Le Mans 24 Hours LIVE – All the action from Circuit de la Sarthe as Session 1 begins

Pascal Wehrlein (#4 Porsche 963, Hypercar): The reigning Formula E champion is making his 24 Hours of Le Mans debut today with Porsche. His transition from electric cars to hypercars will be one to keep an eye on.

Kamui Kobayashi (#7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid, Hypercar): The Japanese motorsport legend is making his return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, searching for a second victory with his championship-winning team alongside teammate Nyck de Vries.

Jenson Button (#38 Cadillac V-Series.R, Hypercar): Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button is putting all his effort into his final 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as full-time racing. Can the British driver make his mark before his retirement?

Jamie Chadwick (#38 Oreca 07-Gibson, LMP2): As one of the five female drivers on the grid, Jamie Chadwick has a lot to prove at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, banking off her recent Indy NXT victories. 

Valentino Rossi (#46 BMW M4, LMGT3): The iconic MotoGP rider has been delving into different forms of motorsport, competing in the World Endurance Championship, and now making his Le Mans mark.

Circuit de la Sarthe is perhaps the most iconic and renowned circuit in all of motorsport. Its rich history has shaped almost 100 years of racing with thrilling moments around the 13.629km track. The classic course has its roots in the 1920s with motorcycle racing around an original triangular circuit along the suburbs of Le Mans.

The circuit we know and love today was adapted and developed throughout history, adding iconic features like the Maison Blanche and stiff Virage de Muisanne. Circuit de la Sarthe is the perfect blend between a classic circuit and off-road racing.

To win the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a team must cover the most distance or complete the most laps. A rotation of drivers competes in one team, typically splitting the drive between eight-hour shifts. One driver is not allowed to drive for more than 14 hours in total.

Formula 1 world champion Graham Hill is the only driver to have completed motorsport’s triple crown jewel of the Monaco Grand Prix, the Indy 500, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Ferrari has been the favourite for the 24 Hours of Le Mans victory for the last few years. They have so far managed to pull off back-to-back victories, but a seventh-place starting slot can hinder this winning streak. The iconic Italian team qualified in third and fourth place last year, but they soared to the front of the pack and snatched the win from Porsche and Toyota. 

Despite their struggles during qualifying, the Prancing Horse is somehow still the favourite. The 499P Le Mans Hypercar has an edge over the other hypercars. It’s fast and sleek as well as reliable. With two recent wins under their belt, Ferrari certainly knows how their modern hypercars operate around Circuit de la Sarthe.

Can Ferrari make it a triple victory?

1 #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin (Drudi, Robichon, James)

2 #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari (Rovera, Mann, Heriau)

3 #46 WRT BMW (van der Linde, Rossi, Al Harthy)

4 #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes (Martin, Hodenius, Berry)

5 #92 Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche (Lietz, Pera, Hardwick)

6 #81 TF Sport Corvette (Eastwood, Andrade, Martin)

7 #95 United Autosports McLaren (Sato, Gelael, Leung)

8 #78 Akkodis ASP Lexus (Hawksworth, Gehrsitz, Robin)

9 #193 Ziggo Tempesta Ferrari: Cheever, Froggatt, Hui

10 #88 Proton Ford: Olsen, Levorato, Gattuso

11 #59 United Autosports McLaren: Saucy, Baud, Cottingham

12 #54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari: Rigon, Castellacci, Flohr

13 #77 Proton Ford: Barker, Tuck, Sousa

14 #87 Akkodis ASP Lexus: Lopez, Schmid, Umbrarescu

15 #57 Kessel Ferrari: Serra, Stevenson, Kimura

16 #31 WRT BMW: Farfus, Boguslavskiy, Shahin

17 #33 TF Sport Corvette: Juncadella, Edgar, Keating

18 #10 Racing Spirit of LeMan Aston Martin: Hasse-Clot, Barrichello, DeBoer

19 #85 Iron Dames Porsche: Frey, Martin, Bovy

20 #90 Manthey Porsche: Bachler, Hartog, Au

21 #13 AWA Corvette: Bell, Kern, Fidani

22 #60 Iron Lynx Mercedes: Rueda, Hanafin, Gilbert

23 #63 Iron Lynx Mercedes: Stolz, Grove, Grove

24 #150 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari: Agostini, Wadoux, Toledo

