F1 Fanatic Live: World Endurance Championship 2015-17

1,071 comments on “F1 Fanatic Live: World Endurance Championship 2015-17”

  1. Hello everyone and welcome to F1 Fanatic Live for the World Endurance Championship Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. As you can see we’re testing a new version of F1 Fanatic Live today, the most significant feature of which is you no longer need a Facebook or Twitter account to participate. For the best experience, sign in using your F1 Fanatic account.

  2. Is there a way to make the font smaller so that we can see more of peoples comments on screen? I mean, there aren’t many right now, but it might be an issue?

      1. yeah saw the car get going again, damn it though, Toyota’s are slow, Hulk’s out of contention, my hopes for the race has gone to hell in 15 mins

    1. Not surprised at all after he took out another Porsche, was bump drafting Corvettes on the banking, and was called out by a BMW driver for hitting him repeatedly during the Daytona 24 earlier this year. I was surprised Porsche put him in the LMP1 for Spa and Le Mans over some of their other drivers. He may be fast, but that doesn’t matter if you can’t keep the car on track and in one piece.

  3. Boy WEC races kick ass. 6 hours is very steep, but those LMP1 cars are glorious to behold.

    Isn’t Mazda also joining LMP1 at Le Mans this year with that front wheel drive car?

  4. I do wish John Hindaugh would stop with his constant need to bash F1 at every opportunity.

    He’s a great commentator, but suggesting that you push every lap in WEC compared to F1 is just plain rubbish. You can hear the LMP1 cars lifting and coasting on the onboard feeds…

  5. for anyone that thinks 6 hours is too long, just watch it and you will find yourself lost in it if it is good racing. in Australia, the v8 supercars have a few enurance races about 6 hours, namely the famous bathurst race – which gets the biggest audience on the year, even on tv. i think F1 could do with an endurance round, imagine the cars having 2 drivers and having to stop for driver changes (and seat change no doubt), it would be the biggest event of the year in F1!

  6. How the hell did Hartley get away with that move at the last turn without getting a penalty? Some of the officiating in WEC seems just as politicized as F1.

  7. it is interesting to see the growing aerodynamic complexity of LMP1 cars. As if they have hit a certain level of mechanical performance and now try to get more with what they can achieve in aero.

  8. Is anyone here? Just popping in, how come the #18 Porsche and the #7 and #8 Audis are so far out front with the next four LMP1s bunched up so tight? Different strategy or kindly falling cautions? (Poor Hulk, he obviously had a problem being so far behind in 8th.)

    Btw, this F1F Live layout is actually not that good. Way too tight, less space and more unnecessary clutter. @keithcollantine, please take note. (By far it’s best new feature is the ability to tag people like in the comments section and on the forums. But otherwise, it’s a backwards step, imo.)

    1. I’m not watching from the beginning, but from what I could understand, Webber’s car was having issues.

      Re new layout… I’m not sure I like the pagination.

      1. Yeah, it’s another element of it which is just not right – having to click to get the newest messages instead of having them up front first.

      2. Hulkenberg is far behind because Tandy put the #19 car into another GT Porsche and into the barries early in the race. Had to go through repairs. Webber took a detour through a marshall post and got a 15s stop-go while he was leading + mechanical issues, while the Toyotas are plain slow. Also the #9 Audi is running the old and much slower aero spec.

  9. Wow, the Porches are so much quicker than anything else out there in a straight line – I rewatched the Porsche v. Audi battle from Silverstone and it was the same. Here it’s a little less pronounced, but here the Porsches are level in terms of downforce compared to Silverstone where they were visibly low on downforce compared to the Audi (and hence their greater straightline advantage).

    1. Audi has their low down force Le mans package on, they had high down force at Silverstone, the same package that is on the #9 car today. Porsche are always quick in a straight, and are running the same package as they did at Silverstone.

      1. Yeah, I thought so. That also means Porsche tested their current low downforce aero spec more than Audi – by the length of the 6hrs of Silverstone, to be exact. Bodes well for Le Mans.

  10. The Toyotas are frighteningly off the pace if they didn’t have problems and are still this much behind… OK, they’ve already got their overall trophies last season, but Le Mans could still be a motivational factor. It seems like they’ve got something wrong here.

    1. I really think Toyota’s best chance to win Le Mans was last year. It is only going to be tougher this year and especially next year after Nissan has gotten some experience.

  11. Everything that could annoy me in this race has happened. cars 1, 17 and 19. All spending time in the garage. The three cars that have drivers I really like.

