The favorites, the disrupters and the new one
The FIA WEC entry list is now official, with 18 cars in Hypercar category and an impressive 8 major global automotive brands represented across the top tier grid. Alongside last year race winners Toyota (4 victories), Porsche (3) and Ferrari (1), Alpine, BMW, Cadillac and Peugeot are looking for their first victory. Aston Martin is also throwing its hat into the ring in the championship’s headlining division in 2025, with a pair of eagerly-anticipated Valkyries.
2025 Qatar 1812 Entry list
The favorites
Last season was dominated by Toyota with 4 victories, ahead of Porsche with 3 victories (2 with Porsche Penske Motorsport and 1 with Hertz Team JOTA) and Ferrari who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Reigning Manufacturers’ title-winner Toyota
📷 © Luc Warnotte. Left: winning #7 GR010 at Imola. Right: winning #8 at Bahrain.
Reigning Manufacturers’ title-winner Toyota is targeting continued world championship glory with its pair of GR010 Hybrids. The #7 will be piloted by Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries, with Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa sharing the cockpit of the #8
Drivers’ champions Kévin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lusail. Kévin Estre, André Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor won Qatar 1812 KM in the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963
Defending Drivers’ champions Kévin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor continue in the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963, joined for the longer races by Matt Campbell. In the sister #5 car, Michael Christensen is flanked by Frenchmen Julien Andlauer – the 2024 FIA WEC ‘Revelation of the Year’ – and Mathieu Jaminet, the latter like Campbell participating in selected events
24 Hours of Le Mans winning Ferrari
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Le Mans. Top: #50 Ferrari 499P winning Le Mans in 2024; bottom: #51 winning Le Mans in 2023
Ferrari is chasing a hat-trick of triumphs at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with an unchanged driver line-up in its brace of 499Ps: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen in the #50 and Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi in the #51
The disrupters
Cadillac and Peugeot as well as last year new comers (Alpine and BMW) are definitively going to be the trouble makers among the three favorites.
Alpine, best of 2024 newcomers
📷 © courtesy of FIA WEC. First podium for the Alpine A424 at Fuji with Nicolas Lapierre, Mick Schumacher and Mathieu Vaxivière.
Alpine ended the 2024 season in P4 in FIA Hypercar World Enduranc Manufacturers’ Championship and embark on the new season the knife between the teeth with a new lineup in podium-finishing #36 A424 with Frédéric Makowiecki (moving from Porsche to Alpine), partnering Jules Gounon and Mick Schumacher. No change in #35 with Paul-Loup Chatin, Ferdinand Habsburg and Charles Milesi.
P2 maker at Fuji BMW
#15 BMW M Hybrid V8 did lead the 6 Hours of Fuji during 6 laps ending in P2 and clinching its first podium. At Bahrain, the BWM M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 was also among the major animators of the race demonstrating a serious turnaround. At the ROLEX 24 Hours of Daytona sister team BMW M Team RLL was also in the contenders confirming the velocity of the LMDH car.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola. #15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8.
BMW M Team WRT has recruited ex-Formula 1 ace Kevin Magnussen to join Dries Vanthoor and Raffaele Marciello in its #15 BMW M Hybrid V8, as René Rast, Robin Frijns and Sheldon van der Linde remain on-board the #20 entry
Peugeot TotalEnergies ambitious
The Peugeot 9X8 clinched its first podium at bahrain with a P3. They also want to clinch their first victory in the Endurance Championship.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Spa-Francorchamps. #94 Peugeot 9X8
Familiar faces Paul di Resta, Mikkel Jensen, Jean-Éric Vergne, Loïc Duval and Stoffel Vandoorne return for Team Peugeot TotalEnergies, alongside FIA WEC rookie Malthe Jakobsen
From one to two cars and a new team for Cadillac Racing
📷 © Luc Warnotte at 24 Hours of Le Mans. #2 Cadillac V-Series.R
American manufacturer Cadillac expands to a two-car effort following its tie-up with giant-killing British privateer JOTA Sport. Alex Lynn, Norman Nato, Will Stevens, Earl Bamber, Sébastien Bourdais and Jenson Button form the all-star driver crews in Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA’s V-Series.Rs
The newcomer: Aston Martin
📷 © Courtesy of Aston Martin. #007 Aston Martin Valkyrie
Aston Martin’s keenly-awaited Valkyries will make their global competition debut in Qatar. The #007 line-up will be an all-British affair – composed of Harry Tincknell, Tom Gamble and Ross Gunn – with Alex Riberas, Marco Sørenson and Roman De Angelis sharing the sister #009 machine
FIA World Cup for Hypercar Teams
The independently-entered #83 AF Corse Ferrari (Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and ex-JOTA racer Philip Hanson) will do battle with the #99 Proton Competition Porsche (Neel Jani, Nicolas Pino and Nicolas Varrone) for FIA World Cup for Hypercar Teams honours, as well as outright race wins and podium places
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lone Star Le Mans 2024 (left): AF Corse Ferrari 499P #83. Right: #99 Proton Competition Porsche 963 at Bahrain.
Season starts February 28.
The 2025 FIA WEC season will kick off on February 28, 2025, with the inaugural race at Lusail International Circuit for the 1812 km of Qatar and will conclude on 8 November in Bahrain. The 93rd Le Mans 24 Hours will take place on 14-15 June.
📷 © courtesy of Cadillac Racing. Bamber and Lynn split up in both Cadillac V-Series
📷 © Luc Warnotet at Spa-Francorchamps. Team Peugeot TotalEnergies unveils 2025 lineups
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Spa-Francorchamps (left) and courtesy of Alpine (right). Alpine Endurance Team unveils livery and lineups
📷 © courtesy of Aston Martin. Valkyrie back to Le Mans for new overall victory
📷 © Luc Warnotte at 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ferrari 499P 2025 driver line-up
📷 © Luc Warnotte. TOYOTA GAZOO Racing 2025 driver line-up
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola. BMW M Motorsport line-ups for IMSA and FIA WEC
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📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lusail. FIA WEC 2025 provisional list part 1: Hypercar
