The endurance world championship is approaching its conclusion, and both the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ titles — currently held by Ferrari — are set to be decided. The Maranello team arrives in Bahrain in the lead in both standings. Porsche and Cadillac are not far behind the Italian marque, with the 963 machines primed for a dramatic finish. In the Drivers’ championship the crew of Pier Guidi – Giovinazzi – Calado are in control, followed by the #83 car of Hanson – Kubica – Ye, and Porsche Penske Motorsport’s number 6 entry.
This race is the third-longest on the calendar — behind only the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 1812 km of Qatar (roughly 10 hours) — which makes this season-ending event even more demanding and complicated to manage. For Ferrari, more hours of racing translate to more opportunities for issues, whether mechanical failures or contact incidents. It takes very little to undo everything done well during a long season, and this is precisely where the experienced and successful Maranello team must play its best cards.
WEC 2025 – Bahrain 8-Hour preview: a tough track for a heated season finale
The Sakhir circuit is primarily known for its rather aged asphalt, which forces engineers and drivers to pay great attention to tyre issues. The near absence of high-speed corners shifts focus onto longitudinal degradation — namely in heavy braking zones with wheels locked straight ahead, such as the first turn, or during acceleration from very low speed. These two areas generate significant sliding on the tyres, even more so on a worn track like Bahrain.
The surface dates back to 2004, the circuit’s debut year, and due to its aggregate composition the abrasive nature is very high. Thermal degradation will be the main topic this weekend — a factor Ferrari could fully exploit to its advantage. The 499P machines have undergone extensive work this winter in this respect, significantly improving their long-run performance. On more than one occasion the Maranello cars showed the best tyre management during stints, proving very fast especially before the pit stop. Cannizzo expressed confidence ahead of the season finale, particularly on a track not unfavourable to the 499P.
Cadillac must not be underestimated in this respect either, having improved substantially in thermal degradation management, as demonstrated in Brazil and in the early stages at Fuji — though on a track that does not favour the American LMDh. At that time Norman Nato spoke candidly of how crucial the advantage of clean air was: as soon as the two V-Series.R cars found themselves in traffic their performance dropped without further brilliance.
The speed of the American LMDh entries in qualifying helps in the early phases of a race, but it is easy to understand that in very long races one is subject to many variables — too many to control completely from start to finish (with the usual BoP exceptions). Porsche remains among the favourites, mainly thanks to race-pace speed (often better than qualifying), and not forgetting the perfect execution shown by drivers and mechanics on several occasions. The debut of Laurin Heinrich on car #5 merits mention, after Michael Christensen bowed out in favour of the Porsche factory driver, already proven fast in GT competition.
Returning for a moment to the 6 Hours of Fuji last September, the Ferrari drivers — primarily Pier Guidi — were involved in numerous track-limits warnings which then turned into several penalties. Giuliano Salvi, the team’s track-side and test-day director, afterwards reported a lack of information on the matter: “Track limits are something we need to discuss internally since we had no information, probably something on our side did not work properly,” he told DailySportscar. He continued: “It was strange, often we have information and tell the drivers to be careful. I cannot say with certainty whether it was something linked to the IT system. When we found out it was too late.” A fairly controversial episode, which in fact complicated life considerably for the “Prancing Horse” drivers.
Under the heat it is not excluded that Toyota might feature in high positions. The two GR010 Hybrid cars, which will receive a significant update next year, prefer slow sections over fast ones, where they show performance shortfalls — a trend demonstrated by last year’s victory. However, as explained by Hirakawa, the Japanese project has reached the end of its performance potential, suffering compared to more recent cars. Also to monitor very closely are the LMDh entries from Alpine, winners at Fuji by exploiting the various neutralisations and thanks to a bold strategic call — albeit one step back from the more established rivals when mechanical grip becomes fundamental. A similar discourse applies to BMW, called upon to redeem itself after a complicated second half of the season.
WEC 2025 – Bahrain 8-Hour preview: BoP published for the season finale
In a surprise move, the Porsche 963 cars will become the heaviest in the field in Bahrain. The two Penske machines and the Proton #99 will receive an additional 4 kg ballast relative to Fuji, and lose 9 kW under 250 km/h, now totalling 481 kW. The trend is reversed for Ferrari and Toyota, both consistently disadvantaged in terms of weight and available power: the 499P will gain 3 kW of power in V1, while shedding 5 kg compared to their Japanese outing. A similar scenario for Toyota, which loses 7 kg and increases available power (+6 kW). The decisions by the ACO and FIA follow the philosophy adopted this season, with BoP imposed based on last races’ results.
It is no coincidence that the 963s won at COTA and stood on the podium at Fuji, being potentially in contention for victory. Ferrari, on the other hand, along with the GR010 Hybrid, comes from a difficult weekend, which justifies the small BoP improvements. The organisers appear to have wished to put the three title-contending cars on an equal footing, creating a more balanced condition. Here is the link to the full analysis.
Porsche need only keep up the pressure on their rivals. Laurens Vanthoor clarified the role of the #6 crew ahead of the race, recalling last year’s title fight when the Vanthoor-Estre-Lotterer trio finished only tenth: “We are not in the same position as last year, when we were the favourites. Then I saw how much pressure it entails and how easy it is to make mistakes in such a situation.” With a similar idea, Kevin Estre challenged the rivals: “In some phases of the race [Ferrari] weren’t that strong or they have made mistakes. We have always got the most out of the package and taken risks at the right time, doing better than rivals. […] But of course we must not underestimate the others. They have won many races and know how to do it. But they are under pressure and we are the ones keeping them in our sights.”
Finally, the Belgian concluded: “Last year we had everything to lose, it was more stressful. Now it’s the opposite, so the approach is much more relaxed. […] It’s always easier to attack than to defend.” During the season certainly the 963 #6 has been the car that committed the fewest mistakes, and it is easy to expect that they will be capable of executing a perfect race in Bahrain, with little (or almost no) pressure. Ferrari, on the other hand, has often been subject to various penalties during races, which places even more pressure on Coletta’s team. Ferrari (like everyone) has worked massively in the simulator, so as to arrive in Sakhir in the best possible way.
See you on Thursday, for the first free practice sessions.
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