Le Mans 24 Hours Live Commentary and Updates
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2026 Le Mans 24 Hours
Live Text
Stevens made his stop in the #12 Cadillac, but now holds the overall lead in a Cadillac 1-2. There are 15 seconds between them, with Hartley back to third in the #8 Toyota. Bamber also swapped with Aitken during that cycle in the #38 Caddilac.
It's getting late and the interaction between my brain and fingers is becoming a struggle. Nearly started telling you about WRT Caddy a few minutes ago. What is it about the letters (in alphabetical order) R, T and W and sportscar team names? Think about. We've had TWR, WTR and WRT. If ever I start an endurance racing team, I'll come up with an acronym using those three letters - to be the secret of success. RWT is already taken I believe and there was a TRW, I think some time, back. Thinking RTW is all that's left.
Hartley pits from the overall lead, but Stevens is continuing on and inherited the top spot for now.
Another set of softs for the #101 WTR Caddy. Albuquerque did a triple, a chunk behind the safety car, on his first step. Now Ricky T has taken over.
Will Stevens told to keep the pressure on, as Cadillac is fully aware that Hartley is struggling with those tires.
Another flurry of pit stops as we move into another scheduled cycle. No dramas in the pit lane, so far.
Hartley radio after that off: "Front grip becoming quite digital, probably due to the little flat spot, I think we might need to get thinner tyres."
The #12 Cadillac was over 10 seconds behind the race-leading #8 Toyota before their apparent issue.
Hartley feeling some serious pressure for the lead now, with Will Stevens right in his tire tracks. He lost a lot of time that last lap...perhaps the source of the brief yellow we had, but have yet to see a replay to confirm that.
Oliver Gavin offering a TV interview, saying the Ferraris seem 'fraught and frantic' throughout this race. Not very flattering words from the 5x Le Mans winner!
Apologies all: Hartley isn't on tyres that are three and a bit stints old. Buemi, of course, got new tyres when he pitted at the start of the safety car. But talking of the #51 Ferrari and its quadruple earlier on, Giovinazzi was looking a bit racy before he pitted just now. Posted a 3m27.303s, the best lap for the car so far.
Double yellow flag for the briefest of moments, not sure why. The #007 Aston is in the pits for a scheduled stop now as well, as are some LMP2 entries
We got some team orders coming over the radio with the #36 Alpine being told to swap positions with the #35 Alpine.
The #51 AF Corse Ferrari Hypercar is in the pits now for a scheduled stop.
As the clock ticks past 1am, it's time for me to hand over the reins to Nick Degroot, who will be your guide for the next three hours.
LMGT3 order at hour 9
- 27 Aston
- 74 Ferrari
- 87 Lexus
- 21 Ferrari
- 91 Porsche
LMP2 order at hour 9
- 30 Duqueine
- 26 Vector
- 9 Proton
- 343 Inter Europol
- 43 Inter Europol
Hypercar order at hour 9
- 8 Toyota
- 12 Cadillac
- 38 Cadillac
- 20 BMW
- 19 Genesis
- 101 Cadillac
- 51 Ferrari
- 7 Toyota
- 007 Aston
- 36 Alpine
With the pitstops complete, the #8 Toyota is back in the lead. Hartley has a nine second advantage over Stevens, with Bamber and Rast circulating behind in third and fourth respectively.
The two Jota Cadillacs and the 20 BMW are in the pits at the same time - and a lap after the 8 Toyota
Hartley wasn't given new tyres there. So rather than going to the soft, Toyota is quadrupling a set of mediums. It's not the first quadruple of the race, however. Pier Guidi did 49 laps on four mediums in the #51 Ferrari much earlier on.
Buemi brings the #8 Toyota to the pits from the lead of the race. He may be fast, but Toyota appears to be struggling to match the fuel efficiency of its rivals.
The #50 Ferrari is finally back on track after AF Corse changed the faulty fire extinguisher. But the car that won the 2024 edition is now eight laps down.
The LMP2 leaders are coming into the pits. The 343 Inter Europol and the 9 Proton are in at the same time. The 43 Inter Europol stopped two laps earlier. The 30 Duquiene is now back in front, with Verschoor at the wheel.
Buemi is flying out front. That's his second 3m27s in a row and it was only four thousandths of a second slower than the fastest lap of the race so far (set by Bamber).
The pace is coming down among the front-runners as their tyres come up to temperature. Buemi, the driver on the mediums, is the quickest of the top four. He's just posted a 3m27.1s, slightly quicker than Bamber's 3m27.2s. Rast is struggling the most: he's up in the low 3m29s.
We finally know why the #50 Ferrari is in the pits. "We got an issue with the fire estinguisher on the 50 and we are changing it," says an offical spokesperson. It's a big blow for the Prancing Horse, with the car now 18th and last in the Hypercar class. Ferrari is still working on the car as we speak
There are significant changes in LMP2 following the safety car restart. The two Inter Europol cars (343 and 43) are now in first and third place, separated by the 9 Proton. The erstwhile-leading Duqueine car has dropped to fourth
Rast is asking his team why he is so slow on the straights after dropping behind the two Jota Cadillacs. He is on medium tyres, while all three Cadillacs around him are on softs.
Cadillacs are looking strong in this stint. Bamber has passed Rast for third place, while Albuquerque is also chasing the BMW.
So who did what in that safety car. Buemi took four new mediums and Stevens four new softs. Rast and Bamber didn't take tyres. There was a bit work going on behind the front right wheel on Bamber's #38 Caddy.
While the 50 Ferrari remains in the garage, the 51 has come in for a routine pitstop. Calado is out of the car, with Giovinazzi strapping back in. The team also changed all four tyres on the car.
The safety car has given the 8 Toyota a healthy lead of 15s. Meanwhile, Stevens has passed Rast for second, with Bamber still running in fourth place
Major drama at Ferrari as the 50 car is wheeled into the garage. We are waiting for more information from the team
Restart
And we are back to green flag conditions at Le Mans following a long safety car period. Buemi leads the field ahead of Rast
The 54 Ferrari that was stranded in the gravel following contact with the Ford is now officially retired from the race
All cars have been told to close the gaps by race control.
14 cars are on the lead lap in Hypercar, down till the two Alpines. The 009 Aston, the two Peugeots and the troubled 15 BMW are the only exceptions.
Race director Eduardo Freitas has informed drivers to begin the pass-around procedure. We are now one step closer to the restart.
By: Autosport staff
