The History of The 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Nutshell

It’s a big year for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as the world’s oldest active endurance racing event kicks off it’s centenary year this week.

As we know, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is seen as one of the most prestigious motor races in the world; alongside the Indy 500 and Monaco Grand Prix. It’s also considered to be apart of the “Triple Crown” achievement, where a driver wins all the above races. To date, only one driver in the world has done this - Graham Hill.

But what makes Le Mans so special? Let’s have a look back at the race’s intriguing history.

It all began in May 1923, around the infamous streets of Le Mans, France. The original configuration of the race was due to run for three consecutive years with the winner being the driver who raced the furthest distance over the three years combined. However, this idea was quickly abandoned in 1928. Instead, the winner would be decided by who had completed the most distance over the course of the twenty four hours. A concept which is still in place today.

Bugatti, Bentley and Alfa Romeo were the top manufacturers to win during Le Mans’ early years. Particularly from 1930, when advances in technology meant more complex aerodynamics resulting in faster speeds.

Fast forward a few years to 1936, and for the first time since it’s conception, the race is abandoned; mainly due to strikes in France. Then, three years later there was the outbreak of World War II, and for ten years, Le Mans was cancelled.

In 1949, with new circuit facilities, the racing resumed, with more major car manufacturers wanting in. Then in 1953, the World Sportscar Championship was born. The 24 Hours of Le Mans would go on to play a pivotal role in this championship, with teams sending multiple cars to fight for wins.

Tragedy at Le Mans was not unusual. Take a look at the 1955 Le Mans Disaster, for example. That year over 80 spectators were killed when a car crashed into the crowd. This incident led to an overhaul of safety in, not just Le Mans, but throughout the whole of motorsport. By 1970, Le Mans was not the same, with the biggest difference being that closed cockpit cars had been introduced, replacing the open cockpit. With this came greater speeds. Over 320km/h or 200mph was recorded on the Mulsanne straight.

A new decade brought further changes. The extreme speeds that cars were now recording meant a big change for the starting procedure. Out were the standing starts and in were the rolling, like you see in Indy Car. And that’s not all. Classes were introduced, splitting the production based cars from the purpose built sports cars. Private constructors also joined the grid, fighting against the larger manufacturers. The 70’s was a decade that is remembered best for the success of these private constructors against the “big boys.”

Whereas the 80’s was all about the success of German manufacturer; Porsche, who ran with a car that encouraged fuel efficiency. However, with teams such as Mercedes and Jaguar rejoining the field after a short absence, Porsche’s string of success would soon come to an end. Jaguar would win the crown in 1988 and 1990. Mercedes took it home in 1989.

Not only was Porsche’s dominance ended in 1988; Peugeot was out to break records. And, records they broke. During qualifying that year, their car, the VM Peugeot, broke the speed trap record of 407km/h, or 253mph. Unfortunately, the car was only built for this purpose and didn’t last the full twenty four hour race. After this, in 1990, the circuit under went some changes. It was decided that the Mulsanne, which was 5km long, would be modified to include two chicanes as a way to stop speeds of this stature being reached again.

In the late 80’s and early 90’s, Le Mans saw an influx of Japanese manufacturers joining the grid. It would be Mazda who was the first one to win in 1991. But, a year later, Peugeot was back and this time brought a car capable of completing the twenty four hour race. They went on to win the 1992 and 1993 races.

Not long after, the World Sportscar Championship was disbanded and an influx of exotic non-production based sport cars appeared on the grid, with many of them being trouble prone prototypes. This wasn’t the case for McLaren, though. In 1995, their prototype stayed away from trouble, unlike their competitors, and the team went onto win the race in their car’s first Le Mans appearance.

In the second half of the 90’s, many big names such as Porsche, Mercedes, Toyota, Lotus, etc, began to enter GT classes. In 1999, competition was fierce with BMW taking it’s only victory to date. The same year, after three large, but non-fatal, crashes, Mercedes ended their time at Le Mans and in sport car racing.

And, at the turn of the new millennium, they weren’t the only manufacturer to quit. Due to costs, many teams turned their backs on Le Mans and sportscar racing. Only Audi and Cadillac remained. For Audi, things were easy and they dominated the sport. After three years, Cadillac left. Other teams would attempt to beat Audi with no success. That was until Bentley came along. In 2003, they managed the feat. However, their engines, drivers and team were all provided by Audi; their corporate partner.

