Toyota wins in Bahrain as Ferrari wraps up the 2025 world titles
Toyota scored its 11th FIA WEC success in Bahrain where Ferrari made sure of the year's Manufacturers' title, while its #51 crew Alessandro Pier Guidi/James Calado/Antonio Giovinazzi came out on top in the fight for the Drivers' crown. Michelin's current Pilot Sport range bowed out of world class endurance racing with one last win. It will be replaced in 2026 with a new line-up of tires that contain 50% renewable or recycled raw materials.
With three straight Le Mans victories under its belt since 2023, Ferrari succeeded in claiming its first FIA World Endurance Championship title in Bahrain, 53 years after its last crown in the discipline, and 46 years after its most recent world championship success – in Formula 1 – in association with Michelin.
Buoyed notably by wins in the first four races of 2025, the Italian squad enjoyed a comfortable lead in the provisional standings ahead of Bahrain where its #50 and #51 cars came third and fourth. The similar #83 Hypercar of Pier Guidi/Calado/Giovinazzi took the flag in fifth spot to top the final Drivers' standings, with Ferrari's other two crews clinching silver and bronze!
The season's closing fixture was dominated by Toyota whose GR010 Hybrids monopolized the top two places in qualifying before harvesting a one-two finish in the hands of Conway/Kobayashi/De Vries (#7) and Buemi/Hartley/Hirakawa (#8).
After Ferrari, Cadillac, Porsche and Alpine, the Japanese carmaker became the fifth different Michelin runner to win an FIA WEC round this season. Meanwhile, every one of the eight makes involved in the series spent time in the lead of a race at least once during the year, including Aston Martin whose #009 prototype spent 12 laps in front in Bahrain. The car was also accredited with the day's fastest lap for a long period.
As expected, tire strategy played a key role at Sakhir International Circuit which is notorious for being one of the calendar's most exacting venues. At lights-out, the track temperature exceeded 40°C, prompting the majority of Michelin's partners to opt for the hard-compound Pilot Sport for the start. That said, Toyota preferred the medium slick for its cars' front-right wheels. Later, as darkness swept over the Bahrain desert, the teams eventually imitated Alpine which was the first to swap to mediums all-round.
“The window for switching from the hard to the medium was between 33°C and 30°C, but the track temperature remained in this bracket for two hours,” observed Pierre Alves, the manager of Michelin Motorsport's endurance racing programs. “Careful allocation management was especially crucial during the race's first half in order to have fresh rubber available for the closing phase.
“In spite of the ban on tire warmers and the change in tire sizes, the current Pilot Sport range hasn't suffered the slightest problem since its launch, and it concluded its career on another high note. We are now looking forward to running our next-generation Hypercar tires at the official IMSA test on November 14-15, before their competitive debut at Daytona in January.
“It only remains for me to congratulate Ferrari on its exceptional campaign in 2025, to thank all our Hypercar partners and to say goodbye to Porsche in the FIA WEC, although our collaboration will continue in North America's IMSA championship.”