WEC 6 Hours of Spa: Toyota and Ferrari renew rivalry to set stage for an endurance epic

Round 2 of the 2026 FIA WEC season arrives at a venue that has become synonymous with dramatic multi-class racing, unpredictable weather and flat-out commitment through some of motorsport’s most iconic corners. Almost 100,000 fans attended last year’s race, widely regarded as one of the championship’s finest contests, and organisers expect another huge crowd in Belgium’s Ardennes Forest.

Spa will host its 15th FIA WEC race this weekend, becoming the first circuit to reach that milestone. The 7.004km layout remains one of endurance racing’s ultimate examinations, with Hypercar drivers changing gear 44 times per lap while reaching speeds of up to 315km/h.

The event also marks 5 years since the debut of the Hypercar era at Spa in 2021. What began with fewer than 4 Hypercars on average per race has exploded into a 17-car premier-class field featuring 8 manufacturers, with McLaren and Ford set to join in 2027.

The championship arrives in Belgium following a fiercely competitive season-opener at Imola, where Toyota defeated Ferrari on Italian soil in the Japanese manufacturer’s 100th FIA WEC start.

Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa lead the standings after Toyota’s heavily revised TR010 Hybrid continued the marque’s recent momentum following victory in Bahrain at the end of 2025.

Toyota’s record at Spa makes it the benchmark. The manufacturer has claimed 8 victories at the circuit from 14 appearances, while Buemi alone has contributed to 5 of those wins. Both the TS040 Hybrid and GR010 Hybrid won on their Spa debuts, while the TR010 Hybrid triumphed first time out at Imola.

Ferrari, however, returns to a venue where its recent form has been formidable. Last year, the Italian manufacturer locked out the top 3 positions in Hyperpole before securing a dominant 1-2 finish in the race with the 499P. Antonio Giovinazzi, James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi went on to secure the 2025 world championship, becoming the first Hypercar crew to win at Spa and capture the title in the same season.

The margins at the front continue to shrink dramatically. At Imola, just 0.073 seconds covered the top 4 qualifiers in Hyperpole, while 13 Hypercars finished on the lead lap at Spa last year with the podium separated by less than 5 seconds.

While Toyota and Ferrari arrive as favourites, Alpine continues to emerge as a genuine threat. The French manufacturer finished fourth at Imola and pushed Ferrari throughout last year’s Spa race before ultimately securing another podium finish.

Alpine has reached the Hypercar podium at Spa 3 times from 4 attempts since entering the top class in 2021, underlining the A424’s growing competitiveness at high-speed circuits.

Cadillac and JOTA also enter the weekend with momentum despite frustration at Imola, where a drive-through penalty halted what had looked like a strong challenge against Toyota and Ferrari.

The British squad famously became the first independent team to win outright in the Hypercar era at Spa in 2024, and this weekend marks JOTA’s 80th FIA WEC start. Louis Delétraz joins the #12 Cadillac alongside Will Stevens and Norman Nato, replacing Alex Lynn as the Briton recovers from a neck procedure. Jack Aitken, meanwhile, makes his full-time FIA WEC debut in the sister #38 entry.

BMW heads to its home race for Team WRT with renewed strength after Sheldon van der Linde and Dries Vanthoor return to the Hypercar line-up following clashes with other commitments earlier in the season. Belgian hopes also rest with Peugeot driver Stoffel Vandoorne.

The LMGT3 category promises another unpredictable fight after 10 different cars led portions of last year’s Spa race.

Ferrari swept both Hypercar and LMGT3 victories in Belgium in 2025, taking its total tally at Spa across all FIA WEC classes to 12 wins. Lexus also showed major promise there, claiming the manufacturer’s maiden series pole position through Finn Gehrsitz before both Akkodis ASP entries retired while running strongly.

Home support will be strong throughout the LMGT3 field. Belgian drivers Tom Van Rompuy and Maxime Martin feature for Lexus and Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG respectively, while Team WRT and TF Sport both arrive with realistic ambitions of victory.

TF Sport narrowly missed out on victory at Imola, finishing less than a quarter of a second behind the winning BMW after a tense finale.

The TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps begins at 14:00 local time on Saturday, following qualifying and Hyperpole on Friday afternoon. With Le Mans looming just weeks away, Spa represents the final major test before endurance racing’s biggest stage.