WEC's Red Bull Racing: in search of Toyota's secret

It was a rare crash. During qualifying for the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, Brendon Hartley slid off the track during his warm-up lap as his tyres were too cold while going up Raidillion, and the Toyota ended up in the barrier. Television footage showed Hartley did little wrong, not going too fast or hitting a kerb. The ban on tyre warmers had claimed yet another casualty, but the image was striking nonetheless: a Toyota in the wall.

'Logical to be the fastest'

The advantage of long-distance racing is that there is usually enough time to make up lost places. From the last spot on the grid, Hartley and his teammates managed to work their way to the front, eventually finishing second behind Toyota's other car.

According to Brendon Hartley, reigning world champion in the WEC, it is fairly obvious that Toyota is one of the best teams. "We've been racing it for three years, we've had some updates, we were able to improve the car," said the New Zealander in an exclusive interview with GPblog. "If all the other competitors came in the first race and beat us directly with all the work that we've been doing in the last three years, I think something would maybe be wrong. So I think we're very well optimised, all drivers are on a very similar level, strategy is set up, and we know how to put the car in the right window for the race. I think the other teams, they're coming, it's clear."

Competition is coming

But there is some competition, with Hartley pointing out Ferrari as a team that could challenge Toyota, with the Prancing Horse locking out the front row in Le Mans this weekend. With that being the case, Ferrari are seen as the main competitor for Toyota. "They have huge potential in the car," Hartley believes. "The others have shown glimpses of very big speed. We have different tyre compounds to play with, but I think, ultimately, we're very well optimised. This team's been in the WEC for a long time so we know it well. I think it was maybe unrealistic that the others were, there's no point talking about BOP, but I think at least we showed that we haven't been sleeping for the last few years. But it's going to get tighter and tighter. Already at Le Mans, very clear."

Unlike Formula 1, there are strict rules for the design of a hypercar in WEC: "What I like with the rules is that everyone has the same car weight (before a BoP was set in place), exactly the same power. The cars have been put in the wind tunnel. They have the same downforce. So then you have to optimise what you have. The cars are not completely different concepts than, you know, GT cars, one with a rear engine in front. So I think for the future, we're going to see, and already now, we're going to see incredibly tight racing, and then it's going to be coming down to the details."

"So I think that, yes, it's really interesting for the next years how that's going to develop and how the races are going to be. But yeah, it's clear we did have an advantage on the first races but somehow I feel like it's maybe normal. It would have been embarrassing if we didn't."