This weekend, the FIA World Endurance Championship will visit Spa for its third race of the season. Here is everything you need to know about the event, including all the best places to watch it live and for free.
May is here, which means we are only one month away from the 24 Hours of Le Mans. But before all that, the FIA World Endurance Championship has one last normal season European round, allowing teams and drivers to prepare for the round-the-clock event.
This weekend, the field of Hypercars and LMGT3 monsters take to the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps for Round 3 of the season - a 6-hour endurance race around the famous track. With this, the last chance to get up to speed before heading into France next month, the Spa race will be a crucial stage-setter and a fascinating watch. Here is everything you need to know going into the event as well as all the best ways to watch - including some free live streams.
The Porsche Penske cars see new driver trios for the 2025 Spa 6 Hours. Image: Porsche Newsroom
But there are a number of teams that will be more desperate than others to get the miles in, with several Le Mans-bound drivers jumping into their cars for the first time this year. Chief among them are the two Porsche Penske crews, as both the #5 and #6 get a new third driver in Nico Mueller and Pascal Wehrlein, respectively.
Other replacements join the fray in LMGT3, with the Iron Lynx #60 dropping both Claudio Schiavoni and Matteo Cressoni in favour of the Grove father-son pairing, Stephen and Brenton. The duo will form part of the third Mercedes at Le Mans next month.
Drivers are not the only ones preparing their Le Mans assault in four weeks' time. The newer teams will be using Spa's longer straights to prepare the cars for the Mulsanne of Circuit de la Sarthe. Aston Martin and its Valkyrie will be keen to dial in a setup throughout the event as the Heart of Racing outfit continues to gain data in this, its first year in the championship.
Firstly, in Free Practice 1, the #35 Alpine and #38 Cadillac Hypercars found their way into the gravel on separate occasions. Both times, the session fell under Full Course Yellow for the cars to be recovered from the gravel, and both times, minor damage was incurred.
The second Free Practice session however went even less smoothly with a total of three Red Flag periods for three separate hefty shunts. First, Giovinazzi aboard the #51 Ferrari spun atop Radaillion on his outlap, collecting the tyre barrier on the outside. Then, the #007 Aston Martin Valkyrie lost the rear end through Pouhon at speed wrecking the tail of the car.
Not to be outdone, the LMGT3 class sent newcomer Stephen Grove into the tyres at Radaillion aboard his Mercedes AMG GT.
These incidents will each take place on out laps, leaving teams and drivers preoccupied on out laps during the 6-hour race, especially after taking new sets of tyres. Only they can tell whether or not the dangers will force teams to alter their strategies. But it will surely make the overcut a powerful tool on what is already an easy track to overtake.
Unexpectedly, the fastest non-Ferrari was not a Porsche, nor a Toyota or even a Cadillac. Instead, the #94 Peugeot 9X8 driven by Stoffel Vandoorne only missed out on a top 3 starting position by a hair. The #93 sister car starts in 7th - meaning while both Peugeots made it to the Hyperpole session, not a single Toyota or Porsche was present in the shootout.
In LMGT3, meanwhile, the #78 Lexus RC F reigned supreme, gapping the rest of the top 3 by almost three tenths. Fan favorite Valentino Rossi put his BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo in 9th, while the TF Sport trio of Jonny Edgar, Daniel Juncadella and Ben Keating were absent from the Hyperpole session. Their #33 Corvette only managed P17.
Unlike most other motorsport events, the 6 Hours of Spa features a slightly skewed timetable, meaning proceedings are brought forward by a day. As a result, Qualifying took place earlier on Friday afternoon, and the race will see teams battle it out on Saturday rather than Sunday. Here are the all-important times you should look out for.
The race start time, pushed back by a few hours compared to last year's event, should provide excellent Golden Hour visuals around the chequered flag. So, make sure to check Instagram after the race ends.
Who are you rooting for this weekend? Let us know in the comments and join the discussion in our Motorsport forum!
May is here, which means we are only one month away from the 24 Hours of Le Mans. But before all that, the FIA World Endurance Championship has one last normal season European round, allowing teams and drivers to prepare for the round-the-clock event.
This weekend, the field of Hypercars and LMGT3 monsters take to the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps for Round 3 of the season - a 6-hour endurance race around the famous track. With this, the last chance to get up to speed before heading into France next month, the Spa race will be a crucial stage-setter and a fascinating watch. Here is everything you need to know going into the event as well as all the best ways to watch - including some free live streams.
