BMW-Ferrari-Cadillac podium at 6 Hrs of Sao Paulo

WECHyperCar

Jul 13

It was an intense race between BMW, Ferrari and Cadillac where team strategies played an important role. #35 Alpine A424 lead the highest number of laps (102) because they were betting on an alternative strategy but, looking at energy levels for the three contenders, it was clear that the Alpine could not make it to the end without a splash. #15 BMW Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 wins the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo with a margin of 2.254 seconds (after leading 90 laps) ahead of Ferrari 499P #51 (leading 6 laps) and 6.687 seconds ahead of #12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R (leading 41 laps)

marciello, Vanthoor and Magnussen celebrating victory — 📷 © FIA WEC at Interlagos. Marciello, Vanthoor and Magnussen celebrating victory

Second win of the season for BMW M Team WRT

The fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) in São Paulo was a triumph for BMW M Motorsport and BMW M Team WRT. In the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8, Kevin Magnussen, Raffaele Marciello, and Dries Vanthoor celebrated their first victory in the FIA WEC. For BMW M Team WRT, it was its second triumph of the season following its one-two finish at Spa-Francorchamps.

📷 © FIA WEC at Interlagos. BMW M Team WRT #15 BMW M Hybrid V8

The #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 started the six-hour race from fourth on the grid. However, starting driver Magnussen quickly moved up to second place, putting the crew in a promising position in the fight for victory. After the final round of pit stops, closing driver Vanthoor was in the lead, which he defended all the way to the finish.

Kevin Magnussen (BMW M Team WRT, #15 BMW M Hybrid V8, 1st place):“I’m incredibly happy for everyone. The car was simply fantastic. Today, the BMW M Hybrid V8 was one of the fastest cars and a pleasure to drive. The strategy was perfect, the pit stops too – everything just worked today. My two teammates did an excellent job. That’s why I’m overjoyed to have finally achieved this victory. It took a long time, but now we’ve finally done it.”

Raffaele Marciello (BMW M Team WRT, #15 BMW M Hybrid V8, 1st place):“It’s an incredible feeling. Three years ago, we started from the bottom, and now this year things are going very well for us with car #15, car #20, and for BMW M Motorsport so we can be very satisfied. We have to keep working hard, but I think we have a great team. We work very well together. We’ll keep giving it our all. Today is a great day.”

Dries Vanthoor (BMW M Team WRT, #15 BMW M Hybrid V8, 1st place):“I’ve never experienced a situation like at the start of my stint. I just got in and didn’t feel comfortable at all. I wasn’t feeling particularly well and had to take a deep breath to somehow make it to the end. But I’m super happy. BMW M Team WRT did a great job today. The strategy was fantastic and the car was phenomenal during the race. It took a long time, we worked really hard, and to achieve this now is just so, so nice. A big thank you to everyone working behind the scenes.”Source: BMW

Runner-up spot for the #51 Ferrari 499P

Reigning World Drivers’ Champions Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi secured the Prancing Horse’s first podium finish at Interlagos in the Hypercar top class.

Starting from 11th on the grid with Giovinazzi, the #51 Ferrari 499P produced a remarkable comeback, establishing itself firmly in the battle for the top three during the final three hours. The team’s aggressive strategies in tyre management and pit-stop sequencing enabled Pier Guidi, at the wheel during the middle stints, and Calado to extract the maximum from the package available and secure the 499P’s first podium finish at the São Paulo 6 Hours.

The result achieved by the #51 trio marks the first Interlagos podium for the 499P, whose previous best result at the circuit had been fifth place in 2024 with the same drivers. Pier Guidi, Calado and Giovinazzi therefore claim their second podium finish of the season after finishing second at Imola, and Ferrari’s third, following the third-place finish secured by Fuoco, Molina and Nielsen at Spa. Since making its race debut in 2023, the Ferrari 499P has now amassed 24 podium finishes.

James Calado #51: “We achieved a great result. We never expected to finish on the podium this weekend, and to have done so with a race executed almost perfectly is something we can be proud of. It is also an excellent result for the World Championship standings. Now we head to Austin, where we know we can be competitive, so we will need to maximise the result and continue to do our very best because we have seen that this approach pays off. After all, nobody would have expected to see a Ferrari finish second here in Brazil, so we must keep fighting.” Source: Ferrari

Podium finish for Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA

Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA secured their first podium finish of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at the Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo, with Will Stevens and the #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R taking the checkered flag in P3.

Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA had locked out the front row of the grid at Interlagos, with the #12 in pole position and the #38 in P2. Both cars made a clean start and held position. The first pitstop proved to be unlucky for Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA, with the #12 experiencing a stuck wheel nut and the #38 being slightly out of position when entering the box. Having lost almost 20 seconds each, both cars returned to the track and fought hard to make up track position.

📷 © FIA WEC at Interlagos. Both Cadillac V-Series.R Lead the pack

Both cars recovered well and made good progress through the field. In the final hour, the cars were running P3 and P4 and pushing for P2. However, the No.38’s earlier 5-second penalty (for contact with another car) was added post-race, and late mist in the final 30 minutes, prevented any further gain on the second-place. The #12 crossed the finish line in P3, with the #38 just behind in P4.

#12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R. Norman Nato:“First podium of the season and P4 for the sister car, which is a good result for the team. But we can’t help but feel disappointed as we had the car and the pace with both cars to get another 1-2 here. Unfortunately the time loss in the pitstop and small penalty for contact with another car meant the result didn’t go our way. But we keep pushing and the win will come.”

📷 © FIA WEC at Interlagos. #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R

#38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R. Sebastien Bourdais: “A good job by the whole team. It really looked like it was possible to achieve another 1-2 finish here at times. We still managed to recover to a P4 finish and bring home some strong points. We know we have the car to win, so we keep pushing and moving forwards.” Source; Cadillac Racing

AF Corse #83 Ferrari Fifth

The AF Corse #83 Ferrari 499P, which made an impressive start with Ye climbing from tenth to third, was handed over to Hanson in the middle stints and then to Kubica for the finish, with the Pole taking the chequered flag in fifth place.