– Finally, it’s starting: the World Endurance Championship (WEC) kicks off the 2026 season a bit late. After the season opener in Qatar was canceled due to the current military conflicts in the area, the start now takes place in Imola. (All information about the race)
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It is possible that manufacturers will train more intensively for qualifying than usual because “Track Position” is of utmost importance in Imola. Overtaking is hardly possible under normal conditions during the race due to the track characteristics.
On the Tuesday before the race weekend, the official prologue already took place on the track. The times will hardly be comparable since FIA and ACO are keeping the 2026 Balance of Performance (BoP) secret.
How the practice sessions went
3rd Free Practice: Ferrari back at the top: The Ferrari #50 (Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen) set the best time with Antonio Fuoco in 1:30.370 minutes, surprisingly well ahead of the sister car #51 (Pier Guidi/Calado/Giovinazzi). Only the Alpine #35 (Felix da Costa/Milesi/Habsburg) prevented another Ferrari 1-2-3 by finishing third. (Results)
Surprisingly, both Cadillacs made it into the top 10, although Imola is actually considered the most difficult track of the year for the V-Series.R. Only Genesis and Aston Martin remained outside the top 10, with the Genesis #19 (Jaminet/Chatin/Juncadella) making a small statement with the twelfth-best time on its debut.
For BMW, the session went anything but according to plan: a problem with the radiator forced the #15 (Magnussen/Marciello) to abort the session after 16 laps. The #20 (Frijns/Rast) struggled with vibrations and therefore did not get beyond P15.
The LMGT3 best time was again set by Mattia Drudi in the Heart-of-Racing Aston Martin #27 (James/Robichon/Drudi) in 1:41.973 minutes. It is the first time under 1:42 minutes of the entire weekend. 16 cars were within one second, while Ford remains the category’s problem child with 16th and 17th places.
There were no significant incidents during the session.
2nd Free Practice: Alpine ends Ferrari’s streak of best times. Charles Milesi in the Alpine #35 (da Costa/Milesi/Habsburg) set the fastest lap time of the week so far in 1:30.898 minutes. This was also faster than the two FT2 best times in the past two years, which were 1:31.040 and 1:30.957 minutes. (Results)
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It is incredibly close, 14 hypercars came within a one-second window. Second fastest was the Toyota #7 (Conway/Kobayashi/de Vries). Ferrari was again strong with third, fourth, and seventh places, and Peugeot confirmed its previously impressive form with fifth place. Only Cadillac and Genesis did not make the top 10.
The LMGT3 best time went to the Heart-of-Racing Aston Martin #23 (Newell/Pauwels/Adam) in 1:42.081 minutes. Here, even 15 vehicles were within one second. Ford remains somewhat the category’s problem child, while Porsche showed improvement.
The session ran without notable incidents.
1st Free Practice: Ferrari immediately continued where it left off in the prologue: with a clear triple lead. Robert Kubica drove the fastest time of the session in the AF Corse Ferrari #83 (Ye/Kubica/Hanson) in 1:31.739 minutes. ()
That was still 0.562 seconds slower than the best time from the prologue (1:31.177 by Antonio Fuoco), but 0.326 seconds faster than his own FT1 best time in 2024. In 2024, the FT1 best time also came from the yellow Ferrari, then set by Yifei Ye in 1:31.347 minutes.
The two factory cars lined up 0.023 and 0.243 seconds behind. The best pursuer was the Cadillac #12 (Stevens/Nato; +0.444) in fourth, followed by the two Peugeot 9X8s. All manufacturers except newcomer Genesis brought at least one car into the top 10.
In LMGT3, the best time went to the TF Sport Corvette #34 (Dempsey/Yoluc/Eastwood) in 1:42.678 minutes. The prologue best time was beaten by 0.020 seconds here. All manufacturers except Ford and Porsche brought vehicles into the top 10.
During the session, there were two FCY phases. Once the track had to be cleared of gravel in the Tamburello chicane, the second was called due to an inspection of the bollard in the Variante Alta. The race control had no choice but to release the session again with the warning that the bollard’s foundation was damaged.
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