Ferrari takes pole in Qatar; McLarens on top in LMGT3

Antonio Giovinazzi in the No.51 Ferrari 499P takes pole position for the opening round of  the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship round at the Qatar 1812kms.

Giovinazzi punches in a last gasp 1m38.359s to take pole from Dries Vanthoor’s No.20 BMW which is just denied a first pole position for the Bavarian manufacturer. Placing third is the No.50 Ferrari AF Corse driven by Antonio Fuoco. The Italian sees his first lap compromised as he is forced to run wide while avoiding the No.51 while on push lap.

Joining the No.50 Ferrari on the second row of the grid is the leading Cadillac V-Series.R run by the Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA squad. Alex Lynn sets the best time in the No.12 machine, while teammate Sebastien Bourdais qualifies the mighty No.30 car places fifth to complete strong start for the new combination of team and manufacturer.

Sixth is the second BMW as Robin Frijns ensures that two BMW’s join the pair of Ferraris and Cadillacs in the top six. The top ten was rounded out by the No.7 Toyota Gazoo Hypercar, No.83 AF Corse Ferrari, No.35 Alpine and No.93 Peugeot TotalEnergies entry.

United Autosports McLaren claim second consecutive WEC 1-2 in qualifying as the No.95 McLaren LMGT3 driven by Sean Gelael secures first point of the 2025 season for securing pole position in Qatar. The Indonesian ace starts his McLaren career off brilliantly with a hooked-up lap to beat the sister No.59 United Autosports McLaren driven by Sebastien Baud. Gap between them is 0.2s. The pole is Gelael’s first in the WEC.

The McLaren’s got through to the Hypercar session thanks to Darren Leung and James Cottingham respectively. This was the first time under the new regulation of allowing silver drivers to qualify in the Hyperpole session. Third on the grid for the Qatar 1812kms tomorrow afternoon is the No.78 Akkodis ASP Lexus which was driven by WEC rookie Finn Gehrsitz.

Joining the Lexus on the second row of the grid is the No.54 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 driven by Francesco Castellacci. Fifth on the grid is completed by the No.21 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari which is driven by Francois Heriau initially before he handed over to silver categorised teammate Simon Mann.

The top six on the grid is completed by the second Akkodis ASP Lexus driven by Clemens Schmid in the Hyperpole session. German looked to be on course to challenge for pole but was penalised for breaking track limits and lost the time. The top ten is completed by the No.27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin, the No.46 WRT BMW, No.81 TF Sport Corvette and No.88 Proton Ford Mustang.

Full results are HERE