  12. I feel the LMP2 battle for 1st is coming too. Jota been faster so far, but Rusinov is slowly gaining on them now, having clawed back about 10-15 seconds in the last 10 laps or so

      1. Porsche is quickest on the straights in sector 1 and 3. Audi still got sector 2. Both have the same fastest lap of the race so far down to hundredths

  13. Ready for Le Mans! Next door neighbours are doing noisy DIY, which is a good excuse to don WEC ear defenders over the earphones…

    (I’m primarily supporting Fisico and his friends in the #51 AF Corse, but also Nico Hulkenberg in the #19 LMP1 Porsche, Karun Chandhok in the #48 LMP2 Murphy and anything with “AF Corse” on the side).

  14. Morning folks. I’m SO very, VERY angry. Can’t get the race here in the States! Am traveling and Comcast doesn’t offer Fox Sports 2! I pay for FS2 on ATT Uverse but THEY are blocking streaming it! I can’t BELIEVE I’m going to miss this after waiting a YEAR for my favorite event!!!

  15. Why oh why can there not be a Radio Le Mans video commentary. When they commentate the Bathurst 12 Hrs it’s amazing, but because I have to mute video and have the RLM commentary separate they’re a few seconds out of sync and no car sound :(

      1. Are you saying that in the UK the Eurosport coverage uses RLM commentary? I’m in Australia, I have a choice of Eurosport and Fox Sports coverage however I’m pretty sure neither are using RLM commentary. Muting and unmuting the RLM stream and Fox Sports/Eurosports streams they seem to be different commentary here.

  16. It’s extremely sad to see the turn around of fortunes of Toyota. Huge pace deficit and I don’t understand why they don’t pitch 3 cars when Porsche, Audi and even Nissan has done it. It certainly reduces their chances as well as limits strategic moves.

    1. I don’t understand why they don’t pitch 3 cars when Porsche, Audi and even Nissan has done it.

      When you’re coming seven and eighth, what’s the value in coming ninth as well?

      Suspect the decision to change engine tech for next year was made a long time ago, so they wouldn’t be able to justify a third car for this year.

      1. That’s with the benefit of hindsight. No one expected Porsche to make such a step up and relatively, Audi has caught them up to an extent. However, the decision the run a third car is generally taken before the season begins.

    1. Shaping up well unless you were anywhere near the #92 Porsche (which spilt lots of oil, then caught fire).

      Webber is leading (well, his team-mate in his car is!), Lotterer is 4th, Hulkenberg is 6th.

  17. Such a shame about the Toyota’s. I don’t remember them being this much off the pace in Silverstone or Spa. Has something changed in the regulations to make them slower or have Audi and Porsche just improved massively?

  18. Ridiculous, always pitting. Anyway this KW thing really doesn’t add up nothing to the racing, just retires and locking the performance of the leading lmp1. Why is the commentators discussing Audi vs Porsche, the only differences on the cars outlook are cosmetic, the same dimensions but small aero differences, Porsche hasn’t got the front holes and therefore is quicker on the straights but worse on downforce and tyres, in the end it’s just a little difference, anyway VW wins.

  19. You’ve got to respect the Audi. It shows why they’ve had so much success in such a compressed time. Super downforce, fuel efficient, much better on tires than the rivals, super-efficient pitstops and turn-around time in the garage. Respect!

      1. In the 1st documentary (Truth in 24), they’ve shown Audi crew practicing pitstops, full service stops, simulation of all kinds of technical problems and being the only garage that was open nearly 2 weeks prior to the big race.

        This stat says it all,

        Audi avg pitstop (full service) is 105 secs while Porsche is 114 secs and Toyota at 118 secs. Incredible!

  20. Interesting point by Eurosport. Formula 1 makes an improvement of around a few tenths while these LMP1 monsters have improved by around 5-6 secs. Who knows that in a few years, these LMP1s might be faster than Formula 1 cars.

    1. Which is pretty amazing – especially as they run hybrid systems. It’s odd that F1 is all about cost cutting at the moment, but it hasn’t been mentioned at all on the commentary thus far.

    2. The LMP1s improved a lot, there’s no denying that. But comparing their time improvement here to F1 is a bit misleading. A lap around Le Mans takes more than three minutes to complete, a Formula one lap is typically one minute and a half long. Obviously you can make bigger time gains with a longer lap.

      1. Indeed but it cannot be denied that LMP1s have improved at least by 150% over Formula 1 hybrids. Formula 1 is seriously threatened by LMP1s when it comes to the ‘pinnacle of technology’ title.

          1. Well when it comes to engines, F1 is no different. Ferrari, Honda, Merc and Renault. Not only F1 engines are costly, they’re not even appealing in terms of technology to any new manufacturer to enter.

            F1 had only one new engine manufacturer in the last three years, LMP1 had three.

          2. yes, but its not really comparable is it. F1 is a sport where you have to bring money just to be part of it and THEN invest in the spotlight.
            In comparison, WEC you can turn up with a bang, start a new team and be in the top class, but still if you lose you can just say you tried, apart from the handfull of motorsport enthusiasts who like you just for trying not many people are going to notice.

