FIA WEC Six Hours of Spa Hypercar preview

WECHyperCar

May 6

After two races, the FIA WEC Manufacturers Championship ranking splits the 8 title contenders in two “leagues” where Ferrari, BMW and Toyota count more than 50 points and the others less than 16 points. Needless to write that the third round at Spa-Francorchamps will be decisive if Alpine, Porsche, Cadillac and Peugeot want to remain in the game for the rest of the championship.

Ferrari dominates

Ferrari will be looking to extend the positive run that has characterised the start of the year: the #51 499P of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi has so far claimed a win at Imola, two Hyperpoles and two podium finishes, while the #50 of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen took victory on their debut in Qatar.

📷© Luc Warnotte at Imola. The #50 Ferrari 499P won the Qatar 1812 km (left). Ferrari 499P #51 won the 6 Hours of Imola (right).

Ferrari arrives in Belgium leading the Manufacturers’ standings on 92 points – with a 29-point advantage over BMW; the 6 Hours will award 25 points to the winners – while in the Drivers’ standings the #51 499P crew of Pier Guidi, Calado and Giovinazzi tops the table with 50 points. They are followed in second and third places, with 39 and 38 points respectively, by Yifei Ye, Robert Kubica and Phil Hanson, who share the #83 Ferrari run by AF Corse; while Fuoco, Molina and Nielsen are entrusted with the other official Ferrari, the #50.

📷© Luc Warnotte at Imola. The #51 Ferrari 499P team 1st in Drivers’ Championship (left). Ferrari 499P #83 team second (center) and #50 Ferrari 499P team third (right).

Miguel Molina Ferrari - AF Corse #50: “We face a very important race for this championship at Spa, where it will be crucial to achieve a strong result. After the round at Imola, we worked tirelessly to understand our mistakes and identify where we can improve. I hope the 6 Hours of Spa proves to be a positive race where we can maximise the potential of the 499P, aiming to score as many points as possible and hopefully fight for a podium finish.”

Alessandro Pier Guidi Ferrari - AF Corse #51: “We’re back in action at Spa following our outstanding victory at Imola, and morale is high – although we know the race won’t be easy at all. The 499P has previously shown it can adapt very well to this circuit, so we hope to be among the frontrunners again. Personally, I really enjoy Spa: over the course of my career, I’ve had a lot of success here with different cars. The circuit’s mix of speed and technical sections makes it unique from a driver’s perspective.” Source: Ferrari

📷© Luc Warnotte at Imola. Winning #51 Ferrari 499P

BMW Team WRT second

The #20 BMW Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 secured P2 overall — the team’s first Hypercar podium of the 2025 campaign with René Rast, Robin Frijns, and Sheldon van der Linde. Sister car #15 ended 6th. BMW scored the highest number of point at Imola in the manufacturers championship with 28 points versus 26 for Ferrari and 20 for Toyota.

René Rast, Robin Frijns, and Sheldon van der Linde are currently fourth in the Drivers Championship with 27 points.

At Losail, Dries Vanthoor secured a spot on the front row with a second-place finish – a first for the hypercar, missing pole position by just 0.136 seconds.

During the race, the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 driven by Vanthoor, Kevin Magnussen and Raffaele Marciello ended the ten-hour race in fourth behind the three dominating Ferrari 499P. Sister car ended 7th.

Dries Vanthoor, Kevin Magnussen and Raffaele Marciello are currently fifth in the Drivers Championship with 26 points.

#15 BMW Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 — 📷© Luc Warnotte at Local. #15 **BMW Team WRT** BMW M Hybrid V8

Toyota looking for a ninth win at Spa-Francorchamps

After a hard-fought double points finish in round two at Imola last month, Toyota Gazoo Racing aims to kick-start its World Championship challenge at a Spa-Francorchamps circuit where it has excelled in the recent past. In its 12 WEC races there, it has won eight times, including a record-breaking winning streak from 2017 to 2023.

Toyota #8 — 📷© Luc Warnotte at Imola. Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid #8

So far in 2025, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing has yet to stand on the podium, but it overcame challenging circumstances via a mixture of smart strategy, determined driving and strong team work to score consistent points in Qatar and Imola. It sits third in the manufacturers’ World Championship, 39 behind leaders Ferrari.

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s preparations for the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and Le Mans stepped up a gear in April when the team conducted a two-day test at the flowing high-speed circuit, which has been resurfaced over almost half of its 7.004km length since last year’s WEC race there.

📷© Luc Warnotte at Losail. Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid #7.

Sébastien Buemi (Driver, car #8): “It’s the final race before Le Mans so we will try our very best to go into the big race with a strong result. The track been resurfaced since our last race at Spa, but we tested there, so we have good data to analyse, and we will be well prepared. At Imola and Qatar we showed how hard we are fighting. We didn’t have enough the pace to fight for the win, but we were not far behind. We have a strong team and a strong car so I hope with all the small improvements we will make, we can compete for victory.”"

Mike Conway (Driver, car #7): “Spa is definitely one of my favourite tracks and it normally throws something at you, often with weather. That’s the charm of Spa; you never know what you’re going to get. It’s also a special event for us because it’s one of our home races with the factory only an hour down the road. It’s great to have our colleagues joining us because they don’t get many opportunities during the season. I hope they get to enjoy an exciting race.” Source: Toyota GAZOO Racing.

The programme.

Thursday, 8 May: FP1 at 11.45 a.m. and FP2 at 4.50 p.m.; 90 minutes each

Friday, 9 May: FP3 at 11 a.m. (1 hour). Qualifying and Hyperpole for the Hypercar class 3.25 p.m. and 3.48 p.m. respectively.

Saturday, 10 May: race at 2 p.m. (6 hours).