Antonio Fuoco puts Ferrari on Hypercar pole at Monza WEC finale

Antonio Fuoco put the #50 Ferrari 499P on pole for the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship finale at Monza. His 1:33.364 in Hyperpole beat Mathieu Jaminet’s #19 Genesis by 0.096 seconds, with Earl Bamber third in the #38 Cadillac. Both Toyotas fighting for the drivers’ title were already out by the time Ferrari, Genesis and Cadillac settled pole.

Fuoco finds the lap as Monza dries

Fuoco had gone off in wet opening practice on Friday, bringing out the first red flag of the weekend. The #50 recovered to finish fifth in Saturday’s final practice, then led the first phase of qualifying with a 1:33.400. Jaminet was almost four tenths back in that session. In Hyperpole, the gap between them fell below a tenth.

The track was declared dry for the shootout, although damp patches remained away from the racing line. As the drivers brought their slicks up to temperature, the best laps came late. Bamber briefly went quickest before Jaminet took 0.081s out of the Cadillac’s benchmark. Fuoco then went faster still, and Jaminet returned to the pits without completing his last attempt.

Bamber finished 0.177s off pole and was joined on the second row of the provisional order by Antonio Giovinazzi. Fourth for the #51 Ferrari was a recovery after a brake-by-wire fault cost the car most of final practice. Théo Pourchaire took fifth in the #94 Peugeot, ahead of Victor Martins in the #36 Alpine. The #83 Ferrari, third in the opening phase, fell to eighth in the shootout.

Toyota’s title fight moves to the back

The two crews in Toyota’s drivers’ title fight qualified 15th and 16th, with Ryō Hirakawa’s championship-leading #8 ahead of Kamui Kobayashi’s #7. Hirakawa briefly moved into the top ten before late improvements pushed him back below the cut. Nick Cassidy took the final Hyperpole place in the #93 Peugeot, beating Hirakawa’s best by 0.370s.

The Toyotas sit alongside each other in the provisional order, with the #8 crew carrying a 17-point lead into Sunday. Both crews face the same immediate task when the race starts at 11:00 CET on 8 November. They have to work through the Hypercar field while Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen’s Ferrari has clear track ahead at the start.