          3. Well I am not comparing the two sports as a whole. I am genuinely confused about the engine aspect of the two.

            I see it simply as, F1 engine hybrids are extremely expensive while LMP1 engines are of varied technology innovations and yet are cost effective to F1 hybrids. So where is F1 going wrong with its engines when it calls itself the most technologically advanced?

          4. There is nothing that makes the LMP1s inherently less extremely expensive. Just you don’t hear the customer teams complaining because there are none. F1 is now pushing a bit extra with the exhaust heat recovery part, although they could give more scope for the whole hybrid IMO.
            A huge difference is that there is a promotor in F1 who hates these engines and does a lot to talk them down, where the ACO and the manufacturers in WEC do far more to show the positives of it. And in WEC you have competition of more varying configurations making it more interesting (imo and maybe also for manufacturers)

    3. Also remember they’ve added Tarmac run-off in a few places which the drivers are leaning on to improve their lap times. Though it certainly doesn’t account for a substantial part of the five seconds gain.

    4. Well, looking at the lap time gain over last year is pretty misleading for F1, due to the new nose regulations brought in for 2015. The new noses are less aerodynamic than 2014’s, and have effectively cancelled out a large part of the aerodynamic gains made over the winter, so most of the gains in 2015 have been exclusively from the PU.

  21. Good move by Porsche no. 19. Hulk is inexperienced and hence it won’t be appropriate to send him in the darkness. So Nick Tandy would jump in and then Bamber would follow before the Hulk getting the car at dawn during the happy hour (provided all runs smoothly of course)

      1. Singapore is illuminated and doesn’t have traffic that is 20-50 secs slower per lap. Also, Le Mans has a history of having race changing incidents at night.

    1. Not necessarily. Audi stated from the very beginning that they would focus exclusively on their race setup. At the same time, Porsche had to admit that their cars were using the tyres a bit too much.
      I’m guessing the Porsche drivers are trying to drive a bit more carefully to make the tyres last a bit longer (possibly also with a less aggressive engine setting to save fuel and the rear tyres), while the Audis are pretty much able to floor it just like in qualifying. It’s true that the Audis have already set faster laps than during qualifying, but that’s probably just the track getting faster and faster.

  22. trying to follow lemans for the first time after hearing bout it frm F1 drivers lately and im quite dissapointed in the coverage/broadcast team.

    i dont even know whos leading the race but i know porsche and audi are infront if im not mistaken. i know its a close race but i dont know how big the gap is. if its seconds, a lap or 50 laps apart. split times occasionally would come in handy im guessing.

    also when the accident broke the barrier and brought out safety car. they fixed it in a very impressive short time, what position did he rejoin the race in under safety car?

    again its my first time watching but i think there are ways to improve the viewing for new viewers. just my 2 cents, sorry if i sound ignorant.

  23. Also it might of interest to note that in the past, Marcel Fassler has traditionally gone really well at night and that could explain why Audi no. 7 delayed him.

      1. What a PR mess! It’s the biggest and the worst stage to have a test session without actually racing before. I know that they’ve been hit with troubles but this is a PR debacle.

  24. just got back from the movies (Jurassic World is great btw), looks like the audi #9 is in the lead… are the Audi’s just easier on the tires today? Have there been issues with the Porshes?

    1. Yeah, looks like he’s getting the hang of it. His opening stint wasn’t exactly awe-inspiring, but he’s leaving a much better impression right now.

  25. Great race so far! 6 cars within a minute after more than 7 hours of racing – impossible to tell who will win. Let’s just hope the race won’t be decided by a Safety Car or something similarly random.

    1. We understand, Keith, I skipped hour 6 for bedtime stories :-) How do you rate Hulkenberg’s team mates, btw? As it stands they’re still in the race for victory, and Nico is producing some impressive lap times.

      1. They’re obviously top GT talents and like Hulkenberg they’re not LMP1 regulars so I can understand why Porsche’s put them together. I don’t follow GT racing that closely but Ben who I commentate does and he really rates Tandy.

  26. Webber will need at least around 38-40 secs lead over Audi no. 9 (currently in 3rd) if it wants to come out in the overall lead. It’s around 33 secs at the moment.

    1. I find it hard to keep track of all the pit stop strategies. Be great if the FIA could include the lap of a car’s last pit stop in the timing information. But that’s a minor complaint.
      It’s great to know that Porsche and Audi are effectively racing each other for the lead. What about Porsche possibly pitting a lap later from time to time? How’s that panning out?

      1. Well the reason Porsche laps later is because they carry around 67 kgs of fuel while Audi being a diesel, they carry around 54 kgs which allows Porsche to lap later than Audi but makes them heavier and hence slower while Audi are great with tires so they quadruple stint while Porsche does a triple.

