Le Mans 24 Hours Live Commentary and Updates
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2025 Le Mans 24 Hours
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Di Resta was coming in hot to the first right-hander in the Porsche Curves after taking a Corvette, and then found a Ferrari on his line. Nowhere to go for the Scot, and momentum took him into the tyre barrier. Now the Peugeot team will have to assess the rear damage.
Off the road goes Paul di Resta at the Porsche Curves. He clangs the tyre barrier after skittering over the gravel and removes the rear bodywork on the #93 Peugeot.
Toyota hasn't enjoyed a stellar opening hour, and Mike Conway is a bit stuck trying to get past Nasr for 12th. He has been alongside a few times, but without success. His team has informed the Briton over the radio that he has some bodywork damage to contend with too.
Three-wide action in the P2 class as sometime IndyCar racer Luca Ghiotto storms past Alex Malykhin and Rodrigo Sales into the first Mulsanne Chicane. That's ninth place for the second Inter Europol Competition machine bearing the colours of a Polish bakery company, which also leads courtesy of Tom Dillmann.
Last year, Kevin Estre was the hero of qualifying with that lap of laps that got him the pole. This time, he's the star of the opening hour. He's up to fifth from the back of the Hypercar grid and he lost very little coming through the field. He was 9s behind team-mate Andlauer at the end of the opening lap and is now 12s in arrears.
Following the LMGT3 stops, Hawksworth stays in and now leads from Hasse-Clot's #10 Aston, with Kelvin van der Linde third and Ben Barker's Ford up to fourth. The freshly-installed Ian James is next up in the pole-sitting HoR Aston. He's the bronze in that crew, so will understandably be giving up a bit of laptime to the pros that started the race and are going into their second stints.
Slow stop there from the #4 Porsche. Ten or so seconds more than the rest of the Hypercar pack.
Andlauer's lead has come down a bit through that first round of stops, with Stevens now under 5s behind. Bamber remains third, with Nielsen up to fourth ahead of Estre, who has demoted Aitken.
The trio who stayed out an extra lap have all lost places. Nasr drops from fourth to 12th, while Hanson is now 15th in the #83 Ferrari. Duval's Peugeot is 19th, ahead only of the two Astons.
Mayhem at the first chicane. David Heinemeier-Hanson clangs into Chris Froggatt's Ziggo Tempesta Ferrari and causes both to rotate, then in his haste to rejoin in the #22 United ORECA almost takes out the advancing VDS Panis machine. Good avoidance by Esteban Masson, but you'd not be surprised to see the Dane pick up a penalty for that whole skirmish.
Following their first round of stops, the P2 order has changed a bit. Dillmann stayed aboard the #43 Inter Europol ORECA and now leads from PJ Hyett, who relayed Deletraz in the #199 AO by TF car. Up to third has come Job van Uitert, who also stayed aboard the IDEC #28, while Rodrigo Sales (in for Beche) has slipped back to fourth. Remember, Hyett and Sales are the bronze drivers in their respective pro-am entries.
Hypercar pitstops commence now too, with Andlauer in from the lead after a 12-lap stint. He's followed by virtually the entire pack, aside from Nasr, Hanson and Duval.
Hawksworth, Martin, Eastwood and van der Linde all circle in on the following tour, but Dennis Olsen stays out to lead in the Proton Ford from Daniel Serra's Kessel Ferrari and the TF Corvette of Dani Juncadella.
Pitstops begin for the LMGT3 class, with Drudi handing over the lead car to Ian James. Hawksworth cycles to the lead. Also in is Luca Stolz, with Stephen Grove taking over the Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG. Remember, the bronze-graded Australian has been banned from racing during the night hours due to not completing enough practice laps after his FP1 shunt, so the team will have to get his hours completed either side of that.
Heriau continues to lead the race within a race of the bronze drivers in the LMGT3 class, but has Porsche drivers Ryan Hardwick and Celia Martin right on his case.
Over in LMGT3, Eastwood is the latest driver to pull a move on the WRT BMW, which doesn't appear to have much in the tank to defend with. The TF Corvette man moves up to fourth into Indianapolis, as Drudi's HoR Aston continues to lead Hawksworth (Lexus) and Maxime Martin's Mercedes-AMG.
