This incident brought into sharp focus the controversial ban on tire warmers for this year, which had already been a topic of discussion throughout the weekend. The sister Ferrari car also suffered from misfortune, having been ahead of the #51 car and running in third place in the fifth hour when Antonio Fuoco lost control on the front straight after exiting the pits. Nonetheless, the team took solace in the fact that they were much closer to the pace of the Toyotas than in previous races. James Calado, who drove the #51 car to third place, wasn't certain if they could have beaten the Toyotas without the mishaps. Both the podium car and the sister entry had managed to recover their lost lap in the middle of the race, although Lopez struggled towards the end of his double stint. ![]() The Six Hours of Spa-Franchorchamps posed the question of whether Ferrari could have won without the setbacks that hampered their race. In contrast, the Porsche was on softs, which began to fail in the final laps, allowing Calado to secure third place, just over a minute behind the winning Toyota. The Ferrari's tires were the hardest available, as Michelin had brought three slick tire specifications to Spa to cater to the uncertain weather forecast. This proved to be a tricky decision, as James Calado put in a blistering double stint on the medium tires, closing down the gap to the Porsche 963 LMDh driven by Michael Christensen and Dane Cameron. However, Ferrari had set up their cars for the race's second half when the weather forecast predicted no more rain. Two emergency pitstops were added to their woes, one for a deflating tire and another to refuel. The #51 Ferrari had a bumpy road to third position, having lost a lap early in the race due to a cautious tire choice and a struggle to bring the tires up to temperature on a damp track. The #51 Ferrari driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, and Antonio Giovinazzi experienced several delays throughout the race but managed to secure a third consecutive podium finish for Ferrari, with Calado clinching their first silverware on the final lap by overtaking Frederic Makowiecki's Porsche at Les Combes. Nevertheless, the Ferrari 499P proved to be the quicker car on average throughout the entire duration of the race, even though their best LMHs only managed to finish in third place, behind the second Toyota driven by Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ryo Hirakawa. Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway, and Jose Maria Lopez secured the victory for Toyota's #7 GR010 HYBRID Le Mans Hypercar, leading for the majority of the event. ![]() In contrast, their Italian rivals demonstrated that they would pose a real threat at the upcoming big event. ![]() While Toyota secured their third win in three races and a second consecutive one-two finish, they admitted that their pace wasn't fantastic on the day. However, the unpredictable Belgian track created an atmosphere of uncertainty, clouding the accurate picture heading toward the Le Mans 24 Hours.
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