        1. I see.
          What about the comparison between quadruple vs. triple stints and Porsche pitting later (thus eventually less frequently)? Which of the two strategic advantages is more important? Couldn’t it be that they’re cancelling each other out?

          1. Nope, they won’t necessarily cancel each other as other factors would play a part like no of SCs, avg lap time of every stint as well as pitstop turn around time (where Audi are massively efficient over Porsche). That’s the best part of Le Mans 24 hours. Different strategies collide in the final few hours!

  27. Wow! Driver change for no. 17! That’d give the edge to no. 9. Triple stints for Porsche while quadruple for Audi. It’s playing into Audi’s hands for the moment.

      1. I think it’s something to do with the Discovery Network buying into Eurosport, they also own Quest so they’re getting the race onto Freeview for a little while to get people interested

      1. Can’t wait too see them fight for the lead once the safety car pulls in!
        Just a thought: if Porsche are only triple stinting now, will they run out of tires near the end and have to refit used sets?

    1. – #8 Audi came steaming into some GTs slowing for yellow flags and clouted the #51 AF Corse. Both still running but with delays. A Safety Car resulted.

      – #9 Audi and #17 Porsche have been duelling for the best strategy to win the race.

      – Hulkenberg’s done a pretty good debut so far and is currently 4th

      – The #36 Signatech Alpine hit the wall and caused the current Safety Car.

    1. I think we can safely write off the Toyotas at this point. Unless at least 4 German cars explode or something along those lines, they won’t even make the podium…

  28. I’m a long time F1 nerd. Over the last 10 years I’ve been a little blinkered to anything else, because F1 was delivering the goods. Now that F1 is failing, for reasons we’ve all read about on this very forum, I find myself watching the 24 hour race at Le Mans with any degree of committed attention.

    I’ll be honest, I’m finding things pretty difficult to follow, but a fair level of finger pointing can be made in the direction of the UK TV coverage people for that. It’s not terrible, but far from poor also. I’m also struggling to follow some of the battles, but then again, I imagine it’s nearly impossible for the race camera director to cover such a large circuit with such a spread-out field to get all of the action in.

    On the positive side, I love the speed of the LMP1 cars. They are very impressive to watch. I’m also impressed with the level of work undertaken by the pit crews to get the cars serviced and back on track. Especially the lengths they go to make repairs after an accident!

    Broadcasts of the Race Director’s communications to the teams is a very good idea. As is the ‘Slow Zone’ idea. I’m am, however, concerned about the heavy braking in the yellow flagged zone prior to the slow zone. It looks a tad unsafe to me to unsettle cars of various braking capabilities stamping on the brakes so close to each other on the approach to the scene of an incident.

    All in all, I’m properly enjoying this. F1 has A LOT to learn and should probably lend an ear to the WEC and how it does things. Even in regards to the speed and reliability the LMP1 regulations seems to provide. F1 should take note, better that than the current rhetoric of total ignorance and aggressive competition with rival categories.

    Anyway, poor me another wine! There’s a race to watch!

    1. Le Mans gives me the same feeling of childlike wonder that I felt when I first started watching F1 as a 10-year-old. It doesn’t even need to be a close race. I wouldn’t even care if there was a 5 lap gap between 1st and 2nd. It’s just such a joy to watch this race.

  29. Massive Webber fan (Aussie), have to say I’m pretty disappointed with his mistake, though I haven’t seen them show the replay of the incident yet. Feels like Korea 2010, though the race is still young and anything can happen.

      1. I’ll be sad to see Alonso retire from F1, but at the same time mega excited if he comes to WEC. Button will be fascinating to watch too. My money would be on Alonso though for sure.

      1. First time watching LeMans.

        Clearly a lesson learnt there. I dont know if he’s eating while talking (rude/unprofessional) or whether he has a problem with creating too much saliva.

        But where can i find radio lemans?

    1. Yep. The Safety Car helped him a lot, but his pace was excellent. From P4 to P1 – it doesn’t get any better than this.

  30. Might be wishful thinking on my part, but with Ganassi running the Ford GT program, what chance is there of Ganassi bringing some of their Indy drivers over for Le Mans? Obviously they’d have to make sure it doesn’t clash with an IndyCar race…

    1. If the scheduling works out, I’d think it’s likely. After all, they already run IndyCar drivers in the 24 Hours of Daytona.

    1. Meanwhile, Porsche #19 is absolutely flying and extends his lead by 5 seconds with a personal best of 3:18.6.
      Looking good for them.

        1. Once upon a time, just two years ago, there was a team that raced red cars. They were looking for a new driver to challenge their #1 driver. Hülkenberg was young, Hülkenberg was cheap, Hülkenberg was delivering race after race, Hülkenberg was perfect.
          Then they hired that guy who they had dumped a couple of years ago, who then went on to be overshadowed by his second and now his third team mate at that very same team.
          This little story was the beginning of the story of why I am now an estranged ex-fan of that team.

