Rain shakes up the standings after two hours in Le Mans
F1 News
The first two hours of the 24 Hours of Le Mans are over. The rain has already come, shaking up the standings, but there are still opportunities for a British driver to win in the hypercar class and take victory.
Rain gamble pays off for some teams
Just as 90 minutes ticked over at the Circuit de la Sarthe, the rain started to fall, changing the complexion of the race as strategies turned on its head.
The #51 Ferrari car was in the lead of the iconic race, but the team with Brit James Calado came into the pits to change for wets. The #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport car that started on the pole came in a lap later, and the #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing a lap beforehand also did the same, and as the worst of the rain cleared, all three teams changed from the wets back onto the dry tyres, dropping them right down the hypercar field.
As a result, the #50 Ferrari hypercar leads after their gamble of staying out on dry tyres paying off as they lead in the 24-hour race, despite paying another 10-second time penalty during their last pitstop due to an unsafe release. The #83 Ferrari with former F1 driver Robert Kubica at the wheel also gambled and sits in P2
In third is the Porche #12 Hertz Team Jota car, with British drivers Callum Illot and former F1 driver Will Stevens as part of that three-man team.
In other Britush driver news, Jenson Button's #38 Hertz Team Jota car sits in P12, and the #311 Cadillac machine with Jack Aitkin behind the wheel sits in 14th.