2026 | WEC | Lone Star Le Mans | FP1 | Ferrari leads 1-2 as McLaren tops LMGT3

Antonio Giovinazzi placed the No. 51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P at the top of the Hypercar order during the opening Free Practice session for the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) Lone Star Le Mans at the Circuit of The Americas.

Giovinazzi recorded a 1m53.824s lap around the Austin circuit to beat the sister No. 50 Ferrari by 0.205s. Ferrari therefore started the second half of the campaign with a factory 1-2, while Alpine Endurance Team and Toyota Racing occupied the next three positions.

Meanwhile, Tom Fleming led LMGT3 for Garage 59 with a 2m06.016s lap in the No. 10 McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo. The British driver finished 0.277s clear of Maxime Martin in the No. 61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG, while the second Garage 59 McLaren completed the top three during a 90-minute session held under cloudy skies and high humidity.

2026 FIA WEC Lone Star Le Mans: FP1: Hypercar

Giovinazzi heads Ferrari 1-2 at COTA

Ferrari AF Corse immediately established itself at the front of the Hypercar field as the championship returned to competitive action following its summer break. Antonio Fuoco initially set the benchmark in the No. 50 Ferrari, but Giovinazzi ultimately moved the No. 51 ahead with his 1m53.824s effort.

Giovinazzi shares the reigning championship-winning No. 51 with Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado, and the trio completed 39 laps during FP1. Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen followed in second with a 1m54.029s, leaving the No. 50 crew 0.205s away from its sister car as it targets a second podium of the season.

Ferrari’s advantage at the front remained relatively small despite its control of the opening two positions. Only 0.399s separated Giovinazzi from the closest non-Ferrari challenger, while the leading six cars all finished within 0.571s of the outright benchmark.

Alpine and Toyota closely matched behind Ferrari

Alpine Endurance Team enjoyed a competitive start through its No. 36 A424, with Victor Martins helping the French manufacturer secure the third-fastest time late in the session. The car shared with Jules Gounon and Frédéric Makowiecki recorded a 1m54.223s, placing it 0.399s behind Giovinazzi and 0.194s away from the second Ferrari.

Toyota Racing followed only 0.098s behind through the No. 8 TR010 Hybrid of Ryō Hirakawa, Sébastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley. Their 1m54.321s gave Toyota fourth, but Charles Milesi ensured both Alpines featured inside the top five by taking the No. 35 to a late 1m54.336s.

That improvement placed Milesi, António Félix da Costa and Ferdinand Habsburg only 0.015s behind the No. 8 Toyota. Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries followed in sixth with the No. 7 TR010 Hybrid, just 0.059s behind the second Alpine and 0.571s from the lead.

Cadillac leads American challenge

Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA placed the first home manufacturer inside the top seven through the No. 38 V-Series.R. Earl Bamber, Sébastien Bourdais and Jack Aitken recorded a 1m54.427s as Cadillac began its pursuit of a first WEC victory of the 2026 campaign at its home event.

The No. 009 Aston Martin Valkyrie followed in eighth after Álex Riberas and Marco Sørensen ended FP1 0.747s away from Giovinazzi. Genesis Magma Racing’s No. 19 GMR-001 took ninth through Mathieu Jaminet, Paul-Loup Chatin and Daniel Juncadella, while the No. 94 Team Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8 completed the top 10.

Only 0.277s separated Cadillac in seventh from Peugeot in 10th, continuing the tight order behind Ferrari. Twelve of the 17 Hypercars ultimately finished within one second of Giovinazzi’s benchmark.

BMW starts COTA weekend at rear of Hypercar field

The No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari led the second half of the classification in 11th, with Yifei Ye, Robert Kubica and Phil Hanson finishing 0.949s away from the factory No. 51. The No. 007 Aston Martin followed in 12th ahead of the No. 93 Peugeot and No. 17 Genesis.

BMW M Team WRT endured a quieter opening session after arriving at COTA only five points behind Toyota in the Manufacturers’ Championship. The No. 15 M Hybrid V8 finished 15th, while the No. 20 occupied 17th and last in Hypercar, with the No. 12 Cadillac separating the two BMWs in 16th.