          1. That part about the salary is a kind of urban myth. In fact, they just wanted to be rid of him. Sadly for them, he still had a valid contract, so they had to continue paying his salary. The only way out of that situation would’ve been Räikkönen signing a contract with a different F1 team. But the Finn made the maths and decided that he might as well take the 20 million squid and do something else, since there was no other team that would’ve offered him a similarly profitable contract.
            The fact that Ferrari continued to pay his salary although they definitely didn’t want him to drive their car anymore was then re-interpreted as a sort of gilded cage to prevent him from being competitive with a different team, when he was in fact a shelf warmer.

  31. Thanks for your company so far guys – I’ve got to get some sleep and get ready for tomorrow’s commentary. Super race so far, really hope the fight at the front goes the distance…

  32. Just tried to see the race on Utube, not good, 24hrs.Live = talking heads, broad daylight, before 4am. Also lots of panning across celebrities labelled “the start” and other clickbait.

  33. US coverage pointing out a cracked left rear fender on Audi #9. Discussing the impact to the structural and aerodynamic integrity at speed. Might come from an impact with a GTE Ferrari, that Albuquerque apparently reports.

    1. yes, they are looking more sturdy this year, but as @neelv27 points out, Webber is shortly going to pit. He is now low fuel and making a gap to then try and get close/pass the #9 Audi later

  34. Wow the Porsches are actually getting quicker. Mark had no pace earlier and now he’s flying. Top 3 on the same lap though and that’s nothing. The problem is it’s the wrong Audi, the No.7 (and to a lesser extent 8) would probably have the pace later if they were making up ground on the same lap. Is this Porsche’s race providing they stay reliable?

  35. Did any of the other broadcasts pick up that set of complex instructions they gave the Audi #9 car for recycling everything between the chicanes? That was NUTS! No power, no brakes, no steering…get it up to 200mph and start resetting everything….I’m sure it will be ok! LOL
    These guys are nuts!

  36. That TV director… Hmm, I could show the battle between Fässler trying to unlap himself from Tandy…. oooh, Lotterer eating a banana

    1. Why not? The class is ProAm, if a 60 year old Am driver wants to pay for a car to enter, it gives another two drivers with more talent/potential the chance to race, and if they’re living their dream, good luck to them.

    2. I agree with Mathers there. If he can afford it and is healthy enough/sharp enough to pass the minimum requirements, why not? Nothing wrong with age, either young or old, they are just one factor. The guy is still driving better than many of us will ever do

  37. Hello everyone – just checking in for half an hour before I head off to BT Sport. Amazing reliability from the leading LMP1 teams. Disappointing to see Strakka hit trouble, hope they can get going again.

    1. I see, the #19 Porsche has a 1 lap lead over the #17 Porsche and a gap of a bit over 4 minutes over the first Audi. Neat. Keeping my fingers crossed for them.

    2. Don’t think you missed much.

      – Nissan #21 retired
      – Porsche #17 is firmly in P2 after a great battle with Audi #9
      – Audi #7 chances blew even further after the car’s rear bodywork flew off by itself

  38. 20 hours into the race and the GTE Pro fight is still intense between #64 and #51. Wow! Just 2 secs separate the two. They’ll fight till the end, I am sure.

    1. Yes, although they do have the option of Michelin’s grooveless intermediates, which are visually the same as slicks, but for some reason they cope very well in the damp, and are also useable in fully dry conditions.

  39. I think Porsche are fortunate that the Audis with the fastest drivers have hit the most trouble. Lotterer has been banging in some very quick lap times, and I haven’t seen that kind of consistent speed from the #9.

    1. Every Le Mans have a splash of luck and this was no different. I could conclude from this is that the Audi is the best car in the race trim and #7 is the best team within Audi.

      1. Well, the fastest team, but they had bad luck and some mistakes, so not sure about best. Also, Porche is a newer team, but with a car that is quite close to the Audi in race trim, otherwise it wouldn’t still be so close as it has been for most of the race.

  40. Aaargh, nasty moment – just came back, thought the leader was out – then realised I was looking at page 1, from the Spa race!
    Fingers crossed for the part-timers in no.19.

  41. If it stays dry and if we don’t have a very long Safety Car period, we just might see an unbelievable 400 laps by the winner!

    It’s currently 397 laps in 2010 by Audi

    Also Bamber and Hulkenberg would be the first drivers since Laurent Aïello in 1998 to win Le Mans on their debut.

      1. Bamber is a good driver who probably ran out of money to move up in single seaters.. interesting how he got into the LMP1 by ‘winning’ his way in with Porsche when given a chance.

