The rain is coming back!
The next rain shower is reaching the track. How heavy the rain will be this time remains to be seen. However, it could be a bit heavier than the first shower in the afternoon. Now it will be exciting to see how the teams decide!
Short-term change of leadership by Toyota!
Sebastien Buemi in the Toyota #8 takes the AF Corse Ferrari #83 and briefly takes the lead. Crazy: The Swiss has been in the car since the start, so for over three hours! However, in the battle against Ferrari he had the advantage of an empty tank and now has to stop – so he falls back again and Ferrari remains in the lead. Brendon Hartley takes over the Toyota #8.
AF-Corse-Ferrari #83 is in the lead
The racing has calmed down a bit in the last few minutes, so we’ll give you a quick update: The AF Corse Ferrari #83 is leading the race by just over 20 seconds ahead of the Porsche #5. The Ferrari #50 is another 15 seconds behind in third place. The Toyota #8 is more than 40 seconds behind. The Ferrari #51 is in fifth place, followed by the Jota Porsche #12.
In the LMP2 class, the Vector-Oreca #10 (Cullen/Pilet/Richelmi) holds the reins, while in the LMGT3 class, surprisingly, the ASP-Lexus #87 (Kimura/Masson/Hawksworth) is in the lead.
Route clear again!
The slow zones due to Frijns’s crash and the AF Corse Ferrari’s accident have just been lifted – the track is clear again! Some teams used the last moment of the yellow phase to make a stop, including the Jota Porsche #12, the Toyota #8 and the Ferrari #51. This could turn out to be a clever move, because a rain shower that was forecast to arrive in the next few minutes has now apparently moved away.
Frijns throws away the BMW Art Car #20!
Ouch! The BMW #20 had just worked its way back into the top 10 with a bit of luck and a good strategy – and now Robin Frijns throws the art car into the tire wall in the chicane before the start/finish line. The Dutchman limps back to the pits with his wounded vehicle. That’s the end of his hopes of victory!
Accident of the LMGT3 Ferrari of AF Corse
The AF Corse Ferrari #54 (Flohr/Castellacci/Rigon) flew off the track when braking for the Dunlop bend and hit the tire wall. That’s why there is a slow zone on the start-finish straight, which suits some teams for their pit stop. These are the AF Corse Ferrari #83, the Porsche #5 and the Lamborghini #19, which lose less time.
All back on slicks
All teams have switched back to slick tires. Nicklas Nielsen is leading the field again in the Ferrari #50 despite a 10-second penalty at the second stop, followed by Robert Kubica in the AF Corse Ferrari #83. The third-placed Jota Porsche #12, the Porsche #5 and the two Iron Lynx Lamborghinis also benefited from driving through with the slicks.
Robin Frijns was in the pits in the face of impending rain chaos, but he put on soft slicks instead of rain tires. This enabled the BMW trio to fight their way back up to seventh place after the slow puncture in the early stages.
Rain tires are the wrong choice!
The rain tires are the wrong choice because the slick tires are still a bit faster than the rain tires. The Alpine #36 is therefore already switching back to the slicks. The other teams are now following suit. Ferrari has won this strategy poker!
The Porsche #6 follows suit!
The Porsche #6 is now also getting its tires changed, as are the BMW #20 and the Peugeot #93. Currently, six cars are still on slick tires: the Ferrari #50, the Porsche #5, the Jota-Porsche #12, the two Lamborghinis #19 and #63 and the private AF-Corse-Ferrari #83.
Meanwhile, there was a collision between an LMP2 car and an LMGT3 Ferrari, which resulted in a yellow flag.
Further changes to rain tires
One lap later, more cars come in to change to rain tires, including the Cadillac #2, the Porsche #4, the Toyota #7, the Jota-Porsche #38, the Ferrari #51, the Peugeot #94 and the Cadillac #311. It seems that the rain is too heavy to drive through on slick tires. Or is it?
Rain in the Porsche curves!
Rain begins to fall in the Porsche corners, although it is only a small shower that will have moved on in ten minutes. Nevertheless, the Toyota #8, the Cadillac #3 and the two Alpines come into the pits to change to rain tires. Will it be worth it?
Ferrari stays ahead because Porsche changes tires
The second pit stop for all Hypercar teams has been completed. The Ferrari #51 has taken the lead because the Porsche #6 has got new tires. Andre Lotterer has also taken over from starting driver Vanthoor. Is it worth it if the rain is about to come?
The Toyota #8 has moved up to second place, followed by the Ferrari #50, which had to stop a little longer. The Cadillac #3 is in fourth place, ahead of the Alpina #35.
The Alpine #36, in which Mick Schumacher also drives, was unlucky during the stop: an Inter-Europol LMP2 blocked Nicolas Lappiere, meaning the French lost a total of 15 seconds. The trio dropped back to 15th position.
Is the rain coming now?
Apparently the first drops of rain are being reported on the track. According to the rain radar, however, it is only a small shower that is expected to hit the track at 5:35 p.m.
The next pit stops are coming up
The leading Ferrari #50 opens the next round of pit stops. Due to the unsafe release at the first stop, the car has to stay in the car for ten seconds longer. Nicklas Nielsen stays in the car for the third stint. This means that the Porsche #6 takes the lead for the time being.
Problems at BMW and Proton-Porsche
BMW also has to report a problem with the second car! Rene Rast drives into the pits with the BMW #20. That doesn’t look like it’s going according to plan. The front of the sister BMW #15, with which Marco Wittmann spun in the early stages, was replaced during the pit stop. Now the Munich driver is running again.
The Proton Porsche #99 is also in the pits for a second time because of problems with the locking mechanism. That’s bitter, because this problem is not unknown with the Porsche 963 from Proton…
Penalty for the leading Ferrari!
The leading Ferrari #50 actually gets a penalty for the ‘Unsafe Release’! At the next stop, the Italians have to stand for ten seconds longer, which means that the third Ferrari is also initially passed. Because the Hypercar field is still really close together after the first hour!