In 2006, Audi introduced a diesel engine prototype which became the first to win at Le Mans. Other fuel types, including bio-ethanol, were also tested up and down the field. However, it was Peugeot that followed Audi’s lead by entering a diesel powered car in 2007. In 2009, Peugeot took it a step further and introduced an energy-recovery system. This was similar to the KERS system that used to be used in Formula One and gave Peugeot their first Le Mans victory since 1993.

Skipping ahead to 2011 and 2012, and the races were anything but simple. In fact, both years were full of accidents. Allan McNish barrel rolled his Audi in the first hour of the 2011 race. A second Audi was eliminated in the same way hours later. Neither driver was injured. In 2012, it was a Toyota that barrel rolled. Anthony Davidson was the driver. He was injured but ok and made a full recovery.

However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom to begin the decade. Endurance racing was gaining traction and the idea of a championship was conceived. In 2011, Le Mans become the main race of the newly formed “Intercontinental Le Mans Cup,” which, in 2012, was renamed to the “FIA World Endurance Championship,” that is well known today. The race in 2012 was also the first time it was won by a hybrid electric vehicle that was built and entered by Audi.

2014 saw a big overhaul of regulation changes. Most notably came the mandatory change from open cockpit to closed cockpit cars in the LMP1 category. The LMP2 class followed in 2017. Elsewhere, there were changes to the hybrid systems and the introduction of the “slow zone.”

Porsche also returned in 2014, entering the LMP1 class. They won in 2015, 2016 and 2017 with their hybrid 919. To date, they are the most successful manufacturer to race at Le Mans with 19 victories.

The mid-2010’s saw long-running manufacturer, Audi, leave the series. This was due to it’s cost-cutting initiatives with it’s motorsport programmes. And, they weren’t the only ones to withdraw. Nissan was next to go in 2016.

As for Toyota, in recent years they have seen success after success, winning their first 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2018 with Fernando Alonso, Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima behind the wheel. The Japanese manufacturer has since won in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

A new class, Hypercar, was introduced from 2021. The regulations for this category meant manufacturers and designers had more leeway with car design. There has since been a “wingless” Peugeot 9X8, amongst many other unique designs.

And, that leads us to the present day and the sport’s centenary year.

Every year, Le Mans never fails to deliver and this may be why, year upon year, the following for the race and the World Endurance Championship grows. And, not only that but, the advances in technology makes the future prospect of the sport an exciting one.

The 2023 race is shaping up to be one not to miss, with a range of teams and drivers all vying to win overall. But, who is it going to be? Well, we’ll have to wait until Saturday for that!

Race Report: Spanish Grand Prix 2023

This weekend saw the seventh round of the Formula One World Championship return to Spain for the Spanish Grand Prix. The race, which is held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, had a big change in store for the drivers, with the track layout reverting to it's original pre-2007 design, which omits the chicane in the final sector. But, did the exclusion of the chicane help improve racing as to what was expected? Let's find out!

After a long run of racing on street circuits, this is only F1's second visit to a traditional race track this season. Shocking, I know. But still, it's not always an easy track to drive around. Despite this, it didn't stop Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing from clinching his 4th pole position this year so far. A lot of drivers, such as Verstappen's teammate; Sergio Perez and Ferrari's; Charles Leclerc, struggled in qualifying and found themselves out of position, setting up a grid that would you make you want to grab your popcorn. Home hero, also of Ferrari, Carlos Sainz, qualified in second with a shock result for McLaren and Lando Norris when they placed the car in third. Things were looking spicy.

Race day and dark, ominous clouds are on the horizon despite there only being a 40% chance of rain. Cars up and down the grid are fitted with their tyres. The majority are on softs, a couple on hards and others, such as the Red Bulls, are on mediums. With the formation lap done, the cars line up in their respective grid slots. And then, they're off.

Sainz has a fantastic start, taking advantage of Verstappen's slipstream. But it's the latter that stays ahead going into turn one. Behind them, Norris finds himself being hunted by Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes. They touch, damaging Norris' front wing. A trip to the pits means he is down to last. Lance Stroll, meanwhile, keeps his nose clean and gets past both Hamilton and Norris for third. Hamilton's teammate; George Russell, who was knocked out in Q2, is a big gainer on the opening lap and finds himself running in seventh. Race control are quick to note this as he went off track, but no investigation is necessary.