      1. Here’s hoping you’re not jinxing him with that kind of question. ;-)
        But yeah, he could be in for a massive reputation boost that might help his F1 career.

  42. Seeing those pitstop replays, I would really hope that instead of horrible complicated things, F1 would just cut down on how many people can work on a car at a time. IF you want pitstops to be more interesting, this will help making it more of a moment. It will challenge the team too. A slight cost saving and improved safety on top = win IMO

    1. I’d prefer to keep the 2 point something second stops, I’m still gobsmacked by those. But yeah, if we had to have refuelling back in F1, make them complete the fuelling, then do the tyres. Or left tyres first, then right with the same people changing them.

    1. My question is, where would he go? It’s so rare for top LMP1 teams to unceremoniously dump one of their drivers, Lapierre being the exception. The only time you’ll see a vacancy open up is when a driver retires or a new team enters. And even then, most manufacturers tend to promote from within. I reckon Hulkenberg will carry on in F1 while driving the third Porsche for the next few years.

      1. It’s so rare for top LMP1 teams to unceremoniously dump one of their drivers

        But it doesn’t have to be unceremonious. Lieb could always take back the wheel of a 911 RSR, while Dumas is preeeetty much a loaner from Audi.

    2. Hulkenberg SHOULD make that move, to be honest, if someone offers him a full season contrct. It’s not “if he doesn’t get a top drive in F1”. He won’t. No way Ferrari or Red Bull or McLaren are going to pick him over Bottas or Verstappen or Magnussen or Vandoorne.

      Also, winning here with Porsche might just prove to be the perfect start of a very fruitful sportscar career. I don’t tip him for a 2016 move just yet, but I have no doubt he’ll end up in the WEC at some point soon.

      1. But Ferrari did have an option on him – and this was while they still had Bianchi waiting in the wings! It’s not impossible Ferrari will hire him, but now he’s up against Ricciardo and Bottas. If they get Bottas to replace Kimi that might steal him away from direct competitors however..

          1. Agree with both of your comments above. To be really honest, I rate Hulk more than Bottas, so I would love to see him drive a Ferrari…and he has got #27 also, iconic with Ferrari

  43. Funnily, so many former Red Bull juniors are following their master Dr. Helmut Marko by racing in Le Mans and hardly racing in Formula 1.

    Filipe Albuquerque
    Brendon Hartley
    Neel Jani (that’s not me)
    Karun Chandhok
    Sebastian Buemi

    1. True, I think the only race was Le Mans Bugatti in 1967, called a ‘mickey mouse track’ at the time, a bit like Tilkedromes now compared to the classics! No doubt they’d have rather run the classic course..

        1. Mainly because of fear one manufacturer might be way ahead, triggering a spending war on ERS. Agree open, but with a fixed price to customers, would be better aligned with goal of the PU.

          1. I agree with more open, especially leaving more room to increase the hybrid use – the MGH especially. Then again, just imagine Mercedes being even further ahead …

          2. I recall the sky guys saying Ferrari has better ERS at teh moment than Mercedes, though Mercedes might have the engine modes optimised better , I think.

          3. ERS development sounds like the obvious solution in F1, but they’d probably settle for whichever is most cost effective now, maybe ICE development might level the field easier?

    1. It does seem like that watching it.. no retirements of the top 8 etc. but I’m sure there is conservation of fuel and tyres to make the ‘quad stints’ or not run out of fuel on a 13km lap back to the pits etc.

      1. Every race has some sort of conservation as it’s in the DNA of competitors to find an advantage in any shape or form and Le Mans is no different. However, to say that it’s purely a race to last 24 hours isn’t correct. These guys go flat out for most of the and yet the gaps in some of these classes are just around 30-40 secs which might seem a lot but it’s nothing when you fight for 24 hours.

        Just look now at the GTE Pro class. They had a sprint for 22 hours and now the Ferrari #51 which was nearly 4 laps in front of Ferrari #71 is behind them.

        Same for LMP2 and LMP1.

        It indeed is a sprint as well as a marathon!

    1. I think for a 400 lap race they’d need to be averaging 3:30 per lap, which is more than possible with these cars, but slow zones and safety cars have made it impossible.

    2. I think this would be mega for Hulk fans (like me) to watch him win the race and then posting record laps ever for LeMans. This would be some headline for tomorrow :D

      1. They do — but GT Am drivers still score points toward the overall GT championship in the WEC, so perhaps they could be on the podium? Either way, Pedro Lamy & co are going to score 50 points toward that championship — they’re going to be ahead of most of the pro teams!

  44. Interested to see how Radio Le Mans would handle Hulkenberg winning.

    Radio Le Mans gets a bit precious about endurance racing versus Formula 1. I think the idea that an F1 driver could come in and potentially win Le Mans at the first attempt after they spend so much time criticising modern Formula 1 doesn’t really suit their narrative that endurance racers are so much more admirable than F1 drivers.

