At Austin’s Lone Star Le Mans World Endurance Championship round, Ferrari’s Antonio Giovinazzi secured the overall and Hypercar class pole position at the wheel of the #51 499P with a time of 1m52.445s in a thrilling session that saw him finish level with Jack Aitken’s #38 Cadillac-Jota.
Giovinazzi, however, had managed to set his time before his rival, so the top spot on the grid will be his for the second time at the Circuit of the Americas, where he previously topped the timesheets in 2024.
“It was a good qualifying session, but not an easy one, and I had to fight to get the car working properly as the wind was blowing constantly and in different directions,” explained the reigning world champion, who actually emerged as the fastest in the initial qualifying session with a time of 1m52.105s.
“I wasn’t entirely happy with the car in qualifying and, even afterwards, I managed to put in a perfect lap, but it was enough to secure the Hyperpole. We were lucky to set the time before Aitken, but we’ve already seen on other occasions this year that qualifying is very close.
“It was crucial to leave the pits before the Cadillac; I knew I was on pole, but I didn’t know by how much. They told me when I was already in the pit lane.
“This Hyperpole is worth one point for the championship and a good starting position. Now, we have to finish the job, and we’ll need to stay focused because the important points are won in the race.”
“Now, we have to finish the job,” says Antonio Giovinazzi
Photo by: Ferrari
For his part, Aitken could only smile wryly at having narrowly missed out on the Hyperpole in what is Cadillac’s home race: “I didn’t realise I was so close to pole! We really did miss it by a whisker, but second place is a good starting position for the race.
“In these sweltering conditions, it’s extremely difficult to manage more than one good lap on the same tyres – so much so that I didn’t think I’d come so close to pole. I’d expected to be somewhere between third and fifth, but the team did a great job after Free Practice 3 to fine-tune the car and we’re on the front row, so we’ll see how it goes.”
There was disappointment for the #50 Ferrari, which ended the session fifth on the grid and 0.428 seconds behind with Nicklas Nielsen at the wheel. It was a shame for the Dane, who had set the fastest time overall (and of the afternoon, as it turned out) in qualifying with a lap of 1m52.020s, but was unable to match that pace in the decisive session.
“I was very pleased with the car; I found it to be very well balanced, especially in the first qualifying session, where I set the fastest time, whilst in the Hyperpole I didn’t quite get the same feel,” said Nielsen.
“The race will be long and very hot, but given the 499P’s potential on this circuit, we can aim for a good result.”
Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado are also hoping to secure a good result; alongside Giovinazzi, they currently sit fourth in the championship standings, now 17 points off the top thanks to the point earned in the Hyperpole, as they fight to defend their world title.
Jack Aitken set an equal top time in his Cadillac
Photo by: FIA WEC / DPPI
“We’re third in the championship and we’re trying to make up ground in the title fight; we know we have to score as many points as possible every weekend,” added Pier Guidi.
“We’re in a good position at the moment, and we’ll try to do our best in the race. We’re aware that in the last two rounds of the season there will be fewer points up for grabs, and that won’t help us, but we’ll see.”
Calado urges calm and composure, however, adding: “We’re starting the second half of the season with optimism and, with that, we’ll try to spur everyone on right to the end to achieve the best possible result. We’re taking it one race at a time in the fight for the drivers’ title, but for the rest we have to think as a whole team.
“In this championship, anything can happen, so you have to focus on doing the best job possible when you get into the car. We picked up one point in the Hyperpole; let’s see if we can do well in the race too.”
For Ferrari, this is the team’s 10th pole position in the Hypercar class, its second of the 2026 season (following the one at Imola) and its third in a row at Austin, where last year it was Robert Kubica who put AF Corse’s #83 499P on top of the grid.
This time, the Polish driver could only manage 14th in qualifying, struggling with a lack of grip that severely hampered him compared to the other LMH cars from Maranello.
Overall, there is an air of confidence at the Prancing Horse ahead of what is a crucial round in the championship, where it is vital to finish ahead of rivals BMW and Toyota to retain the title.
“It was quite a challenging qualifying session because so many manufacturers had the potential to fight for the Hyperpole. Tyre choice was tricky for everyone, with such extreme temperatures and the track at 55°C,” explained engineer Ferdinando Cannizzo, head of endurance cars.
“Given the tight margins, we opted for the medium tyres, which offered us better performance. Finishing both sessions – qualifying and Hyperpole – with the fastest time showed that our work on the car’s set-up and optimisation lived up to expectations, so we’re confident ahead of the race.”
