Toyota splits strategy: Buemi leads Le Mans after opening hour
Buemi Puts Toyota Ahead Early at Le Mans
SĂ©bastien Buemi led the 24 Hours of Le Mans after the opening hour in the #8 Toyota, but the advantage came with a strategic asterisk. Toyota brought Buemi in early, moving him off sequence from the majority of the Hypercar field and allowing him to jump cars that stopped later.
The move placed the #8 Toyota at the head of the race, though Buemi still effectively owes a stop after taking service before his closest rivals. The early stop was fuel-only, with Toyota avoiding a tyre change as Hypercar teams looked to stretch the Michelins in the hottest conditions seen at Le Mans all week.
That tyre-management picture was already central to the opening phase, with teams attempting to triple-stint their rubber while balancing track position against the cost of stopping out of sequence. For more build-up context on the race and starting order, see our guide to the 2026 Le Mans 24 Hours race start time and key grid details.
Rast Keeps BMW in the Fight
René Rast ran second in the #20 BMW, around two and a bit seconds behind Buemi after stopping roughly four laps later. Rast had started from pole and remained firmly in contention despite briefly losing the lead on the opening lap to the #12 Cadillac of Will Stevens.
The German soon reclaimed the position down the Mulsanne, underlining that BMWâs early race pace remained a factor even as Toyotaâs strategy reshuffled the front.
Behind the leading pair, Ferdinand Habsburg held third in the #36 Alpine, while Will Stevens was fourth in the #38 Cadillac. Mike Conway completed the top five in the #7 Toyota, having stopped one lap earlier than Buemi as Toyota committed both cars to an offset approach.
LMP2 and LMGT3 Leaders Settle In
In LMP2, Job van Uitert continued to lead in the #28 IDEC Sport entry after converting pole into control of the class. Esteban Masson followed in second for #29 Forestier Racing by Panis, around six seconds adrift, with Julien Andlauer third in the #30 Duqueine Oreca.
LMGT3 was led by Jack Hawksworth in the #78 ASP Lexus, ahead of Ian James in the #27 Aston Martin. Mattia Drudi had started that car from pole, but bronze-rated James was now aboard and defending from gold-rated Hawksworth, with the gap between them standing at 13 seconds. Petru Umbraescu ran third in the #78 ASP Lexus, less than a second behind James.
Simone Scanu
Heâs a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.