By lap six, Alfa Romeo and Valtteri Bottas come in to change tyres. It's the hard. And, he's not the only one with tyre issues. Nico Hulkenberg, in the Haas, is starting to struggle, with Perez passing him for ninth. Leclerc, who ended up starting in the pit lane, has only got as far as seventeenth but there is still a long way to go.

Back at the front, Verstappen is flying with over four seconds on second place man Sainz. Hamilton is now in third and hunting down the Spaniard after catching and taking back third place from Stroll. Russell, who had a great start, is still on a charge. He passes Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon for fifth. Alpine decide to pit Ocon on lap fourteen in the hope that the undercut will work. He returns to the track in thirteenth, in the midst of a threeway battle between Zhou Guanyu, Hulkenberg and Yuki Tsunoda in the Alpha Tauri. Aston Martin, on the other hand, also pit their driver; Stroll, in an attempt to stop Ocon's undercut from working. Success. He's back out in front of the Alpine.

Lap sixteen and Sainz pits. He returns to the track in ninth with Leclerc ahead of him. His teammate quickly moves out of the Spaniard's way, letting him through for eighth. At the end of the lap, Leclerc also dives into the pits for Ferrari. Hamilton, who has inherited second from Sainz, tells his team that his tyres are still really good. He is staying out, for now. Another driver to pit is the second Alpine driver, Pierre Gasly. He has a slow stop that was caused by a sticky front-right tyre. He finds himself down in fifteenth. By lap twenty three, it's only both Red Bulls and both Mercedes that are yet to come in for fresh rubber.

Hamilton comes in only two laps later and returns to the track behind the Ferrari of Sainz. Within the next few laps, Verstappen, Perez and Russell also box. Back on track and the order is Verstappen, Sainz and Hamilton. Although, on lap twenty eight, with the help of fresh rubber and DRS, Hamilton passes Sainz for second. Russell, on the other hand, is also closing in on Sainz as well as reporting rain at turn five. He is quick to realise that this is just sweat in his helmet. On lap thirty five, Russell passes Sainz for the final podium spot.

Sainz, who is now in fourth, knows that Perez is the next car behind. He asks the Ferrari team to "find the best way to beat Checo." He (Sainz) is expected to pit again soon. His medium tyres are getting on a bit at over twenty laps old. Saying that, on lap forty two, he pits and comes back out in sixth behind countryman, Alonso. Back at the front, Verstappen's lead has now reached fifteen seconds with the Dutchman receiving a warning for track limits. He also complains about struggling under breaking and the tyres overheating. His gap to second place is large enough to cover a stop.

In the midfield, a battle is brewing for the final point paying positions. Hulkenberg pits again but has a slow stop due to an issue with the rear jack. It's an issue that the Haas team had earlier on in the race too. Has this taken the German driver out of the running for points?

Russell, who has also pitted again, finds himself behind Perez, but is out there setting purple laps, catching the Mexican in the process. He doesn't need to push too much, however, as Perez pits on lap fifty one and comes back out in fifth. Hamilton also pits from second. Down the start/finish straight, Alonso tries a move on Ocon who defends late, almost taking the Spaniard out of his home race. He gets through unscathed. With ten laps to go it's Verstappen who leads. Hamilton is in second with Russell and Perez in third and fourth. With Perez on fresher, soft tyres; could he catch Russell for the last podium spot?

Going back to the midfield battle and it's Ocon vs Tsunoda vs Zhou. Gasly isn't too far behind either. Heading towards turn one, Zhou has DRS on Tsunoda. They pull alongside one another into the turn but Tsunoda pushes Zhou onto the runoff which is something that the Alfa Romeo driver isn't too impressed about. Race control take a look at the incident and decide to send this one up to the stewards to investigate. The battle to watch though is Perez vs Russell with Perez taking a huge three second chunk out of the gap Russell has made on him.

Not far to go now and Verstappen has been shown the black and white flag for exceeding track limits one too many times. He seems confused though as to why he's been shown this warning. However, unsurprisingly, this doesn't stop the reigning World Champion from throwing in another fastest lap of the race. Every point counts at the end of the day. The Red Bull team are also coaching Verstappen's teammate, Perez, over the team radio. His attack on Russell seems to have slowed a little. He doesn't have many laps left to take the crucial third place away from the Mercedes driver.

