It will be another Toyota vs Ferrari fight at the 8h of Bahrain, the last round of the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship which has yet to award the drivers’ title.
The Japanese company’s crews are competing for it first and foremost, but in Maranello there is still some hope of success and we are especially appealing to mathematics, perhaps with some external help that could be called Porsche or Cadillac.
The two LMDh prototypes have in fact been lightened by 7kg and the possibility that they can fit into the duels for the podium and victory has risen, at least on paper. This is why GR010 Hybrid and 499P will have to be very careful, because every point will count, starting from what is up for grabs in Friday’s Qualifying and which in some cases may have a specific weight, especially considering that in the event of a tie it will be counted the best number of placings from 1st place downwards.
Photo by: Andy Chan
#8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 – Hybrid: Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa
The current situation sees the Toyota #8 of Buemi/Hartley/Hirakawa in the lead with 133 points thanks to a victory, 4 second places and a sixth, followed at 118 by the twin #7 of Kobayashi/Conway/Lopez which won the beauty of 4 successes (an unattainable number for anyone and therefore of enormous advantage in case of a tie), but on which the 0 suffered at Le Mans and the 9th place in Portimao weigh enormously.
Third of the lot is the Ferrari #51 of Pier Guidi/Calado/Giovinazzi, queen of the 24h of Le Mans and on the podium at Spa-Francorchamps, but finished 5th on two occasions and only 6th and 7th in the remaining rounds, totaling 102 points (without no Pole Position).
However, the Red #50 of Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen broke two records in Qualifying, which however was in the worst position with 97 points in its pocket despite having taken 2 second places, a third and a fourth, suffering a retirement in Spa.
Photo by: Andy Chan
#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi
At the Ferrari World Finals, Alessandro Pier Guidi had joked that the only hope for Ferrari would be a Toyota withdrawal; in reality some small possibility remains for the Prancing Horse, while obviously Toyota #8 is very favorite and can even afford to remain dry in certain cases.
Since the Bahrain race lasts 8 hours, the score is increased and will be assigned on the scale of 38-27-23-18-15-12-9-6-3-2, in addition of course to the aforementioned additional point to be considered in Qualifying .
So let’s see what the possibilities of winning the championship are for the various crews present in the desert.
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen
Toyota #8 Champion if…
– Wins
– Finishes 2nd
– Finishes 3rd and gets Pole
– Finishes 4th and #7 doesn’t win
– Finishes 5th and #7 doesn’t win
– Finishes 6th and #7 doesn’t do better than 3rd
– Finishes 7th, #7 doesn’t do better than 3rd and doesn’t get Pole
– Finishes 8th and gets Pole, #7 doesn’t do better than 3rd
– Finishes 8th, #7 doesn’t do better than 3rd and #51 doesn’t win
– Finishes 9th and gets Pole, #7 doesn’t do better than 4th and #51 doesn’t win
– Finishes 9th, #7 doesn’t do better than 5th, #51 doesn’t win
– Finishes 10th, #7 doesn’t do better than 5th, #51 doesn’t win, #50 wins but doesn’t get Pole
– Gets Pole and retires, #7 doesn’t do better than 5th, #51 and #50 don’t win
– Retires, #7 doesn’t do better than 6th, #51 and #50 don’t win
Photo by: Andy Chan
#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 – Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Jose Maria Lopez
Toyota #7 Champion if…
– Wins and #8 doesn’t do better than 3rd and doesn’t get Pole
– Finishes 2nd and #8 doesn’t do better than 6th and doesn’t get Pole
– Finishes 3rd and gets Pole, #8 doesn’t do better than 7th
– Finishes 4th, #8 doesn’t do better than 9th and doesn’t get Pole, #51 doesn’t win
– Finishes 5th, #8 retires and doesn’t get Pole, #51 doesn’t win
Photo by: Ferrari
#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi
Ferrari #51 Champion if…
– Vince, Toyota #8 does not do better than 8th and does not get Pole, Toyota #7 does not do better than 4th.
Ferrari #50 Champion if…
– Wins, Toyota #8 retires, Toyota #7 doesn’t do better than 5th.
Finally, let’s not forget that, in the event that a race is suspended without being able to restart, according to the regulations, no points will be awarded if the leader has not completed at least 2 laps and not under Full Course Yellow or Safety Car.
If the laps completed are more than 2 (always excluding the FCY and SC periods) and less than 75% of the duration of the race, then half the score will be awarded.
#WEC #Toyota #Ferrari #Champion #possibilities