WEC Barcelona: Post-race notebook

Toyota sealed the Hypercar Manufacturers’ title with a one-two at the 6 Hours of Barcelona, while Miguel Molina celebrated a home podium for Ferrari and Genesis turned pole position into a frustrating Sunday. GT REPORT spoke to drivers from seven manufacturers after WEC’s first visit to Barcelona, and here is what they told us ahead of the Monza finale.

Ferrari

Ferrari’s Miguel Molina told GT REPORT that standing on the podium at his home race in Barcelona was a “really special” experience. The Spanish driver called it a long weekend for Ferrari, but said he hopes to feel this again in the future.

Next up is Monza, where the sea of Italian tifosi makes it what Molina calls a “second home races in a row”. He expects a very important weekend for Ferrari, even after Toyota ended its Manufacturers’ title defence in Barcelona.

Despite the down year for the team as a whole, Molina remains optimistic about 2027. “We are developing a new car for next year, I hope that the preparation work will be done by the end of this season and let’s see if it’ll be good as the 499P for us.”

Genesis

Genesis’ Dani Juncadella said he felt honoured to race at home, with the local fans cheering him on, and he loved the experience. “Unfortunately, the race was a very frustrating one, not only with the result but also for myself.”

Juncadella started third in mixed conditions and took the lead into the first corner, but made a mistake at Turn 5 later on that lap and dropped down the order.

“Frustrated about that one, but we’ll analyse and we’ll get better.”

The Spaniard is looking ahead to Monza. Genesis has improved every weekend, notably qualifying first and third for this race, and Juncadella said the team is excited for another chance to show its progress.

“We are getting towards fighting at the front all the time and that’s very exciting. We can dream again to have a strong performance at Monza. I’m sure we can analyse and do better from these past events, and I’m sure we can be strong and finish the year on a high.”

Genesis teammate André Lotterer told GT REPORT that qualifying was a big moment for the team, but it was an equally difficult Sunday for the sister car.

“We didn’t exist 600 days ago, so it’s quite an achievement so far for our new team to put the car on pole. But the race remains our weakness and it has been for the last few races. We feel like we have the potential but today we were restricted with issues. The car was not operating correctly, the way it was regening, the traction, the power. It was upside down. The car ended up not being so drivable and would shut down.”

The Belgian accepts that this is part of being a rookie team, and believes the lessons will pay off if the issues get fixed.

“So not an ideal part of our rookie season, we have to accept this moment but as long as we improve and fix our issues, these experiences will help us achieve higher goals that we’ll set.”

Lotterer said the Korean outfit needs to build up its general intelligence and resources to handle the many challenges ahead in order to fight up front. “We need to be ready, not just excel in qualifying but through the difficult moments. That’s the biggest difference between Genesis and other teams that are winning. To try to go fast is one thing, but to go fast in many different conditions is another. We need to work on to cover more different scenarios. We can already say that we are operating at a high level over one lap, but we need to analyse what happened today, for example to become stronger.”

Toyota

Mike Conway praised Toyota for “a great car and a great strategy”. With the Manufacturers’ title already wrapped up and a race at Monza to spare, he said the #7 crew will go all out to beat its sister car in the season finale.

Reflecting on his time in WEC, the British driver told GT REPORT that being part of another Manufacturers’ title is very special.

“A lot of work goes behind what the drivers do. We are a small part of it, but it’s great to be a part of this effort.”

Aston Martin

Alex Riberas described the 6 Hours of Barcelona as an emotional weekend, his first home race in WEC: “Having all my family here, my friends, the home fans. On a human level, it’s very fulfilling.”

The Aston Martin Valkyrie LMH showed promising pace in Free Practice, but both cars missed out on Hyperpole and couldn’t find a way back to the front in the race, with Riberas’ #009 car finishing in 9th place.

“We fought pretty much as hard as we could and tried to maximise the package that we had. We still got some points, which I think we can be proud of. We have to find ways to get better and execute better as a team, but overall I am very happy.”

While Fuji was a great wet weather showing for the Valkyrie, the THOR team couldn’t quite grasp the newly introduced Michelin wet tyre, said the Spanish driver. “We were definitely not very competitive with the wet tyres today. So the feeling was not very good but it’s the first time we drive on them, so I’m sure we can learn a lot from it and try to get better the next time we use it.”

Despite the tough Sunday, Riberas was full of praise for the venue, and would love to return.

“I think Barcelona is a fantastic location. It’s clearly a venue that is ready for the top level sports events in the world. So it would be a dream to come back.”

Peugeot

Alex Quinn made his WEC debut in the Peugeot 9X8 LMH, and told GT REPORT the car felt very different to anything else he has driven.

“The big thing I had to deal with was out laps on cold tyres, in mixed conditions. While it wasn’t the perfect race for us, I was quite happy with the performance. I feel like we’ve learnt a huge amount, making progress and the pace was quite good over the stint so I can be positive with my first race.”

He arrived with no expectations, and said that finishing 12th, close to the points, was a good way to start.

“I came into this race without any expectations, so getting the first race under the belt, getting close to the points was a really good experience, and I definitely want to be looking for the points in Monza.”

The British driver said he is still learning about the car and the track, but is excited to find out more as he gets more familiar with the championship.

Cadillac

Cadillac’s Earl Bamber said it was a good weekend, considering the car didn’t have the outright speed of the Toyotas.

“We put together a really good race, the team did a great strategy gamble at the end there to not take tyres and jump in front of one of the Ferraris to steal a 4th place finish.”

Looking at the season as a whole, the Kiwi said that although the team hasn’t won, it has performed really well. That 4th place marked another top-five finish for Hertz Team JOTA. Combined with the sister car’s sixth place, it gives Cadillac an outside shot at second in the Manufacturers’ championship, as it is in a fight with Ferrari and BMW.

BMW

BMW’s Kevin Magnussen said the team should be happy with the #15 car’s 7th place finish.

“We had to play the strategy safe, we wanted to get a good enough result to keep the championship open in Monza, but that would only come if there was a VSC or rain in the end. We were the one going long, and we accepted getting undercut because otherwise the championship would be over.

“So, it’s now over. We got P7 at a track that I don’t think we thought we would be so strong at with our car. The characteristics didn’t really suit this track.”

The Danish driver was glad to extend the #15’s points streak, with the crew having scored at every event this season. That includes Le Mans, where a DNF was offset by the point from its pole position.

“I think that’s been a really strong point of our team. This year has been about consistency and faultless execution in terms of strategy and in terms of pit stops and good driving at times.”

With the championship now out of reach, BMW will go to Monza with nothing to lose. “Although the championship is now over, we can go into Monza full push and try to get a nice result to wrap up the year.”

This weekend is WEC’s first visit to Barcelona, but not Magnussen’s first time driving at the 4.657km circuit. He told GT REPORT that the Hypercar feels so different from an F1 car that it is “almost like a different track, but that’s the same case for every track.”