Alpine stole the headlines in Qualifying for the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans, as Ferdinand Habsburg placed the #35 Alpine Endurance Team A424 at the top of the Hypercar order.
The Austrian delivered a 3:23.135 around the Circuit de la Sarthe, edging Louis Delétraz in the #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA entry by just 0.013s. As a result, Alpine ended the 30-minute Qualifying session with the fastest lap of the week so far.
However, while Alpine celebrated, there was major disappointment for the defending race-winning #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P. After a troubled start to the event, the yellow Ferrari failed to progress to Thursday’s Hyperpole 1 session.
Alpine announces itself at Le Mans
The Hypercar field entered Qualifying with one clear target: finish inside the top 15 and secure a place in Thursday evening’s Hyperpole 1 session.
With 18 Hypercars from eight manufacturers on track, the session quickly became a high-pressure shootout. Fresh tyres went on, fuel loads came down, and lap times tumbled as the field pushed closer to the 2025 pole benchmark.
Aston Martin struck first, as Tom Gamble placed the #007 Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyrie at the head of the early order with a 3:24.163. The sister #009 car also showed strong pace, while Cadillac, BMW, Alpine and Toyota all stayed firmly in the fight.
As the session reached its final minutes, the pace increased sharply. Cadillac briefly looked set to lead the way when Jordan Taylor moved the #101 Cadillac WTR entry to the top with a 3:23.323.
Then, Delétraz raised the benchmark again in the #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA car, dipping under last year’s pole time with a 3:23.148. However, Alpine had the final answer.
Habsburg crossed the line moments later in the #35 Alpine and produced a 3:23.135, giving the French manufacturer top spot by only 0.013s.
Cadillac continues strong form
Cadillac once again looked highly competitive at Le Mans. After topping FP1 with the #38 Hertz Team JOTA car, the American marque carried that pace into Qualifying.
Delétraz finished second in the #12 Cadillac, while Taylor placed the #101 Cadillac WTR entry third. Sébastien Bourdais also secured fifth in the #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA car, ensuring three V-Series.Rs progressed comfortably to Hyperpole 1.
The result continued Cadillac’s impressive start to the week. Although Alpine beat the marque to the top spot, Cadillac’s depth across both Hertz Team JOTA and WTR underlined its status as one of the strongest Hypercar contenders.
BMW also stayed in close company. René Rast placed the #20 BMW M Team WRT entry fourth, while Kevin Magnussen followed in sixth in the sister #15 BMW M Hybrid V8.
Aston Martin and Genesis impress
Aston Martin continued its encouraging Le Mans form by getting both Valkyries through to Hyperpole 1.
The #009 Aston Martin THOR Team entry finished seventh, while the #007 sister car ended ninth. Both cars had occupied leading positions earlier in the session, showing the progress the Valkyrie programme has made across the opening phase of the event.
Toyota also safely advanced with both GR010 Hybrids. The #8 Toyota Racing car finished eighth, while the #7 entry placed 12th.
Genesis Magma Racing also enjoyed an important milestone. On its Le Mans debut, the team placed both GMR-001 Hypercars inside the top 15. The #19 Genesis finished 11th, while the #17 entry ended 13th.
That result gave Genesis a place in Thursday’s Hyperpole 1 session at the first time of asking, and it did so while outpacing all three Ferrari entries.
Ferrari survives with two cars as #83 drops out
Ferrari endured a difficult Qualifying session. The factory #50 and #51 Ferrari AF Corse 499Ps both made it through, but only in 14th and 15th respectively.
Antonio Fuoco’s #50 entry finished 1.379s away from Habsburg’s benchmark, while the #51 car followed just behind, 1.488s off the fastest time. Although both cars advanced, they did so without the commanding pace Ferrari has shown at previous editions of Le Mans.
The major shock came from the #83 AF Corse Ferrari. The defending race-winning entry had already suffered a difficult FP1 after Yifei Ye went off at Mulsanne Corner. Qualifying brought further frustration, as Phil Hanson could only manage 17th.
The Briton pushed hard in an attempt to escape the drop zone, even mowing the grass at the exit of the Forest Esses. However, the #83 Ferrari remained outside the top 15 and will take no part in Thursday’s Hyperpole sessions.
Peugeot misses out at home event
Peugeot also suffered disappointment on home soil. Both 9X8 Hypercars failed to reach Hyperpole 1, with the #93 finishing 16th and the #94 ending 18th.
The French manufacturer struggled for outright speed at the Circuit de la Sarthe last year, and Qualifying suggested those difficulties have not been fully resolved.
With only 15 cars progressing, Peugeot’s elimination alongside the #83 AF Corse Ferrari created two of the biggest talking points of the session.