Despite their positions, the BMWs remained relatively close to the front around the 5.513km circuit. Robin Frijns, René Rast and Sheldon van der Linde ended FP1 1.876s behind Giovinazzi, leaving the entire Hypercar field covered by less than two seconds.

Classification

1. No. 51 Ferrari AF Corse — Alessandro Pier Guidi/James Calado/Antonio Giovinazzi — Ferrari 499P — 1m53.824s — 39 laps
2. No. 50 Ferrari AF Corse — Antonio Fuoco/Miguel Molina/Nicklas Nielsen — Ferrari 499P — +0.205s — 37 laps
3. No. 36 Alpine Endurance Team — Frédéric Makowiecki/Jules Gounon/Victor Martins — Alpine A424 — +0.399s — 39 laps
4. No. 8 Toyota Racing — Sébastien Buemi/Brendon Hartley/Ryō Hirakawa — Toyota TR010 Hybrid — +0.497s — 42 laps
5. No. 35 Alpine Endurance Team — António Félix da Costa/Charles Milesi/Ferdinand Habsburg — Alpine A424 — +0.512s — 36 laps
6. No. 7 Toyota Racing — Mike Conway/Kamui Kobayashi/Nyck de Vries — Toyota TR010 Hybrid — +0.571s — 40 laps
7. No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA — Earl Bamber/Sébastien Bourdais/Jack Aitken — Cadillac V-Series.R — +0.603s — 37 laps
8. No. 009 Aston Martin THOR Team — Álex Riberas/Marco Sørensen — Aston Martin Valkyrie — +0.747s — 39 laps
9. No. 19 Genesis Magma Racing — Mathieu Jaminet/Paul-Loup Chatin/Daniel Juncadella — Genesis GMR-001 — +0.766s — 40 laps
10. No. 94 Team Peugeot TotalEnergies — Loïc Duval/Malthe Jakobsen/Théo Pourchaire — Peugeot 9X8 — +0.880s — 39 laps
11. No. 83 AF Corse — Yifei Ye/Robert Kubica/Phil Hanson — Ferrari 499P — +0.949s — 39 laps
12. No. 007 Aston Martin THOR Team — Harry Tincknell/Tom Gamble — Aston Martin Valkyrie — +0.990s — 38 laps
13. No. 93 Team Peugeot TotalEnergies — Paul di Resta/Stoffel Vandoorne/Nick Cassidy — Peugeot 9X8 — +1.075s — 35 laps
14. No. 17 Genesis Magma Racing — André Lotterer/Pipo Derani/Mathys Jaubert — Genesis GMR-001 — +1.301s — 44 laps
15. No. 15 BMW M Team WRT — Kevin Magnussen/Raffaele Marciello/Dries Vanthoor — BMW M Hybrid V8 — +1.307s — 42 laps
16. No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA — Will Stevens/Norman Nato/Ricky Taylor — Cadillac V-Series.R — +1.845s — 39 laps
17. No. 20 BMW M Team WRT — Robin Frijns/René Rast/Sheldon van der Linde — BMW M Hybrid V8 — +1.876s — 41 laps

2026 FIA WEC Lone Star Le Mans: FP1: LMGT3

Fleming puts Garage 59 McLaren on top

Garage 59 established itself at the front of LMGT3 as Fleming produced a late improvement to put the No. 10 McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo fastest. His 2m06.016s came during the final 20 minutes and displaced a No. 61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG that had controlled much of the session.

Fleming shares the No. 10 with Antares Au and Marvin Kirchhöfer, and their best effort gave Garage 59 a 0.277s advantage. Martin Berry, Rui Andrade and Maxime Martin settled for second with a 2m06.293s after completing 31 laps in the Mercedes-AMG.

McLaren reinforced its strong opening session by placing its second car third. Alexander West, Finn Gehrsitz and Benjamin Goethe recorded a 2m06.327s in the No. 58, leaving them only 0.034s behind the Mercedes and 0.311s away from their leading teammates.

Five manufacturers occupy the leading six positions

VISTA AF Corse placed the quickest Ferrari fourth through its No. 21 296 LMGT3 Evo. François Hériau, Simon Mann and Alessio Rovera ended the session 0.540s behind Fleming, while the No. 23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin followed only 0.028s further back in fifth.