Tsunoda, who is still running in the points, finally gets a verdict on his incident with Zhou. It's a five second time penalty for the Alpha Tauri driver. His chances of taking home points today has become non-existent with Gasly still lurking in the distance.

On the penultimate lap, Perez has gotten the gap to Russell down to three seconds. Unfortunately, it looks as if time is not on his side today with only one lap remaining. But up ahead, Verstappen is on his final lap and takes the chequered flag with a massive twenty two second gap to Hamilton. Russell holds off Perez for the final podium position.

It's a fifth place for Sainz who is followed home by the Aston Martins of Stroll and Alonso. Ocon is eighth. Tsunoda crosses the line in ninth but gets demoted to twelfth due to his five second penalty. Then comes Zhou and it's Gasly that inherits the final point. Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari leaves Spain pointless.

That was quite an entertaining race for the Spanish Grand Prix despite Verstappen's domination. There was plenty of on track action with battles all over the place that was certainly courtesy of the new track configuration.

As for the championship, Verstappen extends his lead over Perez even further. Surely, this is his championship to loose now? Can Perez break his unlucky streak and fight back? It's all to play for.

We now move onto Canada. A track that is known as the home of the "Wall of Champions" and that has delivered some fantastic racing in previous years. Until then, folks.

Race Report: Monaco Grand Prix 2023

Monaco, the most prestigious and historic race on the Formula One calendar, is back for another year. Red Bull driver and two-time World Champion; Max Verstappen, is the pole sitter, which surprisingly is his first in the principality. His teammate, Sergio Perez, suffered a big hit during the first qualifying session meaning it's a 20th place start for the Mexican. Not ideal when you're fighting for the championship.

With all the drivers ready and lined up on the grid, the lights go out and it's Verstappen who leads them into the first corner. Further along the lap, at Mirabeau, the Haas and Williams of Nico Hulkenberg and Logan Sargeant, make contact, resulting in a penalty for the former. Both drivers, however, continue on.

Lance Stroll in the Aston Martin reports damage over his team radio and pits for what he thinks is a puncture. Hulkenberg, Perez and Zhou Guanyu also follow him into the pits. This looks like a strategy call for the Red Bull of Perez. He switches to hards which indicates he is going to the end.

Up front Verstappen is still leading ahead of Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon, who had his best Monaco qualifying to date. Mercedes driver, George Russell, finds himself under investigation due to an "incorrect starting location." This is quickly dismissed when the stewards decide there is no need for further investigation.

Lap 11 and Carlos Sainz damages his Ferrari while hunting down Ocon. He's advised by the team to pit but carries on his way. A yellow flag is brought out in sector three which presumably is for the debris that has fallen off the Spaniard's car. Fellow countryman, Alonso, quickly comes onto the radio, worrying that he has caused himself a puncture while running over the debris. The Aston Martin team check the data and everything seems ok. Sainz gets shown the black and white flag for his tussle with Ocon.

At the back of the field, a train is starting to form with Sargeant at the forefront. Kevin Magnussen pulls off an overtake on the American driver into Mirabeau. Stroll and Perez follow him through.

Ferrari are still trying to get Sainz to box with no luck. Williams pit both of their drivers with tyre deg worse than predicted. Russell, who is yet to pit, has a struggle with his breaks with warnings appearing on his dash. He carries on. Further back, Perez's comeback is stalled while he's stuck behind Stroll and Magnussen.

Lap 26 and Sargeant is pitting for Williams, again. He has a left-rear puncture. Talk of rain starts to circulate over team radio with it being predicted to arrive by lap 35. In reality, no one seems to know.

Verstappen, who is still leading, is complaining of graining on his tyres. He is also catching the back markers. Ironically, this includes his teammate, Perez, who is still stuck behind the Aston Martin of Stroll. Verstappen is nearly 10 seconds ahead of 2nd place man, Alonso. However, the Spaniard, who is on the hard tyre compared to Verstappen's medium, is starting to come back at the reigning World Champion.

Lap 32 and many drivers are still yet to pit as they're waiting for either a safety car or the incoming rain. Lewis Hamilton's tyres seem to have had enough, so Mercedes call him in. Third place man, Ocon, also dives into the pit lane. It's a slow stop for the Alpine.