Qualifying Results: Hypercar
- Alpine #35 – Alpine Endurance Team — António Félix da Costa / Charles Milesi / Ferdinand Habsburg — Alpine A424 — 3:23.135 — Lap 8 of 8 — 241.5 kph
- Cadillac #12 – Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA — Louis Delétraz / Will Stevens / Norman Nato — Cadillac V-Series.R — 3:23.148 — Lap 8 of 9 — +0.013 — 241.5 kph
- Cadillac #101 – Cadillac WTR — Ricky Taylor / Jordan Taylor / Filipe Albuquerque — Cadillac V-Series.R — 3:23.323 — Lap 7 of 9 — +0.188 — 241.3 kph
- BMW #20 – BMW M Team WRT — Robin Frijns / René Rast / Sheldon van der Linde — BMW M Hybrid V8 — 3:23.444 — Lap 7 of 9 — +0.309 — 241.1 kph
- Cadillac #38 – Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA — Sébastien Bourdais / Earl Bamber / Jack Aitken — Cadillac V-Series.R — 3:23.485 — Lap 8 of 9 — +0.350 — 241.1 kph
- BMW #15 – BMW M Team WRT — Kevin Magnussen / Raffaele Marciello / Dries Vanthoor — BMW M Hybrid V8 — 3:23.625 — Lap 7 of 8 — +0.490 — 240.9 kph
- Aston Martin #009 – Aston Martin THOR Team — Alex Riberas / Marco Sørensen / Roman De Angelis — Aston Martin Valkyrie — 3:23.777 — Lap 6 of 8 — +0.642 — 240.7 kph
- Toyota #8 – Toyota Racing — Sébastien Buemi / Brendon Hartley / Ryo Hirakawa — Toyota TR010 Hybrid — 3:23.791 — Lap 8 of 9 — +0.656 — 240.7 kph
- Aston Martin #007 – Aston Martin THOR Team — Harry Tincknell / Tom Gamble / Ross Gunn — Aston Martin Valkyrie — 3:23.906 — Lap 7 of 8 — +0.771 — 240.6 kph
- Alpine #36 – Alpine Endurance Team — Frédéric Makowiecki / Jules Gounon / Victor Martins — Alpine A424 — 3:23.960 — Lap 8 of 8 — +0.825 — 240.5 kph
- Genesis #19 – Genesis Magma Racing — Mathieu Jaminet / Paul-Loup Chatin / Daniel Juncadella — Genesis GMR-001-Hypercar — 3:24.084 — Lap 6 of 7 — +0.949 — 240.4 kph
- Toyota #7 – Toyota Racing — Mike Conway / Kamui Kobayashi / Nyck de Vries — Toyota TR010 Hybrid — 3:24.314 — Lap 8 of 9 — +1.179 — 240.1 kph
- Genesis #17 – Genesis Magma Racing — André Lotterer / Pipo Derani / Mathys Jaubert — Genesis GMR-001-Hypercar — 3:24.424 — Lap 7 of 8 — +1.289 — 240.0 kph
- Ferrari #50 – Ferrari AF Corse — Antonio Fuoco / Nicklas Nielsen / Miguel Molina — Ferrari 499P — 3:24.514 — Lap 6 of 8 — +1.379 — 239.8 kph
- Ferrari #51 – Ferrari AF Corse — Alessandro Pier Guidi / James Calado / Antonio Giovinazzi — Ferrari 499P — 3:24.623 — Lap 7 of 8 — +1.488 — 239.7 kph
- Peugeot #93 – Peugeot TotalEnergies — Paul di Resta / Stoffel Vandoorne / Nick Cassidy — Peugeot 9X8 — 3:24.978 — Lap 8 of 8 — +1.843 — 239.3 kph
- Ferrari #83 – AF Corse — Yifei Ye / Robert Kubica / Phil Hanson — Ferrari 499P — 3:25.495 — Lap 7 of 8 — +2.360 — 238.7 kph
- Peugeot #94 – Peugeot TotalEnergies — Loïc Duval / Malthe Jakobsen / Théo Pourchaire — Peugeot 9X8 — 3:25.660 — Lap 8 of 8 — +2.525 — 238.5 kph
Hyperpole qualifiers: Positions 1–15
Eliminated: #93 Peugeot TotalEnergies, #83 AF Corse, #94 Peugeot TotalEnergies
FP2 next at Le Mans
The next session will be FP2, which runs from 22:00 until midnight local time.
After a dramatic Hypercar Qualifying session, the field will return to the Circuit de la Sarthe for its first night running of the week. Alpine and Cadillac will carry strong momentum into Thursday’s Hyperpole phase, while Peugeot and the #83 Ferrari must now switch focus entirely to race preparation.
See the full entry list for the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans.
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