Ferrari Holds Off Toyota To Go Back-To-Back and Win a Rainy 24 Hours of Le Mans

It took Ferrari 58 years to return to the top of the podium for their 10th win; it took just one more to make it 11.

Ferrari goes back-to-back to claim victory in their return to the top level of racing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans; the No. 50 Ferrari beat the No. 7 Toyota to the finish line by 14 seconds after 24 hours of shifting weather and heavy competition.

After Ferrari's 1965 win in The 24 Hours of Le Mans, the manufacturer hit an eight-year lull and then disappeared for 50 years. They won in their return. They entered the Hypercar class in 2023 to start where they left off in 1973 with an overall victory. Last year, it was the trio behind the No. 51 car to do it; in 2024, it's the No. 50 car.

The No. 51 car, after victory last year, was able to join its sister car on the podium.

Nick Nielsen was the driver to take it home for the Ferrari team, surviving a non-closed-door that threw the team off sequence and forced a 5-second penalty. He pitted with an hour and 42 minutes remaining, and that pit set the team up to make it to the finish line, maybe. They were later helped when with 32 minutes to go, the No. 88 GR Racing LMGT3 Ferrari had a mechanical issue, bringing out a yellow flag, maybe saving the front-leading Ferrari.

At 5:00 A.M. local time, heavy rain started to fall on the track leading to a four-hour safety car. Ever hopeful that the rain was soon to pass, a red flag was never thrown and drivers were stuck running in the dark with sideways rain and being blinded by the brake lights of others.

Miguel Molina was the driver of the No. 50 during for the majority of the safety car period and the first Eurosport reporters to meet up with after the win. Emotionally, Molina spoke about what the win meant to him; his along with his teammate's first overall win.

"We gave everything; it's the best day of my career," Molina said, "Thanks to everyone, thanks to everyone that supported me since I was young. To my family, to my parents, to my kids, to everyone, thank you very much."

The No. 51 Ferrari's podium did not come without controversy, in the final hours of Alessandro Pier Guidi was given a five-second penalty crossed the line in third, despite having faced a five-second time penalty added to its penultimate pit stop for contact with the No. 8 Toyota of Brendon Hartley with two hours to go.

Hartley’s Toyota spun around as a result and dropped back to sixth at the time but managed to finish fifth in the hands of Sebastien Buemi.

Pier Guidi, who shared driving duties with fellow 2023 race winners James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi, held off a hard-charging Laurens Vanthoor for the final step of the podium, with the margin less than 1.2 seconds at the line.

Vanthoor, in the No. 6 Penske Porsche that he drove the majority of the race with pole-sitter Kevin Estre, was fourth in the car also shared by Andre Lotterer, who logged less than four hours of drive time.