But will Balance of Performance stop Maranello?
Ferrari heads to this weekend’s third round FIA World Endurance Championship Spa 6 Hours unbeaten in 2025 as it chases a hat trick of wins. But the powers that be, have done their utmost to balance the performance of those thus far dominant 499Ps
The red and yellow cars head to Belgium carrying more weight and making less power following this week’s latest routine round of WEC Balance of Performance adjustments. Significant changes to the governing power to weight ratios of seven of the of the eight Hypercar manufacturers may very well significantly change the WEC landscape since last month’s Imola second round.
Ferrari, Toyota take biggest Spa BoP hits
Ferrari takes a twelve kilogram weight hit to stop the Spa scales at a 1057 kilo minimum. The 499P has also been pruned nineteen kilowatts to 489kW for the Francorchamps race. The Italian team however gains a break above the 250 km/h Power Gain threshold.
Second at Imola, the BMW M Hybrid V8 (above) drops 10 to 503 kW and gains 7 kg at 1049 kg, while the third-placed Alpine A424 will carry a single extra kilogram but remains on maximum 520 kW power. Toyota’s GR010 Hybrids meanwhile take a hefty 20 kW Spa mass penalty along with an extra 4kg, but with a break above the Power Gain threshold.
Of the rest, Porsche gains two kilograms and loses nine kilowatts and the Cadillac’s V-Series.R loses 9 kW and gains a kilogram to 1042. The Peugeot 9X8 remains unchanged at the minimum weight of 1030 kg and 520 kW maximum, with the Aston Martin Valkyrie 15 up to the 520kW maximum and 16 kg down to 1035 kg.
A significant BoP shake up in LMGT3 too
Spa’s Hypercar Balance of Performance changes are based on a formula that considers each different car type’s ten fastest laps and 60 percent of all race laps from their three most recent WEC rounds. Those being the 2024 Bahrain finale and this year’s Qatar and Imola rounds.
Looking at the LMGT3 class, every car except the Ford Mustang loses power, with the Imola winning Porsche 911 GT3 R (above) and the Qatar winning Corvette Z06 GT3.R down five percent. The BMW M4 GT3 and McLaren 720S GT3 Evo lose four percent. The BMW gains 11 kg, the McLaren 8kg, The Lexus RC F GT3 remains as it was, while the Corvette loses 2kg and the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo and Ferrari 296 GT3 both lose weight.
All of which makes for a most interesting prospect at Spa, where all teams will have one eye on winning and the other on the best possible Balance of Performance ahead of the big following round Le Mans 24 Hour on 14 and 15 June. Should make for a gripping six hours at Spa, starting 14h00 European time Saturday.