Ferrari Just Established A New 24 Hours of Le Mans Dynasty

Ferrari has claimed its third consecutive overall win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

This year’s victory came from the yellow No. 83 AF Corse entry, a satellite effort, not one of Ferrari's factory-backed 499Ps. Piloted by Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye, and Phil Hanson, the privateer crew secured the crown after completing 387 laps—a new Hypercar-era distance record.

The AF Corse squad took the lead in the 20th hour when the factory No. 51 Ferrari was delayed by a full-course yellow and a spin into the gravel. That misstep opened the door for the No. 83 crew, who maintained the advantage through a clean final stretch of racing.

It was the first Le Mans win for all three drivers and the second FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) victory for the satellite team, following the car's previous win at Lone Star Le Mans.

A closing charge by the No. 6 Porsche 963 from Penske Motorsport briefly threatened to undo Ferrari’s plans. Penske's fuel-only stop brought the 963 within 11 seconds of Kubica in the final stint, but fresh tires on the Ferrari proved to be a key decision, with the Polish driver ultimately crossing the line 14 seconds ahead.

Kubica became the first Polish driver to win overall at Le Mans, and his teammate Ye became the first Chinese driver to do so.

Behind them, Ferrari’s No. 51 car claimed third after a late position swap with the No. 50 Ferrari, last year’s winners. Ferrari narrowly missed out on an epic 1-2-3 finish, a feat last achieved by Audi in 2012. All three of Ferrari's 499Ps have now had a turn winning Le Mans.

Cadillac’s early qualifying form didn’t translate to race pace. The Hertz Team JOTA entries, which started from the front row, faded early and never factored into the podium battle. The No. 12 car Cadillac, finished fifth, while the No. 38 Cadillac came home eighth.

Toyota slogged through a difficult race. The No. 7 GR010 Hybrid—sporting a retro GT-One livery—finished sixth, slowed by penalties and a minor off for Kamui Kobayashi. The manufacturer’s lead hope, the No. 8 car, dropped from second to 16th after a front-left wheel nut failure and lengthy repairs.

Aston Martin’s Le Mans debut with the Valkyrie program resulted in both cars finishing, led by the No. 009 in 13th. BMW, however, saw both of its M Hybrid V8s fall from top-10 contention due to late-race mechanical failures. The No. 20 ended up 18th after an engine issue, while the No. 15 car was last of the Hypercar finishers, 26 laps down.

The only Hypercar retirements came from the two additional Cadillac entries fielded by Action Express and Wayne Taylor Racing, both suffering from a power loss during the morning.

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