Historical! Miguel Molina is the third Spaniard to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Ferrari retains the crown in the chaos

Marc Gené, Fernando Alonso and now Miguel Molina. The 24 Hours of Le Mans 2024 have brought the fourth Spanish victory of history in an absolutely chaotic and controversial race, bathed in rain, with an eternal night Safety Car and that has served for Ferrari to revalidate its crown.

The Ferrari #50 has had an ordeal of a race in which they have had to deal with strange strategies, with the rain and with a door that didn’t want to close at the worst possible moment. Second victory in a row for Ferrari to put Miguel Molina, Antonio Fuoco and Niklas Nielsen in the legend of Le Mans.

Álex Palou led the race and shone in his debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans has at least equaled the drama of the previous edition. Up to four brands had firm chances of victory in the last hours, although in the end it was the Ferrari #50 that prevailed in an agonizing way. arriving at the finish line with practically no fuel.

Molina equals Fernando Alonso and Marc Gené as the only Spanish drivers to have won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. After surviving a very risky Ferrari strategy at night, leaving them with dry tires in the rain, the #50 reached the final stretch of the race with a bit of an advantage, but the unexpected happened.

Already in the last relay, the Ferrari door didn’t want to close, which forced #50 to make an extra pass through the pits when he didn’t touch. They had to use a different strategy that forced them to save fuel throughout the final stretch of the race, almost getting stranded, but in the end they won.

Of course, a victory that also has its share of controversy. Because the #8 Toyota seemed ready to give them a lot of fight until in a controversial maneuver, Ferrari #51 has given them a blow, caused them to lose a lot of time in a spin and also left their car damaged. The #51 was penalized, but it gave oxygen to the Ferrari that was leading.

Of course, it was not the only Ferrari incident at Le Mans, because before that it was the private #83 Ferrari that seemed in the best position to win the race. But they had to serve a harsh sanction of 30 seconds of Stop and Go for a Robert Kubica maneuver which left out a BMW causing a big accident and a safety car.

That Ferrari continued to compete for the podium, but on Sunday morning it suffered an electrical fault that left it out of the race. In the end, The rival of the winning #50 has been the Toyota #7the car that was damaged in an accident in Warm Up on Saturday morning and started last, but almost won Le Mans.

In fact, if it weren’t for an inopportune spin by Pechito López In the last relay Toyota would probably have won. Of course, bad luck has also affected #7, because on two occasions they have suffered punctures that have caused them to lose a lot of time. This time the race once again chose Ferrari.

Porsche seemed favorite to win Le Mans, but he doesn’t even get on the podium. The #6 continues to lead the world championship, but has remained in fourth position, unable to get the #51 Ferrari out of the box. The Porsches had a lot of pace at night and in rainy conditions, but in the dry they were slower.

That stands out Álex Palou’s impressive debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with some dizzying relays that have made him the best Cadillac driver. The #2 arrived with a real chance of winning until the last hours, even leading, but a problem with the windshield wiper hindered them in the pits and they were seventh.

Alpine debacle, which left both cars out of play due to mechanical breakdowns on Saturday itself. It has not been a great edition for the French brands, because Peugeot, although it has finished, has done so at a very bad pace and without scoring a single point. It paints the lion project badly.

Yes score Lamborghini, which was able to destroy both cars his first 24 Hours of Le Mans under the hypercar regulations and was able to put the #63 in tenth. And, against all odds, the Isotta Fraschini, which has not even had too many serious problems, also crosses the finish line.

In LMP2, the victory went to the United Autosport #22, the car driven by Oliver Jarvis, Bijoy Garg and Nolan Siegel. Meanwhile, in the GT3 category the victory went to Porsche #91, with Yasser Shahin, Morris Schuring and Richard Lietz at the controls. Valentino Rossi’s BMW #46 retired, but came into the lead.

The worst thing about the race, by far, are the multiple safety cars. Especially the one that lasted four hours at night, and that prevented us from seeing competition in the rain. The disproportionate duration of Safety Cars It is a problem that inevitably has to be solved once and for all by the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Results 24 Hours of Le Mans 2024

WEC general classification

1st. PORSCHE #6, 99 points

2nd. FERRARI #50, 90 points

3rd. TOYOTA #7, 82 points

4th. PORSCHE #12, 60 points

5th. PORSCHE #5, 56 points