Proton Competition added Ford to the leading six manufacturers with the No. 88 Mustang LMGT3. Stefano Gattuso, Giammarco Levorato and American Logan Sargeant recorded a 2m06.778s, with Levorato returning to the circuit where he secured the corresponding LMGT3 pole position last season.

The second Proton Ford followed in seventh ahead of Heart of Racing’s No. 27 Aston Martin. The No. 87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus and No. 79 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG completed the top 10, leaving the leading six cars separated by less than eight tenths.

Championship-leading Corvette begins quietly

The No. 54 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari occupied 11th ahead of the No. 78 Lexus, while Manthey DK Engineering and The Bend Manthey placed their Porsches 13th and 14th respectively. Team WRT’s No. 69 BMW followed in 15th as several championship contenders began their COTA weekends away from the front.

The championship-leading No. 33 TF Sport Corvette had a particularly low-key start after arriving in Texas following its Le Mans victory. Ben Keating, Jonny Edgar and the returning Nicky Catsburg finished 16th with a 2m08.045s, leaving them 2.029s behind Fleming.

The second Team WRT BMW took 17th, while the Interlagos-winning No. 34 Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette completed the order. Peter Dempsey, Salih Yoluç and Charlie Eastwood managed 23 laps and finished 2.730s away from the leading McLaren.

Classification

1. No. 10 Garage 59 — Antares Au/Tom Fleming/Marvin Kirchhöfer — McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo — 2m06.016s — 31 laps
2. No. 61 Iron Lynx — Martin Berry/Rui Andrade/Maxime Martin — Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 — +0.277s — 31 laps
3. No. 58 Garage 59 — Alexander West/Finn Gehrsitz/Benjamin Goethe — McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo — +0.311s — 35 laps
4. No. 21 VISTA AF Corse — François Hériau/Simon Mann/Alessio Rovera — Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo — +0.540s — 34 laps
5. No. 23 Heart of Racing Team — Gray Newell/Eduardo Barrichello/Jonny Adam — Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 — +0.568s — 33 laps
6. No. 88 Proton Competition — Stefano Gattuso/Giammarco Levorato/Logan Sargeant — Ford Mustang LMGT3 — +0.762s — 32 laps
7. No. 77 Proton Competition — Eric Powell/Ben Tuck/Sebastian Priaulx — Ford Mustang LMGT3 — +1.241s — 37 laps
8. No. 27 Heart of Racing Team — Ian James/Zacharie Robichon/Mattia Drudi — Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 — +1.268s — 36 laps
9. No. 87 Akkodis ASP Team — Petru Umbrărescu/Clemens Schmid/José María López — Lexus RC F LMGT3 — +1.394s — 36 laps
10. No. 79 Iron Lynx — Johannes Zelger/Matteo Cressoni/Lin Hodenius — Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 — +1.405s — 34 laps
11. No. 54 VISTA AF Corse — Thomas Flohr/Francesco Castellacci/Davide Rigon — Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo — +1.454s — 36 laps
12. No. 78 Akkodis ASP Team — Tom Van Rompuy/Hadrien David/Esteban Masson — Lexus RC F LMGT3 — +1.664s — 34 laps
13. No. 91 Manthey DK Engineering — James Cottingham/Timur Boguslavskiy/Ayhancan Güven — Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 — +1.807s — 39 laps
14. No. 92 The Bend Manthey — Yasser Shahin/Riccardo Pera/Richard Lietz — Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 — +1.840s — 38 laps
15. No. 69 Team WRT — Anthony McIntosh/Parker Thompson/Dan Harper — BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo — +1.894s — 36 laps
16. No. 33 TF Sport — Ben Keating/Jonny Edgar/Nicky Catsburg — Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R — +2.029s — 36 laps
17. No. 32 Team WRT — Darren Leung/Sean Gelael/Augusto Farfus — BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo — +2.553s — 36 laps
18. No. 34 Racing Team Turkey by TF — Peter Dempsey/Salih Yoluç/Charlie Eastwood — Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R — +2.730s — 23 laps