    1. They poke fun at Formula 1 but I’ve never heard them criticise the talents of the drivers. They usual direct their criticism at the spectacle and the quality of the cars.

        1. Chill mate, he’s great. He was stellar that day, but made a rookie error. But that’s almost 3 years ago, and he has absolutely no reason to push as hard as a Force India driver trying do overtake a dominant McLaren.

          1. I’d day Marko and Mateschitz will certainly want to have Webbo and Brendon attending the Austrian GP, at least they will then have something to show off, yes. Not sure about Horner, although, you are right about him being able to suddenly be “hugely proud” of Mark and somehow claiming he had anything to do with it, maybe adding how LeMans is now better than F1 or something.

    1. The fuel penalty system was introduced with the new regulation package, which places strict limits both on the fuel flow rate and the amount of fuel which can be used over an average of three laps. I do not think that anybody has fallen foul of it before, but the penalty system was in place at Le Mans.

  45. I wonder how much of an asset those couple of laps on the tyres will be for the 17 car, otherwise, I see 18 disappearing as they did at the Nürburgring.

  46. It’s not often that I watch three competitive racing sessions and the F1 is the least Noah’s Ark-esque… Still, some interesting racing is happening in the back half of the field.

  47. they really picked a bad time for the race start. had it been three hours earlier i’d have been able to watch the whole race, but since this race is over at 6 am for me i can’t watch it. can’t stay awake for this long.

    1. I’m not convinced I can stay up until 5 am given there’s a marathon running near my house tomorrow morning…. …but there’s a loud concert going on now that means I need the WEC to block out the racket! Can’t win.

    1. Multi 17-18 all the way @adrianmorse. I won’t be as angry at it this time because it deosn’t change #18’s championship status (#18 will be out whether they finish 1st or 2nd wrt #17), even if team orders at Fuji did a hell of a lot for that.

  48. Webber and co. are 14 points in front of Lotterer and co.

    Web and co. can clinch the title by finishing on 3rd place or higher in Bahrain, in 3 weeks time.

  49. As things stand, the Audis have practically began their pit cycles early (about lap 25 vs the Porsche’s lap 30) and generally drive shorter stints (about 25-lap vs the Porsches’ 30-lap). Now I wonder if that will set them on a 7-stop race (28*7 plus a few laps for the expected 205, give or take a two). Vs. Porsche’s 6 stops (30*6 plus a few laps).

  50. OK, it’s now #7 Audi v. #18 Porsche for the win as the #8 Audi also has a problem. If Porsche wins that particular battle – currently down to strategy – they’ve for the title for the other car.

  51. Also, the #17 is about 30s behind the 4th-place Toyota on-track – 2 laps down on the standings, but if they can claw a lap back (they are lapping 2s faster), they’ll be just 1 lap down. They can get that thing back until the checkered on their own as well.

  52. Popping back to catch up with things: the #17 Porsche is not able to hunt down any of the Toyotas after all (still 1 lap plus the better part of 30s down), so I guess it’ll come down to Porsche seeing how strategy pans out in the final half an hour – and then decide: if the #18 can win the race, they won’t interfere, but if it cannot, they’ll surely instruct it to stop with 4-6 laps to go.

  53. Webber is back on track again – no places lost, but blimey, that Porsche seems to be on its last legs. It was the engine actuator once again. Meanwhile, Mr Le Mans blitzes into the ROC semis in London… :D

  54. Webber is lapping very slowly – he has a margin of 2 laps to P6 and further 5 laps to P7, the minimum the #17 now has to do. I’m sure Porsche just set the car up to bring it home safely.

  55. As things stand atm, i can’t see Mark losing the title. He’s safe in 5th, so it’s all up to Lotterer now, but he’s about a lap down from P1.

  56. Irrelevant with WEC, but seeing the Aston Martin tweet reminded me of the possible F.I. buyout. And if that happens, i wouldn’t want a “rebrand”. Better have a full takeover, to make an Aston Martin works team. Simple rebranding an outfit seems..cheap.

  57. Even if, say, Neel retied now, Lot would inherit 1st, but Web would been 4th. The Porsche boys have this in the bag now. Only a Interlagos 2008 can send the title to the Audi garage now.

    1. Yep :D Maybe F1 was too much for him, but this year both his team and driver pairing were stronger than Audi/Lot and co. and it showed.

      WORLD CHAMPIONs!!! WORLD CHAMPIONS!!

  58. It’s quite iconic – as Webber finally wins a major championship, Vettel, in about the exact same moment, perhaps literally, clinches his first Race of Champions title. Which he pursued for nearly a decade now. It’s a big fat happy ending for the ex team mates.

