehrsitz rounded off the top five in their #59 McLaren and #78 Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F LMGT3, respectively.
With nail-biting twists and turns, the Ferrari vs Toyota battle in the WEC Qatar was indeed a spectacle to behold.
