Cadillac conquers Monza as Toyota seals the title

Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA ended the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship on a high at Monza, with the #38 V-Series.R of Jack Aitken, Sébastien Bourdais and Earl Bamber winning a chaotic six-hour season finale. Alpine took second on its WEC farewell, while Ferrari’s #51 was promoted to the podium after a late penalty reshuffled the order. Toyota’s #8 crew, meanwhile, secured the Hypercar Drivers’ World Championship despite finishing 11th.

A cold start at the Temple of Speed

Monza’s season finale began under grey skies and cool temperatures, with the circuit offering little grip and plenty of opportunity for mistakes. Ferrari’s #50 499P of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen started from pole after Fuoco’s 1m33.364s Hyperpole lap, but the home crowd’s early optimism was quickly tested.

Genesis GMR-001 made an eye-catching competitive debut, with Daniel Juncadella briefly taking the lead at the start. Jack Aitken launched around the outside of the opening straight to put the #38 Cadillac into immediate contention, while Ferrari’s #50 soon required an early stop for soft tyres and later attracted the stewards’ attention.

Safety cars reshape the race

The opening three hours featured repeated Virtual Safety Car periods, compressing the field and turning the race into a strategic battle. Cadillac #38 and Alpine #36 emerged as the leading pair at half-distance, separated by less than a second, with BMW #20, the Peugeots and Ferrari #51 all in the fight.

The interruptions continued into the second half. A problem for Paul-Loup Chatin’s Genesis #19 at the exit of Ascari triggered another VSC and eventual Safety Car, while recovery periods were also needed for Francesco Castellacci’s Ferrari #54 and Clemens Schmid’s Lexus #87. Alex Riberas also had a major moment in the Aston Martin Valkyrie #009, losing the car in traffic at the end of the main straight and requiring a new front-end.

Cadillac holds its nerve

As the race entered its final stages, Earl Bamber made his move in the #38 Cadillac, while Victor Martins charged the Alpine #36 past Sheldon van der Linde’s BMW #20. Ferrari #51 remained firmly in the hunt, but the lead battle had become a Cadillac–Alpine duel as the clock ticked down.

Cadillac’s day was not without drama: the #12 of Alex Lynn, Will Stevens and Norman Nato crashed out late in the race, leaving the #38 to carry the marque’s hopes alone. Bamber did exactly that, taking the chequered flag after 191 laps to give Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA a memorable win in Bourdais’ final WEC race.

Ferrari rescued by the penalty

With 14 minutes remaining, Aston Martin’s #007 Valkyrie of Harry Tincknell and Tom Gamble passed Antonio Giovinazzi’s Ferrari #51 at the Prima Variante to take third on the road. But the joy was short-lived: a 20-second post-race penalty for a tyre-pressure infringement dropped the British car to fourth and restored the podium place to Ferrari.motorbox+1

It was a bittersweet home result for Ferrari. The #51 of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi claimed third, while the pole-sitting #50 finished seventh. BMW’s #20, which had been in the lead fight during the middle stages, faded to ninth, with the #15 taking sixth.

Toyota’s title day

Toyota may not have won the race, but it won the prize that mattered most. The #8 GR010 Hybrid of Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa finished 11th, one lap down, but that was enough to secure the 2026 Hypercar Drivers’ World Championship — their third title as a trio, following successes in 2022 and 2023.

The #7 Toyota finished immediately behind in 12th, while Genesis #17 and Aston Martin #009 were the final classified runners. Alpine #35 and Genesis #19 retired, underlining just how punishing Monza’s final WEC round proved to be.

The final order

LMGT3: Pera’s late charge seals it

In LMGT3, Manthey Racing’s #92 Porsche 911 GT3 R of Riccardo Pera, Richard Lietz and Yasser Shahin took a second consecutive victory, winning by just 0.270 seconds from the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin of Eduardo Barrichello. The result was built on a perfectly timed pit stop under the fourth-hour Safety Car, which elevated Pera to the class lead ahead of the #33 TF Sport Corvette and #88 Proton Competition Ford.

Pera’s final stint was the difference. The Italian repeatedly stretched his advantage, survived late pressure from Barrichello, and then had to defend hard on the final lap as the Aston Martin closed in — holding on by less than three tenths at the line.

Corvette’s title day

While Porsche won the race, the day belonged to TF Sport’s #33 Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Jonny Edgar, Ben Keating and Nicky Catsburg. The car had dropped as low as 10th early on, but a strong recovery and another well-timed Safety Car stop propelled it into third, exactly where it needed to be.

That podium secured the LMGT3 Drivers’ World Championship for Edgar, with Keating and Catsburg taking the Teams’ title alongside him. It also gave Corvette a championship to match Cadillac’s Hypercar win, making it a landmark day for General Motors at Monza.

The chasing pack

Behind the top three, the #88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 of Gattuso, Levorato and Sargeant ran strongly in the closing stages, with Levorato briefly passing the #33 Corvette for second during the Safety Car cycle. The #34 Racing Team Turkey Corvette of Dempsey, Yoluc and Eastwood also featured in the fight before fading in the final hour.

The #87 Akkodis ASP Lexus of Schmid, Umbrarescu and López had been a podium contender before a technical issue ended its challenge, while the #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG and #77 Proton Ford were regular threats throughout. In the end, it was Porsche’s late-race execution — and Corvette’s consistency — that decided both the race and the championship.

LMGT3 final order

A fitting finale

For Monza, it was a fitting finale: a race of pressure, penalties, safety cars and late-race drama, ultimately decided by a Cadillac that refused to let the opportunity slip. The Temple of Speed delivered one final WEC spectacle before the championship turns the page.