    1. Indeed. I was actually thinking the same thing. If this was a hollywood movie, the timing would’ve been perfect. Perhpaps it actually is.

      It doesn’t matter-both will go home happy now. A big achievement for Vettel, he finally wins ROC, but a massive, massive win for Webber. He can finally tell that he’s actually a World Champion :D Jesus… i’m so excited :D

  59. Also heart-warming to see Wurz’s farewell with a podium finish.
    I’m only a little bit gutted that Wolff didn’t procedded much in ROC, but she was close nevertheless. A great day.

  60. The only thing missing fro Webber is a proper title celebration – it’s such a lame thing that no series has a championship podium except NASCAR. Even if you win by finishing 17th, you still get the championship celebration (aside from the separate victory lane, of course).

  61. Awesome foxtel covered silverstone here in Australia but they aren’t covering this one
    I don’t know what i pay them for

    1. I felt like that last year too, the racing is more “pure”. Nobody is talking about balancing the field etc. Here’s the rules, here’s the calendar. Go for it!

    2. WEC is not a “six hour sprint” as much as Radio Le Mans love to claim it is, but this has been a truly engrossing first half hour of motorsport.

  62. Woah, it’s chucking it down!
    Thanks for mentioning it’s on Quest on the TV times page. Didn’t even know that was a channel! Now I can watch the first hour, then F1 qualifying on Channel 4+1…

  63. Great start to the race. Just like Spa, Toyota are really looking strong and by extending their furl stints to around 14 laps, they’re looking very strong currently.

    Both Toyota should be in the top 3 after this pitstop I believe.

  64. GETE Pro battle is the true highlight! Around 90 laps and top 3 are seperated by around 5 seconds and 50 years since the bitter Ferrari vs Ford battle, history is repeating itself.

    1. Didn’t saw anything wrong. They seemed to work normal while it seems like turbo problems again. I dunno what’s gong wrong with Audi this year.

      Reckon it’s their worst race ever at Le Mans.

  65. Although it’s 2:30 at night here, I too always enjoy the night and the dawn at Le Mans however the only thing I hate are those blinding bright lights of the prototypes!

  66. Before the race, reliability was always a big question mark this year and it’s not surprising how Toyota are running relatively trouble free compared to their German rivals.

  67. Good morning. Slept for 5 hours and back up.

    What’s going on suddenly? 7 incidents in 30 minutes! Clean race till 7 a.m. and suddenly they start fall like bowling pins.

    1. of course, in an endurance race, the blue flags (esp. for those many laps behind, and in a much slower category) also make a lot more sense than they do in F1; I agree, good move by the RD to make it clear right away so no one need even put effort into thinking about it :)

  68. #2 has played its card. They’ll only do full service once while Toyota has had done one and will have to do another. That’s fascinating and now Toyota will have to launch an attack on track.

  69. After two hours the leaders are:

    LMP1: #7 Toyota – Conway/Kobayashi/Sarrazin
    LMP2: #31 Rebellion – Prost/Beche/Heinemeier Hanson
    GTE Pro: #95 Aston Martin – Sorensen/Thiim/Stanaway
    GTE Am: #62 Ferrari – MacNeil/Sweedler/Bell

  70. Costly tail light repair for Ford no. 69 when you’ve such a close GTE – Pro fight.

    It’s just unbelievable how close GTE-Pro fights are with so many manufacturers!

  71. Hats off to Kubica, turns out that stepping back from of the ByKolles LMP1 project to focus on F1 again was an almost prophetic decision.

    1. I wouldn’t be surprised. If things get a bit crazy, the LMP1 race might become a complete farce. 6 cars on the grid – that’s not a crisis anymore, that’s a catastrophe.

    1. The #2 Porsche is running again and the Radio Le Mans guys are saying it should be able to catch up to the 1st LMP2, assuming the #2 doesn’t have any more issues.

  72. Managed to get a decent amount of sleep but still seen all the drama in LMP1. Whilst this is fascinating to watch it is a shame to see just one LMP1 car with a chance of being on the podium

  73. You have to say, the LMP1s have been extremely unlucky. The #1 Porsche and the #7 & #9 Toyotas had their issues in the worst possible place, being on the pit straight. We saw how close Toyota got to the pits – if they had their problems a KM or two later, they could’ve made it back to the garage, fixed it, and potentially finished.

    1. By the way, the timestamps are a bit off. Unless the post-Brexit UK have decided to adjust their time zone to 1:15 behind the European mainland, that is.

  74. Why not give the LMP2 cars 1000hp engines as well for next year? With the shortage of LMP1 competitors, you need them to represent the true speed of Le Mans cars.

    1. The engines are the main difference between the categories and the primary source of costs. That’d only kill off the LMP2 field.

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