Timing screens show that Perez has finally passed Stroll. Replays differ, instead showing Verstappen lapping Stroll and Perez attempting to follow his teammate through, cutting the chicane in the process. He tells his team that Stroll pushed him off the track. He doesn't give the place back and finds himself noted by the stewards.

Ferrari finally get their way on lap 34 when Sainz pits. He comes out behind Ocon but ahead of Hamilton. However, the Ferrari driver seems furious with the team's strategy calls. Towards the back of the field, things go from bad to worse for Perez when he runs into the back of Kevin Magnussen's Haas, accusing the Dane of break testing him. However, this incident gives Stroll the opportunity to take his position back from Perez. Due to this, the stewards do not feel any need to investigate the earlier incident between the two. A few laps later and this time it's Stroll and Magnussen that come together. Magnussen cuts Stroll off, damaging the Aston Martin's front wing in the process.

Verstappen is still out there on the tyres he started the race on. He says over team radio that he's not sure how much longer he can stay on them. However, rain seems to be on horizon, so pitting him now would be pointless. But still, teams are unsure as to what will happen. Ferrari decide to bring in Leclerc and Alpine; Gasly, for their mandatory stops.

It's lap 50 and drivers are starting to see rain drops - specifically in turn 3. Despite this, McLaren pit Lando Norris for a set of hards. Russell tells his team that the rain is starting to come down harder. It quickly becomes visible on camera. Things are about to get spicy.

Valtteri Bottas and Stroll are the first drivers to gamble with the intermediate tyres. Zhou and Albon are quick to follow. Aston Martin bring Alonso in for his stop. Surprisingly, he switches to the mediums with hope that the extra grip on his new tyres will do the trick on the slippery track. Verstappen, who still is yet to come in, clips the barrier at Portier and tells the team he is ready for inters. Red Bull finally bring him in and get him back out without loosing the lead. Sainz, on slicks, goes off and finds himself slipping down the order. Ferrari pit him, alongside his teammate; Leclerc, for inters. Alonso is also back in for an appropriate change of tyre. However, it's bad news for his teammate. Stroll goes off at Portier and brings out the yellow flag. Unfortunately, he's unable to get going again and becomes the first retirement of the race.

With the rain still falling, Magnussen, on his way to the pits, hits the barrier at Rascasse. He get's going again and boxes for the full wet tyre. The first driver to do so. Lap 60 and it looks as if Perez's race is becoming more of a test session in order to aid his teammate who is leading the race. Red Bull fit the Mexican with full wets. However, these wets are a new tyre configuration and don't come out of tyre blankets.

Russell goes off at Sainte Devote and rejoins in an unsafe manner, getting tagged by Perez in the process. He is handed a 5-second penalty. Luckily for him, he is currently over 5 seconds ahead of the next driver; Charles Leclerc. Talking of penalties, Hulkenberg pits but doesn't complete his 5-second penalty that he was handed earlier on in the race. The stewards look into this and slap him with a further 10-second penalty.

By lap 65, the rain has eased and the track is bone dry in places. Alpha Tauri give their driver Yuki Tsunoda the hurry up and get a very vocal reply with the Japanese driver declaring "these brakes sucks!" Further forward and Ocon is still holding onto the final podium place. Verstappen's lead to Alonso has grown, with the Dutchman creating a gap that would give him a free pitstop. Pierre Gasly has a trip over the chicane and receives a black and white flag. As for tyre situations, some drivers are still sporting wets but the track seems more suited to inters right now.

Tsunoda's breaks are starting to get worse. He his passed by both McLaren drivers before going straight on at Mirabeau. He falls out of the points to 13th. Verstappen, with his monstrous lead, is pushing. He doesn't need to but he is. He clips the barrier but continues on. He soon laps Perez for a second time. The closest gap on track is between Gasly and Sainz in their fight for 7th. Just a few laps from the end now and Magnussen is back in the pits. He becomes the second driver to retire after Stroll.

The last lap and Verstappen is still in a league of his own. He crosses the finish line to win what his is only second ever win in Monaco. Alonso holds onto 2nd, his best finish this season. Ocon claims the final podium position despite Hamilton hunting him down in the latter stages. Russell, Leclerc, Gasly, Sainz, Norris and Oscar Piastri are the final point scorers.

It's true what they say, "anything can happen in Monaco." And, with only one week until the next race, we don't have to wait too long to watch more nail-biting racing! See you next week for the Spanish Grand Prix!