Preparation For Le Mans
As we have mentioned, the Spa round for the 2025 WEC is the final chance for cars, drivers, and teams to head into battle before the Test Days at Le Mans in early June. As a result, this race is crucial for a number of reasons, not least to pick up momentum before the biggest race of the year.The Porsche Penske cars see new driver trios for the 2025 Spa 6 Hours. Image: Porsche Newsroom
But there are a number of teams that will be more desperate than others to get the miles in, with several Le Mans-bound drivers jumping into their cars for the first time this year. Chief among them are the two Porsche Penske crews, as both the #5 and #6 get a new third driver in Nico Mueller and Pascal Wehrlein, respectively.
Other replacements join the fray in LMGT3, with the Iron Lynx #60 dropping both Claudio Schiavoni and Matteo Cressoni in favour of the Grove father-son pairing, Stephen and Brenton. The duo will form part of the third Mercedes at Le Mans next month.
Drivers are not the only ones preparing their Le Mans assault in four weeks' time. The newer teams will be using Spa's longer straights to prepare the cars for the Mulsanne of Circuit de la Sarthe. Aston Martin and its Valkyrie will be keen to dial in a setup throughout the event as the Heart of Racing outfit continues to gain data in this, its first year in the championship.
Hectic Practice - Same for the Spa 6 Hours?
So far this weekend, practice has been far from smooth sailing. It seems that each year the World Endurance Championship visits Spa, the lack of tyre warmers becomes particularly evident, as once again, the first two practice sessions have been full of incidents.Firstly, in Free Practice 1, the #35 Alpine and #38 Cadillac Hypercars found their way into the gravel on separate occasions. Both times, the session fell under Full Course Yellow for the cars to be recovered from the gravel, and both times, minor damage was incurred.
The second Free Practice session however went even less smoothly with a total of three Red Flag periods for three separate hefty shunts. First, Giovinazzi aboard the #51 Ferrari spun atop Radaillion on his outlap, collecting the tyre barrier on the outside. Then, the #007 Aston Martin Valkyrie lost the rear end through Pouhon at speed wrecking the tail of the car.
Not to be outdone, the LMGT3 class sent newcomer Stephen Grove into the tyres at Radaillion aboard his Mercedes AMG GT.
These incidents will each take place on out laps, leaving teams and drivers preoccupied on out laps during the 6-hour race, especially after taking new sets of tyres. Only they can tell whether or not the dangers will force teams to alter their strategies. But it will surely make the overcut a powerful tool on what is already an easy track to overtake.
Ferrari Lock Out Top 3 In Qualifying
Qualifying was unsurprising in one way, that being that all three Ferrari Hypercars ended up at the top of the timing sheet in Hyperpole. The #83 AF Corse entry split the works cars, with #50 the pole sitter and the #51 in third.Unexpectedly, the fastest non-Ferrari was not a Porsche, nor a Toyota or even a Cadillac. Instead, the #94 Peugeot 9X8 driven by Stoffel Vandoorne only missed out on a top 3 starting position by a hair. The #93 sister car starts in 7th - meaning while both Peugeots made it to the Hyperpole session, not a single Toyota or Porsche was present in the shootout.
In LMGT3, meanwhile, the #78 Lexus RC F reigned supreme, gapping the rest of the top 3 by almost three tenths. Fan favorite Valentino Rossi put his BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo in 9th, while the TF Sport trio of Jonny Edgar, Daniel Juncadella and Ben Keating were absent from the Hyperpole session. Their #33 Corvette only managed P17.
How to Watch the FIA World Endurance Championship
If all that action sounds interesting to you, you are probably wondering how you can follow it. Well, as always, every FIA WEC race is streamed live on the series' own app, requiring a subscription to access its content. But as a teaser to the competition, the third and final Free Practice session was available to watch live on YouTube, so make sure to take a look at what went down in that hour-long session.Unlike most other motorsport events, the 6 Hours of Spa features a slightly skewed timetable, meaning proceedings are brought forward by a day. As a result, Qualifying took place earlier on Friday afternoon, and the race will see teams battle it out on Saturday rather than Sunday. Here are the all-important times you should look out for.
| Session | Start Time CEST | Start Time BST | Start Time EST | Start Time UTC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spa 6 Hours | 14:00 | 13:00 | 8:00 | 12:00 |
The race start time, pushed back by a few hours compared to last year's event, should provide excellent Golden Hour visuals around the chequered flag. So, make sure to check Instagram after the race ends.
2025 Spa 6 Hours Free Live Stream
If you would rather not spend more money on yet another streaming service, causing a financial haemorrhage, there are several options to follow the race live and for free. Live timing is available on the WEC app without paying for a subscription, whilst many teams host live onboard footage from their cars, notably in the Hypercar class. Here are just some of them.Who are you rooting for this weekend? Let us know in the comments and join the discussion in our Motorsport forum!
