As reigning manufacturers’ World Champions, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing began its title defence against 18 Hypercars from seven other manufacturers in the 10-hour Qatar 1812km, the first of eight races this season. It was Ferrari’s Antonio Giovinazzi who put the scarlet #51 499P Hypercar on pole position for the curtain-raising contest. Kiwi driver Earl Bamber’s #38 Cadillac Team JOTA secured fifth starting position.
“Starting from the front tomorrow here in Qatar is the result of the great teamwork we have done in recent days,” said Antonio Giovinazzi. “I am thrilled and want to thank all my teammates and the team. In qualifying, I put together a strong lap, but I knew the challenge would be really tough in the decisive Hyperpole session, where I managed to improve and secure this fantastic result. We have an excellent car, and starting first and third is undoubtedly important, but the race will be very demanding, and we need to execute everything perfectly.”
The first qualifying of the season saw Nyck de Vries earn a competitive seventh place in the #7 GR010 HYBRID he shares with Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi. However, Brendon Hartley suffered a difficult session and ended up 17th in the #8 GR010 HYBRID he drives alongside Sébastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa.
“That was not a nice qualifying,” commented Brendon Hartley. “I didn’t get enough tyre temperature for my first push lap and was already behind in the first sector. Then I bottomed the car in turn 15 and it spun me around.
“I tried for another flying lap but also bottomed in turn 12 and went off, so I didn’t actually set a lap time. We need to look at the data, because I felt like I was taking the same lines as in practice. The positive side is that I feel me, Séb and Ryo have been really on it in practice, and we have a really good feeling in the car, so I am going to try to quickly forget about this qualifying and focus on the race.”
In Hyperpole, 10 cars battled for 10 minutes for the leading grid spots and Nyck, who earned an excellent second place on the grid in Qatar last year, maximised the potential of his GR010 HYBRID on new medium compound Michelin tyres to take seventh, 0.920secs behind the pole position #51 Ferrari.
Despite starting in the midfield, the team is inspired by its display in Qatar last year, when it overcame a performance deficit to earn a double points finish which proved decisive in winning the manufacturers’ World Championship. The team’s quest for another strong result with both cars begins when the Qatar 1812km starts at 2pm (midday CET) on Friday.
Qatar 1812km Qualifying
1st #51 Ferrari AF Corse (Pier Guidi/Calado/Giovinazzi) 1min 38.587secs
2nd #50 Ferrari AF Corse (Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen) +0.022secs
3rd #12 Cadillac Team JOTA (Lynn/Nato/Stevens) +0.528secs
4th #20 BMW M Team WRT (Rast/Frijns/Van der Linde) +0.649secs
5th #15 BMW M Team WRT (Vanthoor/Marciello/Magnussen)+0.729secs
6th #83 AF Corse (Kubica/Ye/Hanson) +0.739secs
9th #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +1.133secs
17th #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +7.702secs
Qatar 1812km Hyperpole
1st #51 Ferrari AF Corse (Pier Guidi/Calado/Giovinazzi) 1min 38.359secs
2nd #15 BMW M Team WRT (Vanthoor/Marciello/Magnussen)+0.136secs
3rd #50 Ferrari AF Corse (Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen) +0.333secs
4th #12 Cadillac Team JOTA (Lynn/Nato/Stevens) +0.364secs
5th #38 Cadillac Team JOTA (Bamber/Bourdais/Button) +0.677secs
6th #20 BMW M Team WRT (Rast/Frijns/Van der Linde) +0.787secs
7th #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +0.920secs
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