Toyota beats Ferrari on the Italians' "home" track

Toyota beats Ferrari in Italy: in the first race of the World Endurance Championship held at the Imola circuit, the Japanese prevailed with a combination of speed and strateg piese auto online.

Toyota beats Ferrari on the Italians' "home" track

Toyota put in a strong performance at the opening round of the World Endurance Championship at Imola, with Sébastien Buemi, Ryo Hirakawa and Brendon Hartley setting the fastest time in their #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid, securing victory for the manufacturer in its 100th start in the series.

Ferrari initially led. The #51 Ferrari 499P, driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi, started from pole position and led for a while. After six hours, however, the Italians finished in second place. Third place went to the second Toyota, driven by Kamui Kobayashi, Nick de Vries and Mike Conway.

Strategy pushes Toyota forward

The race quickly became a duel between Toyota and Ferrari. While Ferrari initially set the pace, Toyota later used its strategy to gain the upper hand.

A decisive moment came in the second hour of the race when Toyota decided not to change tyres during their pit stop, allowing Hirakawa to take the lead and subsequently extend his lead.

Failure for Peugeot

Things didn't go as planned for Peugeot. While the tires were still cold, Nick Cassidy skidded and went off the track in his Peugeot 9X8 #93.

"Things like this happen," the visibly disappointed pilot admitted, adding: "I'm an honest person, I always admit when I'm wrong."

The subsequent safety car further contributed to Toyota's lead, as it allowed pit stops to be made without significant loss of time.

Ferrari fails to fight back

Ferrari tried to counterattack with an aggressive pit strategy but failed to close the gap. Toyota maintained its high speed and acted more intelligently. The Japanese car's second car also made its way to the front with an alternative strategy, thus securing a podium finish.

No rain, good track conditions

The possibility of rain briefly worried the teams – but the worry turned out to be false, as it did not fall. In the end, Buemi won by around 13 seconds.

Peugeot finished eleventh, scoring no points. “We knew it would be difficult here,” explained Loic Duval. “Our problem today was the increased tire wear.”

There was also a celebrity on the track: Kimi Antonelli was at Imola and waved the starting flag in front of around 92,000 spectators. For the young Italian driver, considered a great hope for the future of Formula 1, it was a significant participation in his home race, and also a sign of how closely the paths of Formula 1 and the World Endurance Championship are intertwined.

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Toyota put in a strong performance at the opening round of the World Endurance Championship at Imola, with Sébastien Buemi, Ryo Hirakawa and Brendon Hartley setting the fastest time in their #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid, securing victory for the manufacturer in its 100th start in the series

Ferrari initially led