Ferrari highs and Jotas lows for the Qatar 1812km WEC

The Ferrari hypercar team dominated the Qatar 1812km, 10 hours. For the first time in history, Ferrari secured 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. It’s also the first time in history that a constructor has locked out the podium with a factory team and a customer team. The yellow Ferrari is owned and run by Af Corse rather than the two red Ferraris, which are owned and run by Ferrari themselves.

The Ferraris were almost untouched from the halfway mark, but they could have been challenged by team Jota in the Cadillacs. During a safety car, they got themselves leading 1-2 behind the safety car. As the safety car pulled into the pitlane, Jenson Button in the 38 Cadillac got hit from behind by teammate Alex Lynn in the 12 Cadillac.

Both cars had damage on the front and back of their cars. With hopes of a podium and possibly a win down the drain, Lynn got a drive-through penalty for the contact and finished in P8. But Button was worse off with a throttle issue, resulting in a quick repair and re-joining the race several laps down.

Porsche was the biggest disappointment. The Porsche Penske finished P10 and P11, with the Proton Porsche finishing P15. After the 24 hours of Daytona win for Porsche, it was a dismal performance.

Aston Martin had their debut race. The only aim for the team was to get both cars to the finish, which they failed. The first Hypercar to retire was the 007 Aston Martin Thor Team. The 009 suffered a door malfunction. The right-hand side door broke its locks and flung about for about a lap before breaking off, taking small bits of bodywork with it. Overall a disappointing day for the Aston Martins.

In the LMGT3 class, the TF Sport Corvette 33 won the race by the skin of their teeth. For the last hour, the United Autosport’s McLaren 59 chased down the Corvette. Qatar is a notorious track for hard overtaking, and the fresh-tyred McLaren could not get past it. Unlucky hypercar passes cost McLaren the win. The LMGT3 class will be closer than ever, with the top six places taken by six different constructors.