Both Ferrari 499P lead the first 2,5 hours with Ferrari #50 in the lead during 26 laps of the 74 covered at Circuit Of The Americas (COTA). Cadillac #38 then took over during 30 laps until Toyota #7 took the lead for 53 laps but had to retire 11 minutes before the end leaving the win to Ferrari #50.

Lone Star Le Mans Start — Lone Star Le Mans about to start

Both Ferrari 499P leading the 2,5 first hours

First win of the season for Ferrari in the FIA World Endurance Championship, secured at the end of the Lone Star Le Mans. The Circuit Of The Americas once again proves to be a friend of the 499Ps and rewards the #50 crew of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen, who ran at the front throughout the race and, in the closing stages, took advantage of a technical problem that forced the Toyota temporarily leading to retire.

After the final Virtual Safety Car, the race resumed with 45 minutes still to run and the gaps wiped out, with Nielsen in third place and Pier Guidi in 13th. The Danish driver first did well to overhaul Milesi, who was second at that point with Alpine, and then took advantage of the retirement of De Vries’ Toyota, securing the first win of the season.

It is the 499P’s eighth victory since its competitive debut in 2023, the first of the year and the second at COTA after the one achieved in 2024 by Yifei Ye, Robert Shwartzman and Robert Kubica with car #83. The crew of the #50 climbs to the top step of the podium for the third time, after doing so at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2024 and the Qatar 1812 Km in 2025.

Antonio Fuoco 499P #50: “Today the strategy was really difficult to manage, but the whole team did a great job and we were rewarded. I also want to congratulate Miguel and Nicklas for what they showed on the track, enabling us to secure a fantastic victory. We pushed from start to finish, even though at one point it seemed that the race was becoming really complicated for us. I am very happy with the result. We had been waiting to return to the top step of the podium for some time and finally we managed to do it.”

Nicklas Nielsen 499P #50: “It was a really unpredictable race that we eventually managed to win by making the most of our car’s potential and doing an excellent job in terms of strategy and tyre management. It is fantastic to return to winning ways and bring home so many points for the World Championship standings.

Miguel Molina 499P #50: “We leave America with the 499P’s first win of the season, an excellent result for our crew and for Ferrari, which we achieved thanks to a perfect team effort. The points we have scored will be important for the World Manufacturers’ Championship standings. Now we look ahead to the next three races with confidence and belief in our capabilities.” Source: Ferrari

Second place finish for Cadillac

Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA recorded their best finish of the FIA World Endurance Championship season with a second place at the Lone Star Le Mans for the #38.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Circuit of The Americas. Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA #38

Lining up on the grid in P2, the #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R crew of Jack Aitken, Sébastien Bourdais and Earl Bamber had a strong race, fighting at the front and being in contention for a podium throughout the six-hour. Some bad luck with safety car periods dropped the car down the field, but a strong final stint brought them back into contention, taking the chequered flag in third place. This was promoted to second when the #35 Alpine was handed a five-second penalty for an unsafe release.

# 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA, Jack Aitken: “It is a really fantastic result. It was a very up and down race with quite a few interventions, a lot of yellow and safety periods on track. We kept yo-yoing back and forth from the lead to further down in the top ten and it was hard to see where we were going to end up. But we managed to fight through and secure a fantastic podium on home soil.”

# 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA, Earl Bamber: “That was a really spectacular day, great to getsecond place at our home race. I think the team executed a perfect race, we were leading at one stage and we managed to fight back through a strategy disadvantage twice with the VSCs, so I think to come away with second; everyone is really happy.”

# 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA, Sebastian Bourdais: “We knew it was going to be a tough day and there was a bit of a yo-yo-ing effect in the scenario of the race. It looked like it was pretty good and under control until the first VSC and safety car, then at that point a podium looked tricky. To fight back to P2 out of that is a really good result for the whole team. I’m really happy for the whole team at Cadillac, we keep chipping away and aim to get more points for the championship in the final few races of the season.” Source: Cadillac Racing

Alpine Endurance Team's first podium of the 2026 season

Charles Milesi, Ferdinand Habsburg and António Félix da Costa in the #35 Alpine A424 are classified third.

Ferdinand Habsburg took the start in the #35 and his Alpine in the leading group through the early Full Course Yellow periods. At the end of the opening hour, the #35 ran fourth.

At the official two-hour timing point, the #35 was classified fifteenth immediately after its second stop. The #35 also received a five-second penalty for a pit-lane procdure, but its underlying pace enabled Milesi to bring it back to second by half-distance.

