FERRARI WINS AUSTIN AFTER LATE TOYOTA DRAMA
Ferrari returned to the top step of the podium in the FIA World Endurance Championship after a dramatic Lone Star Le Mans at the Circuit of The Americas. The #50 Ferrari 499P of Nicklas Nielsen, Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina took a stunning victory after the leading #7 Toyota retired with just 11 minutes remaining. It was Ferrari’s first WEC win of the 2026 season and its first victory since the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2025.
The race started with the #51 Ferrari of Antonio Giovinazzi, Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado on pole. Giovinazzi kept the lead during the opening stages, while the #50 Ferrari quickly moved forward after starting fifth. Different pit stop strategies then changed the order several times as Ferrari, Toyota, BMW and Cadillac fought for the lead.
The #51 Ferrari looked strong early on, but its race changed during a pit stop when a problem cost the car valuable time. The car eventually dropped out of the fight for the podium and finished 11th, despite starting from pole. It was a painful result for Giovinazzi, Pier Guidi and Calado, who also lost the chance to score important championship points.
The race then became a Toyota show. The #7 Toyota of Nyck de Vries, Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Conway started ninth but moved through the field and took control of the race during the final two hours. De Vries was especially impressive and looked set to give Toyota its first WEC victory at COTA, one of the few tracks where the Japanese manufacturer had never won in the championship.
Toyota’s victory suddenly disappeared with just 11 minutes left. De Vries reported a hydraulic pressure problem affecting the car and was forced to retire while holding a lead of around six seconds over the Ferrari. The failure gave Ferrari the lead almost immediately and completely changed the result of the race.
Nicklas Nielsen was the Ferrari driver who took the chequered flag, bringing the #50 499P home after 167 laps. The Ferrari finished 4.471 seconds ahead of the #38 Cadillac V-Series.R of Jack Aitken, Sébastien Bourdais and Earl Bamber. The #35 Alpine of Charles Milesi, Ferdinand Habsburg and António Félix da Costa completed the podium, 6.116 seconds behind the winner.
For Fuoco, Molina and Nielsen, the victory ended a long wait. The trio had last won together at the 1812 km of Qatar in March 2025, meaning their Austin success came more than a year later. It also gives Ferrari a major boost in the fight for the 2026 world titles.
Cadillac enjoyed another strong result with the #38 finishing second, while Alpine celebrated its first podium of the 2026 season with the #35. The #007 Aston Martin finished fourth, followed by the #36 Alpine, the #8 Toyota, the #17 Genesis, the #15 BMW and the #94 Peugeot.
The result also changed the championship battle. Toyota remains at the top of the manufacturers’ standings on 140 points, with BMW on 131 and Ferrari now on 114. In the drivers’ championship, the #7 Toyota crew and the #20 BMW crew remain tied on 75 points, while the Ferrari #50 drivers have moved back into the title fight.
In LMGT3, The Heart of Racing celebrated a home victory with its #27 Aston Martin Vantage. Ian James, Zacharie Robichon and Mattia Drudi took the win after a close fight with the #91 Manthey Porsche, while the sister #23 Aston Martin completed the podium. It was the team’s second victory at COTA in three years and its first LMGT3 win since 2024.
The victory was also a major moment for Mattia Drudi, who claimed his first WEC victory in the LMGT3 class. The Italian had already enjoyed a strong week after winning the GT World Challenge Europe race at the Nürburgring, meaning he scored two major endurance victories in just seven days.
The #21 Ferrari of Vista AF Corse finished fourth, while the #77 Ford Mustang completed the top five. Championship leaders Corvette #33 had a difficult race and finished 12th, while the sister #34 Corvette ended 14th after suspension problems. The LMGT3 title fight therefore remains wide open heading into the final three rounds.
The WEC now heads to Japan for the 6 Hours of Fuji on September 27. With only three races remaining at Fuji, Barcelona and Monza, Ferrari’s dramatic victory in Texas has turned what looked like a difficult title defence into a much more open championship fight.
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