Winners and losers from the WEC 6 Hours of São Paulo

Written by Aaron Carroll

After six months of the year that were filled with questions like "who can beat Ferrari?", São Paulo was like a breath of fresh air for fans. Some teams had good weekends, but some teams struggled. Here are the winners and the losers from the World Endurance Championship's (WEC's) 6 Hours of São Paulo.

Winners: Hertz Team Jota and Cadillac

The two Hertz Team Jota Cadillacs (No.12 and No.38) side-by-side heading into turn 1 at Interlagos | Credit: FIA WEC

It's impossible to write a piece about winners from the race and exclude the No.12 and No.38 cars from Jota. Outside of a short spell at the beginning when Julien Andlauer in the No.5 Porsche led, these two completely dominated the race.

Outside of Le Mans, where Alex Lynn put the No.12 on pole and they finished fourth, it's been a pretty tough season for Cadillac. They had the pace in Qatar, but their chances were ruined when the two cars collided with each other.

São Paulo will give the entire team a massive morale boost, as we head into the eight week break before the Lone Star Le Mans in Austin.

Losers: Ferrari - Hypercar

The two factory Ferraris (No.50 and No.51) flowing through the middle sector at Interlagos | Credit: Ferrari

Brazil has been a complete turnaround for Ferrari, a race that brought them back down to earth after their astronomical start to the season. The two factory cars were 11th and 12th, just outside the points, with the No.83 picking up a handful of points in eighth.

It's worth a mention, that this is a sign of the Balance of Performance (BoP) catching up with the Italian marque. The equaliser is determined from best two of the last three races excluding Le Mans, the factory Ferraris won all three.

While this is a factor, it's hard to completely put the blame on BoP, when the No.83 privateer car was quicker than the two red cars all weekend. It still didn't have the performance it did when it won Le Mans, but they were able to fight much more than the No.50 and No.51.

Whatever the case may be, this weekend was certainly a massive struggle for Ferrari. They will hope to get back to their winning ways in Austin, but their main focus will be to hold their championship lead.

Winners: Aston Martin - Hypercar

The two Aston Martin Valkyrie's (No.007 and No.009) nose to tail in qualifying | Credit: Aston Martin

Did either car make it to Hyperpole? No. Did either car score points? No. But in the inaugural season for the new car, that doesn't matter too much. What matters is that they could fight.

While they didn't make the top10 in qualifying, the No.009 was only 0.037 seconds away, with the No.007 only another 0.041 seconds behind the sister car. Less than one tenth of a second meant that neither car could fight for a top 10 grid spot.

The race was similar too. The No.009 came alive at the beginning of the race with Marco Sorensen behind the wheel, genuinely in the fight for some decent points, with the No.007 hanging around just outside the top 10.

They ended up 13th and 16th, but the win for them is the fact that it was genuine. They could fight on genuine pace, not because of any outstanding circumstances. Points seem like they could be on the cards soon for the British marque.

Losers: Alpine

The No.35 Alpine in the sunset at Interlagos | Credit: Alpine Cars

Despite a disappointing Le Mans, Alpine were expected to perform closer to their pace in Spa when it came time for the 6 Hours of São Paulo. The two cars qualified 15th and 16th on the grid, not what the French marque would've wanted from Saturday.

Early in the race, the No.35 was hit with a Hybrid issue, putting them many laps down, and completely out of contention. The No.36 went on to score a couple of points in ninth place.

With this results, paired with ninth and tenth in Le Mans, it makes people start to wonder if the podiums in Spa and Imola were one offs. Alpine will certainly be aiming to prove this statement wrong when they head to the Circuit of the Americas.

Winners: Lexus

The No.87 Lexus LMGT3 working its way through the flowing middle sector | Credit: Akkodis ASP

Akkodis ASP and Lexus took their first victory in the LMGT3 class at São Paulo last weekend, an excellent result for a team that came into the class struggling in 2024.

The No.87 dominated much of the race, after taking the lead early on. At one stage they received a drive-through penalty for a regulations infringement, but even after serving it they held a 10 second lead to the sister No.78 in second place.

The No.78 was second for most of the race, but lost out to the No.81 Corvette, No.10 Aston Martin and the No.85 Iron Dames towards the end of the race, to finish fifth.

After more positive signs earlier in the season, this leaves Lexus in a strong position heading into the final races of the season.

Losers: Ford

The No.88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang LMGT3 at Le Mans last month | Credit: Proton Competition (Paola Depalmas)

The race wasn't going terribly for Ford, with the No.88 sitting in P3 for a time after a P8 start. However, disaster struck as a damper issue took them out of the race after just 86 laps.

The No.77 was still in the race however, but they too suffered a mechanical problem that took them out of the race.

As can be seen from results not only in the WEC, but in other championships, the Ford has pace. But through it's entire lifecycle since the beginning of 2024, it has struggled with reliability.

Proton will be hoping that they, or Ford Performance can find answers to their issues heading into the end of the season.