On a rainy and cold evening of Friday 9 December, the award ceremony of the FIA World Champions took place in Bologna and among them Sébastien Buemi, Ryō Hirakawa and Brendon Hartley, champions of the FIA World Endurance Championship for the season, took to the stage 2022.
The Toyota Gazoo Racing crew won the Hypercar Class of the top endurance series aboard the #8 GR010 Hybrid, beating their #7 rivals – Kamui Kobayashi, José Maria Lopez and Mike Conway – who had won in 2021.
The three were able to collect the trophies reserved for them, then stopping to comment on this year’s feat which also saw them win the prestigious 24h of Le Mans, making a comeback in the standings after a start to the year that was anything but to remember well.
#8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 – Hybrid LMP1: Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa
Photo by: Toyota Racing
“The championship was short because it was made up of only 6 races, and we immediately found ourselves in trouble with the retirement at Spa-Francorchamps, so we were forced to come back aware that we weren’t allowed to make any more mistakes,” said Buemi .
“We did it by winning the 24h of Le Mans in a big way, then at Fuji we returned to all intents and purposes at the top of the standings, but obviously the last race in Bahrain put us under pressure because you can never be sure of anything”.
“We had to beat Alpine and we did the best with Ryō and Brendon, who were fantastic. It was very nice to win the title again. Thinking back to when we started the WEC adventure with Toyota, which brought a lot of people in the F1 team at the time.”
“I myself have raced in F1 for a long time, but the WEC is a series that requires different qualities and approaches, so time and patience are needed to understand what makes the difference and what it is important to work on. In just a few years we have managed to improve and growing up, despite some mistakes, and working 10 seasons with the same people definitely helps continuity.”
Incidentally, this was Toyota’s first year with Kobayashi in his new role as driver and team principal, while Kazuki Nakajima has stepped down as driver and is acting as technical adviser, which Buemi says has helped a lot.
“It’s strange to have them as bosses now! But they certainly have the vision of a driver and know what we need, and what problems might arise. However, both are trying to grow the team, which is very important now that new rivals in the category”.
Sebastien Buemi, Ryo Hirakawa, Brendon Hartley, Toyota Gazoo Racing
Photo by: FIA
The word then passed to Hirakawa, at his debut in the series and immediately victorious at the 24h of Le Mans, as well as a world champion.
“It wasn’t easy, of course. I tried to do my best and I made some mistakes, but thanks to the team and my mates I was able to improve step by step, working with unity of purpose. I’m very happy to these great results achieved”, explains the Japanese.
“In the past I did Super Formula in Japan, so the WEC was a big leap for me, with much longer and more diverse races, especially at Le Mans. In general, however, I’m a driver and I have to drive with the same grit , pushing hard. Surely winning Le Mans was a surprise for the kind of racing it is, I had to push a lot more than usual!”
“I was also delighted to work with two legendary drivers in Sébastien and Brendon, I can’t wait to get back in the car to face even tougher competition in 2023.”
Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley Brendon, Toyota Gazoo Racing
Photo by: FIA
Finally, the comment fell to Hartley, the other great expert of the team together with Buemi.
“Working with these two guys next to me was a fantastic experience, every now and then there were… fireworks between us, but everything went great!” smiles the New Zealander.
“During the season we had to fight against Alpine, who won at Sebring and then extended at Spa when we had problems. I think that as a crew we have become stronger and stronger, improving step by step and taking the right time to do it” .
“The confirmation of this were the victories at Le Mans and at Fuji, so we finished strong. For me it was the third success at the French 24h, I must admit it was special. When I crossed the finish line I felt a very particular that had never happened to me, it was strange”.
“Obviously when you win at Le Mans you immediately think of all the work done with the team over the weekend, which is often made up of ups and downs. Frankly, I didn’t expect to pass under the checkered flag and experience such a thrill . Think of all the efforts the team puts in, as well as your mates. And then my engineer opened the radio and let me hear the voices of my wife and daughter, which moved me. And who knows what l ‘next year won’t be even better, I already know that there are a lot of people who will come and it will be an incredible edition!”
“It was a long season, but we made it. Among other things, with the addition that the first rivals were our team-mates from #7, which puts everything at a higher level of intensity. There is always It was competition between us and we knew we had to push hard to beat them, especially at Le Mans where the race for success was between us.”
“Maybe I’ll be taken for granted, but it must also be said that we can’t stop here because more rivals will arrive next year and therefore I can’t wait to face the competition.”
#8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 – Hybrid: Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa
Photo by: Toyota Racing
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