WEC 2025 result after Round 1: Qatar 1812km

Toyota Gazoo Racing launched its new FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) campaign with a hard-fought top six finish for both cars in the Qatar 1812km. By the end of this season’s eight globe-trotting races we aim to extend our run of six consecutive manufacturers’ titles, while also adding the drivers’ title and another victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. But how did the first race of the season pan out? Read on for our WEC 2025 review of round one.

The annual prologue provided the first opportunity for the entire WEC 2025 grid – 36 cars from 13 manufacturers – to appear on track together. During this 14-hour, two-day test at the Lusail International Circuit, the six Toyota drivers accumulated a total of 792 laps (2,660 miles) of track time, with the purpose of enhancing the individual set-ups and performance of the team’s two GR010 Hybrid prototypes.

The first day began with establishing baseline settings and adjusting mechanical set-ups, and then switched to analysing the medium and hard tyre compounds available in Qatar. These learnings then informed the second day’s activities, albeit with an increased focus on race preparation. Meanwhile, the team’s mechanics practiced their pit stop routines, as each Hypercar typically visits the pits around ten times in an endurance race.

While the previous week’s prologue test had allowed the teams an opportunity to get into the new season groove, the two 90-minute practice sessions marked the start of the season and illustrated how intense the competition will be among the 18 Hypercars from eight manufacturers.

By the end of the three hours, the #8 of Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa was the lead GR010 Hybrid in sixth, with the #7 crew of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries was in 13th after a constructive day in challenging conditions. These included a substantial change in wind direction and sand blown across important sections of track, both of which required the cars to be rebalanced.

The 12-minute qualifying session is designed to set the grid position for the majority of competitors, while the top ten qualifiers then go on to fight again in the high-stakes Hyperpole session to fix their starting position in the first five rows.

Nyck de Vries and Brendon Hartley were chosen for qualifying duties, during which de Vries made it through in ninth place in the #7 car. Unfortunately, Hartley suffered a spin in the #8 car and missed out on Hyperpole after not setting a representative lap time. In the ten minutes of Hyperpole, de Vries maximised the potential of the new medium compound tyres to secure seventh place on the grid, less than one second behind the lead car.

Starting from seventh and 17th respectively, opening drivers Conway (#7) and Buemi (#8) made solid progress, allowing them to both enter the top six late in the second hour. Soon afterwards, Buemi handed over to Hartley and Kobayashi took the wheel from Conway, who suffered a high-speed spin prior to his pit stop.

Two safety car periods followed in quick succession and provided drama and position changes, but the two GR010 Hybrids stayed clear of trouble. When racing resumed, Kobayashi overtook the car in front to seize seventh, just behind sixth-placed Hartley. Consistency, hard driving and smart strategy continued to pay dividends for this Toyota twosome, with Hartley making a move into third as the sun set and Kobayashi elevated into fourth following incidents for rivals. Then late in the fourth hour, just before the end of their stints, Kobayashi overtook his team-mate to take third place.

de Vries and Hirakawa kept up the momentmum into the second half of the race, running strongly in third and fourth while closing in on the race leaders thanks to a safety car in the sixth hour. But in the meantime, rivals had recovered from their issues and threatened those positions. This meant that in the next driver change, Conway resumed in fourth and Hartley rejoined in sixth.

An intense battle within the top six saw momentum swing at each pit stop as teams employed different tyre strategies. When Kobayashi and Buemi returned to the cockpit with less than two hours remaining, both were fighting hard in the top six. At the final pit stop, Buemi moved ahead of Kobayahsi into fifth and the pair safely negotiated the remaining 50 minutes to take the chequered flag together.

The WEC 2025 calendar consists of eight rounds across four continents, each of which is hosted by a different country. The following table provides the order of events.