6 Hours of COTA 2026, Race: Toyota #7 goes out 10 minutes from the finish, Ferrari #50 wins and reopens everything in the world championship standings

First victory for Ferrari

First seasonal victory for Ferrari in the World Endurance Championship, achieved at the end of the 6 Hours of COTA at the Circuit of the Americas. The Texas track once again proves to be friendly to the 499P and rewards the trio of the car number #50, Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen who led a race always in the leading group and in the final took advantage of a technical problem that forced the retirement of Toyota #7 which was provisionally in the lead.

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Finishing just outside the top 10, in eleventh place, is the other car of the official Ferrari team – AF Corse, of the reigning World Drivers’ Champions Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi, who started from pole position but was unlucky in the development of the race, as was the 499P number #83 of AF Corse entrusted to the official drivers of the Prancing Horse Yifei Ye and Phil Hanson, together with Robert Kubica, who finished the six hours in thirteenth position, affected by some contacts in the early stages of the race.

The race report

The 6 Hours of COTA saw the cars of the official Ferrari team – AF Corse protagonists at the start, with Giovinazzi maintaining the lead in the first two hours, while Molina delivered an excellent double stint that allowed him to climb up the standings, even reaching the head of the race.

At the second pit stop of the Italian driver the 499P number #51, due to an issue, lost a few seconds and positions on rejoining the track, forcing Calado, who had just taken over, to make a significant comeback.

Meanwhile, in the middle phase some neutralizations reshuffled the standings: aspects that influenced first the performance of the crew number #50, in the alternation at the wheel between Nielsen and Fuoco, then still able to climb back close to the podium area, and in the last two hours the race of Pier Guidi-Calado-Giovinazzi, who found themselves outside the top 10.

After the last Virtual Safety Car, the race restarted with 45 minutes still to go and gaps reset, with Nielsen in third position and Pier Guidi in 13th. The Danish driver was first good at overtaking Milesi, second at that moment with Alpine, then took advantage of the retirement of De Vries’ Toyota, achieving the first victory of the season.

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Complex performance for the 499P number #83 of Ye-Hanson-Kubica, forced to replace the front end following a contact shortly before the third hour, which only occasionally managed to enter the top 10 taking advantage of the pit stop cycle.

The finishing order

The standings tighten

The crews that were leading the Drivers’ standings at 75 points did not move the classification. Toyota sees #8 rise to -11 points from the top, Ferrari is at -17 with #51 and -23 with #50 back absolutely in the race.

In the Constructors’ standings Toyota rises to 140 with +9 over BMW stuck at 130, Ferrari moves to 114 points just 26 points from Toyota.

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