93rd Annual 24 Hours of Le Mans: Early Lead for Ferrari
Le Mans, France — In a competitive start to the 93rd annual 24 Hours of Le Mans, Antonio Fuoco has propelled the #50 Ferrari AF Corse 499P into the lead after taking over from Nicklas Nielsen. The strategy of switching to four fresh Michelin medium tires paid off, enabling Fuoco to close the gap on the #5 Porsche driven by Mathieu Jaminet along the Mulsanne Straight before overtaking at Indianapolis with 21 hours and 26 minutes remaining.
Currently, Fuoco is followed closely by Laurens Vanthoor in the #6 Porsche, who executed a daring pass on teammate Jaminet at the Porsche Curves, leveraging a slow #57 Kessel Racing Ferrari for the maneuver. As it stands, Jaminet is projected to drop to third once the #94 Peugeot completes its prolonged pit stop, with the #51 Ferrari, driven by Antonio Giovinazzi, in a solid fourth position after making headway against competition from BMW M Team WRT and Cadillac Whelen.
In LMP2, the #43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA 07-Gibson has regained the lead after Patrick Pilet’s pit stop, while the #48 VDS Panis Racing car, driven by Franck Perera, remains in contention for second, despite narrowly avoiding a collision with Giovinazzi’s Ferrari at the Ford Chicane.
In the GT3 category, Team WRT’s #46 BMW M4 LMGT3 EVO holds the lead, while Alessio Rovera in the #21 Ferrari 296 LMGT3 is aggressively pursuing, guaranteeing an exciting battle ahead.
Notably, both Alpine Hypercar Team A424s have encountered setbacks with stop/go penalties for pit lane speeding, affecting their race pace. The Hertz Team JOTA Cadillac V-Series.R duo has struggled following a front-row start, prompting frustrations within the team.
After three hours, all 21 Hypercars remain on the lead lap—a testament to the relatively trouble-free start to the race, although the dynamic competition suggests changes are imminent as the event unfolds.