1 #29 TDS: Beche, Novalak, Sales

2 #43 Inter Europol: Yelloly, Smiechowski, Dillmann 

3 #199 AO by TF: Deletraz, Cameron, Hyett

4 #23 United Autosports: Jarvis, Hanley, Schneider

5 #22 United Autosports: van der Zande, Fittipaldi, Heinemeier Hansson

6 #37 CLX Pure: Blomqvist, Vautier, Malykhin

7 #183 AF Corse: Vaxiviere, Felix da Costa, Perrodo

8 #16 RLR MSport: Pilet, Jensen, Cullen

9 #28 Idec Sport: van Uitert, Alvarez, Lafargue

10 #45 Algarve Pro: Kurtz, Catsburg, Quinn

11 #48 VDS Panis: Perera, Masson, Gray

12 #25 Algarve Pro: Pourchaire, Fluxa, Kaiser

13 #11 Proton Competition: Roda, Binder, Viscaal

14 #18 Idec Sport: Chadwick, Jaubert, Lotterer

15 #9 Iron Lynx – Proton Iron Lynx-Proton: Ried, Capietto, De Gerus

16 #34 Inter Europol: Boulle, Simmenauer, Ghiotto

17 #24 Nielsen: Rao, Bolukbasi, Braun

1. #12 Cadillac (Cadillac Hertz Team Jota): Stevens, Nato, Lynn

2. #38 Cadillac (Cadillac Hertz Team Jota): Bamber, Bourdais, Button

3. #5 Porsche (Porsche Penske): Andlauer, Christensen, Jaminet

4. #15 BMW (BMW M Team WRT): Vanthoor, Marciello, Magnussen

5. #4 Porsche (Porsche Penske): Nasr, Tandy, Wehrlein

6. #20 BMW (BMW M Team WRT): Rast, Frijns, van der Linde

7. #50 Ferrari (Ferrari AF Corse): Fuoco, Nielsen, Molina

8. #311 Cadillac (Cadillac Whelan): Vesti, Aitken, Drugovich

9. #36 Alpine (Alpine Endurance Team): Schumacher, Gounon, Makowiecki

10. #8 Toyota (Toyota Gazoo Racing): Buemi, Hartley, Hirakawa

11. #51 Ferrari (Ferrari AF Corse): Pier Guidi, Giovinazzi, Calado

12. #35 Alpine (Alpine Endurance Team): Chatin, Habsburg, Milesi

13. #83 AF Corse Ferrari (AF Corse): Ye, Hanson, Kubica

14. #101 Cadillac (Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing): Taylor, Taylor, Albuquerque

15. #009 Aston Martin (Aston Martin Thor Team): Sorensen, Riberas, De Angelis

16. #7 Toyota (Toyota Gazoo Racing): Conway, Kobayashi, de Vries

17. #94 Peugeot (Peugeot Totalenergies): Duval, Vandoorne, Jakobsen

18. #93 Peugeot (Peugeot Totalenergies): Jensen, Vergne, Di Resta

19. #99 Proton Porsche (Proton Competition): Varrone, Pino, Jani

20. #007 Aston Martin (Aston Martin Thor Team): Gunn, Tincknell, Gamble

21. #6 Porsche (Porsche Penske): Campbell, Vanthoor, Estre

Alex Lynn powered through the final qualifying session at the Circuit de la Sarthe to secure Cadillac’s first-ever pole position at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Cadillac starts on pole in the Hypercar category, while TDS secured the LMP2 pole. Aston Martin managed to top the Ferrari in the GT3 category and secure the pole.

Good afternoon and welcome to our live text coverage of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. With the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indy500 complete, fans are seated for the final race in the triple crown jewels of motorsport. Last summer, Ferrari sealed back-to-back victories at the iconic Circuit de la Sarthe with drivers Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen clinching the win with 311 laps completed.

This year, it looks like Ferrari are on the back foot of Cadillac, who locked out the front row with ease. This feat makes Cadillac the first American manufacturer to take pole at the 24 Hours of Le Mans since 1967 with Ford. Porsche and BMW will be contenders for the win, as per usual, but can they defeat the Americans?