The Saturday action at Imola delivered a thrilling battle between Ferrari and Toyota, ultimately decided in favour of Antonio Giovinazzi, who narrowly beat Ryo Hirakawa in the fight for Hyperpole ahead of the 6 Hours race that will open the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship season on Sunday.
Under the blazing sun at the Imola circuit, Giovinazzi produced a standout performance in the final phase of qualifying, defeating the Japanese driver by just 11 thousandths of a second. The result sparked huge celebrations from the local crowd, who enthusiastically supported the Ferrari driver while also applauding the effort of the Toyota GR010 Hybrid #8.
“Until I crossed the line on the final lap, I had no information about where I stood in the classification. I focused completely on doing my best, and fortunately it was enough,” said the reigning World Champion in the Ferrari 499P #51.
“Honestly, looking at the lap time, I wasn’t sure it would be enough for pole, especially because I made a small mistake at the ‘Villeneuve’ corner and I didn’t think I could improve after that.”
“At Imola the corners are very similar across the sectors, there isn’t one specific area where we are stronger than others, so it took several laps to fully understand how to extract performance at each point. In addition, the tyres needed a couple of laps to come into the optimal window, so let’s say we managed to put everything together at the right moment.”
“It was an intense session and the rising track temperatures made driving more difficult compared to last year. We were all very close, and I think it was a great show for everyone, especially for our fans.”
Ferrari has confirmed that the 499P performs strongly over a single lap at Imola, but it was already expected that the main objective was to secure a strong starting position for what promises to be a far more complex race, especially given the uncertain weather forecast.
“In the race I don’t know what will happen, there is a risk of rain so that adds another variable. We looked this morning at the data from the Prologue, there are still some unknowns, but for now we start from the front, which was the main objective given the characteristics of this track.”
“Today Toyota could also have made it into Hyperpole. They were strong on both medium and soft tyres, but we know them well and they have always been competitive in previous years as well.”
“We need to be smart and ready to execute the right strategy at the right time. Being at the front can definitely help.”
Antonio Fuoco also appeared to be in contention for top positions, but in the end the Ferrari #50 missed out on pole by a very small margin, leaving the Calabrian driver visibly disappointed.
“There is a bit of bitterness about how it went. The position is better compared to last year, but in Qualifying I felt better than in Hyperpole. I made a small mistake that cost me the top spot. In Qualifying I had set a lap that would have put me first at the end.”
“We are all very close and that is positive. There are eight cars within three tenths, and being at the front means you have done a very good job. We used soft tyres throughout, while I noticed our rivals also used mediums at certain stages.”
“Toyota are very good at using them, but in the race everything can change because cloudy skies and possible rain are expected, so we need to stay alert, gain positions early and see how it develops.”
“The main objective is to bring home the best result for the team. We need to try to be at the front with both cars and then we will see.”
Robert Kubica, however, was left without satisfaction after struggling to put together a clean lap due to multiple issues, eventually settling for a disappointing eighth place.
“We struggled with the front end. We had much less grip compared to Qualifying, and when I found it again it was already too late and I had lost too much time. We hoped to start further up, unfortunately these things happen and we will try to recover,” said the Polish driver of the Ferrari 499P #83 from AF Corse.
“There is always potential to recover in endurance racing. We need to work well throughout the race and adapt to how it evolves. Starting further back at this track doesn’t help overtaking, but we also need to keep an eye on the weather with possible rain.”
“The more uncertainty there is, the better it could be for us, even if it is difficult to create opportunities when starting behind. If it becomes a dry race, we will need to be good at taking advantage of rivals’ mistakes and uncertainties.”
Antonello Coletta, Head of Ferrari Endurance and Corse Clienti, commented: “Today we saw how close the performance levels are between us and several competitors. We were aware of this, and that is why it is even more satisfying to achieve this pole position with the #51 499P.”
“We are happy to have two Ferraris in the top three on the grid at a circuit like Imola, where overtaking is very difficult and starting position can be extremely important. The only disappointment is the #83 499P, which despite performing well throughout all sessions could not go beyond eighth place.”
“We know the 6 Hours of Imola will be a long and complex race, but we hope to deliver a strong performance for our fans.”
Ferdinando Cannizzo, Head of Endurance Cars, added: “The pole position of the #51 499P is the result of great teamwork and an excellent execution by Antonio in a very competitive session. The margin is minimal and, like qualifying, the race will be equally tight and open until the very end.”
“With variable weather expected and possible rain in the afternoon, strategy management, tyre choices and traffic handling will be absolutely crucial.”
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