António Félix da Costa replaced Milesi in the #35 and was classified third after four hours. Milesi returned to the #35 for the run to the chequered flag. With one hour remaining, the #35 was second. Milesi remained in the fight setting the second-fastest lap of the race. He crossed the line second on the road, before a five-second penalty to pit-lane procedure placed the #35 third in the final classification.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Circuit of The Americas. #35 Alpine A424

António Félix da Costa: « This is my first podium with Alpine and my first in Hypercar, so it is a special result. We were in the fight throughout and, although the neutralisations affected our strategy, finishing on the podium gives us strong momentum for the final three races. »

Charles Milesi :« “We had a very strong race and the team made good strategic calls throughout. It is rewarding to finally convert our performance into a podium and score important points with both cars. Everyone deserves this result, and now we need to carry the same level into the rest of the season.”. »

Ferdinand Habsburg: « It is an honour and a pleasure to race with this team. Alpine gave us a reliable and competitive car, and it was great to fight at the front. A huge thank you to the engineers and mechanics for their decisions and hard work. They gave us the opportunity to stand on the overall podium, and I am proud to share this result with them. »

Aston Martin Valkyrie achieves its best finish yet in FIA WEC

The #007 Aston Martin Valkyrie of Tom Gamble and Harry Tincknell finished fourth. The #007 spent much of the race in the top 6 positions.

The result, achieved by the #007 crew, marked the eighth consecutive FIA WEC points finish for the British-built hypercar. The British duo have finished in the points in every race in 2026; they were ninth in Imola, fourth at Spa-Francorchamps, eighth in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and sixth in São Paulo, where the Aston Martin THOR Team claimed its first double-points finish.

“To finish just a couple of seconds away from the podium was a spectacular performance by Valkyrie,” said team principal Ian James. “It just shows how much progress we continue to make with this car and this team. I am a racing fan as much as anyone, and when you see the dicing and how close everything is at the front now, it’s exceptional that we’ve come to a place where the team is competing at this level after just 18 months.” Source: Aston Martin

Second Alpine A424 fifth

Frédéric Makowiecki beginning the six-hour contest at the wheel of the #36. At the end of the opening hour, the #36 ran fifth. At the official two-hour timing point, the #36 was fifth and by half-distance, still fifth.

Jules Gounon took over the #36 from Makowiecki and was classified fourth after four hours.

Victor Martins then replaced Gounon in the #36 but the timing of the final Virtual Safety Car and its sixth stop had left the #36 twelfth.

Martins responded with an incisive final stint, using the pace of the A424 to recover seven positions and bring the #36 home fifth.

Frédéric Makowiecki: «Fifth place gives us our strongest points finish of the season. We had one of the best cars this weekend and showed that we can compete at the front. The next step is to ensure that we execute every part of the race at the same level.»

Jules Gounon: « Third and fifth is a strong result for the team. The timing of the final Virtual Safety Car did not favour us, but that is part of endurance racing. We remained competitive and brought both cars home inside the top five, which is a deserved reward for everyone's hard work. »

Victor Martins :« Fred and Jules did a very strong job and kept the car at the front throughout their stints. The last neutralisation left us twelfth, so recovering to fifth made for an intense final hour. It demonstrated the car's performance and gave the entire crew a result they can be proud of.» Source: Alpine Endurance

TOYOTA RACING sixth

TOYOTA RACING was denied victory in the closing minutes of a dramatic Lone Star Le Mans.

#7 TR010 HYBRID lead during 54 laps two hours before checkered flag

Brave overtaking, bold strategy and strong teamwork saw Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries comfortably lead the race, when a hydraulic issue forced the #7 TR010 HYBRID into retirement with just 11 minutes to go.

Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa fought for much of the race for a podium in their #8 TR010 HYBRID before suffering their own misfortune, prior to an exciting fightback which earned sixth.

Sébastien Buemi (Driver, car #8): “It was a really sad day for us because the speed was there. We did the best we could in the end and salvaged a few points, but it's really a big opportunity missed. The positive thing is that the car was very fast, but it's always frustrating when you lose a good result like that. We'll work hard and hopefully have a better race in Fuji.”

Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8): “That was a brutal finish for the team. We definitely had the pace to have two cars on the podium today, so it hurts to give it away. Séb did a great last stint to bring our car back to sixth but I’m massively disappointed for the team that car #7 had the issue when it was in a dominant position to take the victory.”

Ryō Hirakawa (Driver, car #8): “We had the pace, but it wasn’t our day. Unfortunately, when I got in the car for my stint, there was a system issue which cost time to pull away, then caused an over-speed in the pit lane so we got a drive-through. I feel really sorry for what happened to car #7. This was not our race, but also, we need to work hard to improve so we don’t experience this again. The next race is Fuji, where we want to be back on the podium.” Source: Toyota Racing