WEC Austin: Antonio Giovinazzi takes Ferrari pole after exact tie with Jack Aitken

Antonio Giovinazzi claimed a sensational pole position for Ferrari in FIA WEC qualifying at Austin, putting the #51 499P at the front of the Lone Star Le Mans grid with a 1:52.445. Jack Aitken produced exactly the same time in the #38 Cadillac, but because Giovinazzi completed his lap first, pole went to Ferrari.

It is the second pole position of the 2026 season for Ferrari, both delivered by Giovinazzi, who had previously taken the top spot at Imola. The result also extends an impressive run for the 499P at the Circuit of the Americas, where Ferrari has now secured three consecutive poles.

Antonio Giovinazzi delivers Ferrari WEC pole at Austin

Austin marks the fifth FIA WEC pole of Giovinazzi’s career and the tenth for the Ferrari 499P. More importantly for the championship, Saturday’s result earned the #51 crew of Alessandro Pier Guidi, Antonio Giovinazzi and James Calado a bonus point.

That reduces their deficit in the Drivers’ World Championship from 18 to 17 points. The lead is shared by Robin Frijns and René Rast in the #20 BMW and Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries in the #7 Toyota.

The championship leaders endured contrasting qualifying sessions. The #20 BMW failed to reach Hyperpole and qualified only 13th, while the #7 Toyota secured ninth place, finishing just over eight tenths behind Giovinazzi’s pole time.

Pier Guidi, Giovinazzi and Calado will therefore start the Austin race from the front of the grid, with the #38 Cadillac alongside them. The sister #12 Cadillac endured a far more difficult session and failed to reach Hyperpole, ending qualifying in 15th.

Alpine and Aston Martin narrowly miss out on Ferrari pole

The margins at the front were exceptionally small. The #35 Alpine qualified third, only 0.029 seconds away from pole, while the #007 Aston Martin secured fourth just 0.050 seconds behind Giovinazzi.

The second Aston Martin had a much tougher qualifying. The #009 car finished 17th and last among the Hypercars.

Ferrari’s second factory 499P completed the top five. Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen will start fifth in the #50 after Nielsen recorded a 1:52.873 in Hyperpole, 0.428 seconds behind the sister #51.

The #36 Alpine and #8 Toyota will line up sixth and seventh, while the two Genesis cars qualified eighth and tenth. Their positions suggest that, at least over a single lap, the GMR-001 is already performing at a very competitive level.

The AF Corse #83 experienced a more difficult Saturday. Robert Kubica, Ye Yifei and Phil Hanson, who has recently renewed his agreement with Maranello, will start 14th and will be hoping to work their way forward in the race. The car was a winner at COTA in 2024 as part of Ferrari’s WEC programme.

Heart of Racing locks out the LMGT3 front row

In LMGT3, pole position went to the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin, with Eduardo Barrichello setting the fastest Hyperpole time. The sister #27 Aston Martin will start alongside it, giving the American team a complete front-row lockout.

The #91 Manthey Porsche secured third place ahead of the #77 Ford Mustang and #58 McLaren. Ferrari’s #21 Vista AF Corse entry qualified sixth and needs a strong points haul to close the gap at the top of the championship.

The second Ferrari, the #54, finished 11th in the LMGT3 order after narrowly missing the Hyperpole cut. Mercedes and Iron Lynx enjoyed a more positive session with the #61 car qualifying eighth.

Several of the cars near the top of the LMGT3 championship standings will start much further back. The #34 TF Sport Chevrolet, which won in Brazil, qualified 12th in class, immediately ahead of the #92 Manthey Porsche.

The #69 BMW of Team WRT could manage only 16th in LMGT3, while the championship-leading #33 TF Sport Corvette endured an even more difficult qualifying and will start 17th in class, on the penultimate row.

2026 WEC Lone Star Le Mans qualifying results