The FIA World Endurance Championship of 2024, held in Le Mans, France, from June 10th to June 16th, 2024, saw Kevin Estre secure pole position for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Estre, a driver for the Porsche factory team, set his best lap time of 3:24.634 in the final moments of the session, surpassing all other Hypercars on the track.
In second place was Alex Lynn from Cadillac, trailing Estre by just 0.148 seconds. Lynn briefly held the pole position until Estre’s last-minute lap took it away from him. Sebastien Bourdais, Lynn’s teammate, finished in third place. Bourdais, a native of Le Mans, France, was the fastest for a significant portion of the session but had to make an early pit stop due to fuel shortage. His lap time, which was only four hundredths slower than Lynn’s, was not enough to secure pole position or a front-row start.
The session began with Dries Vanthoor from the BMW WRT team, driving the BMW M Hybrid V8 #15, being the first to start a fast lap. His initial lap time of 3:26.701 was soon surpassed by Antonio Fuoco and Alessandro Pier Guidi from Ferrari, driving cars #50 and #51, respectively. Pier Guidi set a time of 3:26.142, a few tenths faster than his teammate Fuoco.
Fuoco continued his attempt to improve his lap time while Pier Guidi made a pit stop. Fuoco’s efforts paid off as he became the first driver to break the 3:25 mark, setting a time of 3:25.598. However, Bourdais, driving the Cadillac V-Series.R #3, proved to be even faster, surpassing Fuoco’s time by nearly three tenths. Bourdais then set another even faster lap, with a time of 3:24.816. Lynn briefly held the third position, but his lap was invalidated for exceeding track limits.
With ten minutes remaining in the session, the top six positions were occupied by Bourdais, Fuoco, Pier Guidi, Paul-Loup Chatin in the Alpine A424 #35, Estre, and Vanthoor. Lynn’s fastest lap was excluded, resulting in his overall tenth position.
Unfortunately, Vanthoor’s attempt to improve his position ended in an accident at the Indianapolis corner. This incident caused a red flag, and Vanthoor’s laps were excluded according to the rules. When the session resumed, all Hypercars, except for Bourdais who was leading at that time, returned to the track.
Fuoco made a mistake during his fast lap at the Dunlop chicane, compromising his lap time. He immediately slowed down to allow his teammate Pier Guidi to take the lead. Pier Guidi’s lap was not fast enough, being 0.545 seconds behind Bourdais, but he managed to secure the second position ahead of Fuoco. Both Ferrari cars attempted another lap in the final seconds, but they couldn’t improve their positions.
Meanwhile, Lynn had an impressive performance, setting the fastest time in the first sector. Although he was slightly slower in the second sector, a strong third sector allowed him to clinch the provisional pole position, beating his teammate Bourdais by four hundredths of a second.
However, Estre in the Porsche surpassed Lynn’s time, crossing the finish line just seconds after him to secure the pole position. Estre’s lap time was one and a half tenths faster than Lynn’s. As a result of the penalty for the Cadillac #2 due to an earlier incident, Bourdais was promoted to the second position on the starting grid.
Pier Guidi finished in fourth place, over half a second behind Estre, while Fuoco was four tenths slower, almost a second behind the pole position. Chatin secured sixth place, just over a second behind.
Due to the exclusion of his laps, Vanthoor will start from the back of the Hypercar pack in the BMW #15. The JOTA #12 Porsche did not participate in the session as it was undergoing a complete rebuild after Callum Ilott’s accident in FP2.
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Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen achieved a spectacular victory at the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday. Verstappen, from the Red Bull Racing team, led from start to finish, resisting pressure from Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton to cross the finish line in first place. It was Verstappen’s first win at the Monte Carlo street circuit and the Red Bull Racing’s fourth consecutive victory this season.
The race in Monaco was full of excitement and drama. Right from the start, pole position holder Charles Leclerc from Ferrari had issues with his car and was unable to participate in the race. This opened the way for Verstappen to take the lead, and he never looked back. Hamilton pressed on throughout the race but couldn’t find an opportunity to overtake the Dutchman.
Meanwhile, Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez had a challenging race. He started from last position due to a penalty and struggled to gain positions. However, Perez showcased his skills by overtaking several cars and finished in fifth place, earning important points for Red Bull Racing.
With this victory, Verstappen extended his lead in the driver’s championship. He now has a 14-point advantage over Hamilton. Red Bull Racing is also leading the constructor’s championship, with a 29-point advantage over Mercedes.
The next race of the Formula 1 season will be the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which will take place in two weeks. Verstappen and Red Bull Racing will be confident after the victory in Monaco, but Mercedes will certainly not give up easily. It will be interesting to see how the championship battle unfolds in the upcoming races.