Beche has relinquished the LMP2 lead by peeling into the pits after nine laps. Several others from the class follow suit, but five manage to stay out for another tour. That bunch includes Dillmann, Blomqvist, Vaxiviere, Viscaal and Catsburg. A few pro-am teams have installed bronzes, including Rodrigo Sales in for Beche, which could shake up the order a bit.
Andlauer still holds a 7s lead over Stevens, with Bamber, Nasr and Nielsen next up. Then it is Aitken in sixth and the flying Estre, with Magnussen, Rast and Buemi rounding out the top 10.
No sooner do we finish typing that, Estre takes Magnussen for seventh. How wide will Aitken make his Action Express Caddy as the #6 Porsche looms in his mirrors?
Like a hot knife through butter, Estre is continuing his inexorable progress as Buemi, Calado and Rast become his latest victims. Up to eighth, from 21st, constitutes a remarkable recovery from the weight infringement that resulted in being booted out of qualifying and dumped to the back of the grid.
It's as you were in LMP2, with Beche still leading Deletraz, Dillmann, Jarvis and van der Zande. All cars are identical and very evenly matched, and there is very little to choose between this bunch of top pros.
A slow puncture was the cause of Tincknell's early stop. The #007 Aston is now behind the LMP2 pack in the overall order.
Estre has taken P11 in the Hypercar class from Hanson, and is chasing after Buemi's Toyota as lappery begins. We'd better get used to this over the remaining 23-and-a-bit hours.
There is nothing wrong with the straightline speed in that Lexus. Now Hawksworth breezes through on Martin to take second away.
Another position change at the sharp end in LMGT3, as this time Hawksworth gets through on van der Linde to take third in the ASP Lexus.
Nielsen is giving Nasr a bit of a work over in the battle for fourth. Porsche's IMSA car isn't pushing on at the Caddys as Andlauer did on the opening tour, perhaps hinting at a split of strategies.
Change for second in the LMGT3 class, with Maxime Martin taking the #46 BMW of Kelvin van der Linde. Martin was driving that car last year before switching brands to Mercedes.
First of the pit callers, and this is early. Tincknell comes in aboard the #007 Aston after just five laps, but it appears to be a routine stop.
Aitken has moved ahead of Rast for seventh in the Hypercar class, while Estre has taken Makowiecki for 12th. Next in the Porsche driver's sights is Hanson in the yellow #83 Ferrari.
The top seven cars in the GT3 pack are each from different manufacturers. Aston Martin (Mattia Drudi) leads BMW (Kelvin van der Linde), Mercedes (Maxime Martin), Lexus (Jack Hawksworth), Corvette (Charlie Eastwood), Ford (Dennis Olsen) and Ferrari (Davide Rigon) before the sequence is spoiled by Valentin Hasse-Clot in the second Aston.
As you'd expect, the pro drivers in the LMGT3 class have been migrating towards the top of the timesheets. Heriau remains the leader of the group to have installed bronzes from the start, 10th in class. The bronzes have to complete six hours during the 24 hours, so how teams choose to deploy them will be vital.
Andlauer already has 2.8s on Will Stevens in second. Early days yet, but Porsche does appear to have plenty of performance.
Estre's advance continues. He's up to 13th and splitting the Alpines. No hanging about from last year's WEC Hypercar champion.
In LMP2, Beche continues to lead the pack, with Deletraz moving into second ahead of Dillmann. GT3 polesitter Drudi retained his advantage meanwhile, with bronze-rated Heriau unsurprisingly falling back behind Kelvin van der Linde and Maxime Martin.
Nielsen has gained two spots in the leading Ferrari and is up to fifth, demoting both BMWs.
We said the #6 Porsche would be one to watch, and from 21st on the grid Kevin Estre is already up to 15th spot.
Looks to be a clean start, as Andlauder makes a rapid start. He clears Bamber in the first sector, then blasts past Stevens to snatch the lead.
We are green at Le Mans! Here we go, folks.
As the cars come towards the end of the formation lap, they begin to pair up in two-by-two formation. Yannick Dalmas in the safety car will soon peel off and the Le Mans 24 Hours will be under way.
By: Autosport staff
