Federer waves the flag as Porsche takes lead at Le Mans
June 14 (Reuters) - Swiss tennis great Roger Federer waved the French flag to get the 93rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans underway on Saturday, with Porsche immediately seizing the lead from Cadillac.
Cadillac had swept the front row in Thursday's qualifying but any advantage was short-lived as Porsche Penske's Julien Andlauer slipstreamed into the lead from third on the grid before the first chicane on the opening lap.
The race at the Sarthe circuit in north-west France features 62 cars shared by 186 drivers from 34 countries and is the fourth round of the World Endurance Championship, with 21 hypercars in the battle for overall victory.
Organisers have put the total weekend attendance at more than 300,000 spectators.
Ferrari have won the last two editions and will be able to keep the trophy at their Maranello factory if they complete a hat-trick.
After a French air force flypast, retired 20-time grand slam winner Federer waved the flag to release the field in a rolling start for a race through the night and into Sunday afternoon.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Hamilton hails 'world class' Ferrari performance
SPIELBERG, Austria, June 28 (Reuters) - Lewis Hamilton hailed a 'world class' performance by Ferrari in Austrian Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday after Charles Leclerc took second place on the starting grid and he followed up in fourth. The session equalled Ferrari's best of the season in Monaco, even if Leclerc was still more than half a second slower than McLaren's pole-sitter Lando Norris. McLaren's championship leader Oscar Piastri will start third. "It's a fantastic result. The team have worked really hard back at the factory to bring us a new floor this weekend," seven-times world champion Hamilton, who joined Ferrari this season from Mercedes, told Sky Sports television. "My last lap wasn't perfect. I think if I'd finished it, I would have been second, so there are lots of positives to take out from that session. "Also, I think it's been the best day operationally, particularly through qualifying. How the team operated. Just timings, the information we're getting in terms of traffic and positioning on track, I think was really the best. It was proper world class." Ferrari have yet to win a grand prix this season, although Hamilton won a sprint race in China in March, and the pressure has been mounting on team boss Fred Vasseur as their hopes of a first title since 2008 recede. Hamilton has yet to finish higher than fourth in a regular grand prix for Ferrari and has now gone 12 races without a podium. The team, runners-up last year, are now third overall and behind McLaren and Mercedes. "Ultimately we continue to pull together and protect each other and block out all the noise, and just keep our heads down," said Hamilton. "It's an incredible team. I'm working with Fred, we're working to put all the pieces of the puzzle in the right place, but step by step. It can't be done in one go. "We've just got to keep working on it but I'm really happy with the progress we are making."
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Lewis Hamilton warns Charles Leclerc as Ferrari learn their Austrian GP fate
Ferrari brought a floor upgrade to the Austrian Grand Prix which Lewis Hamilton wasn't sure would work, but qualifying in Spielberg suggested the Italians have found more pace Lewis Hamilton was delighted with "a fantastic result" as Ferrari's latest upgrades worked a treat in qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix. Team-mate Charles Leclerc was only beaten by pole-sitter Lando Norris while Hamilton also starred to make it two Ferraris in the top four. It was the 40-year-old's best Grand Prix qualifying result of the year so far and a performance he was delighted with, even if he felt there was more on the table. Hamilton smiled: It's a fantastic result. The team have worked hard to bring us a new floor this weekend. "Considering yesterday [in practice] we were a lot further off, six or nine tenths off, it's nice to be much closer and on the second row, which is really fantastic. My last lap wasn't perfect and I think I could have been second, so there's lots of positives to take out of that. "We continue to pull together to protect each other and block out all the noise. It's an incredible team and we're working to put all the pieces of the puzzle in the right place. I'm really really happy with the progress we're making." He was less than one tenth of a second slower than Leclerc and the seven-time F1 champion thinks he's starting to level the playing field. He said: "I'm edging closer in terms of performance of Charles, who's really, really used to the car. He hardly ever changes anything, so that's really positive. "Also, I had more time in the lap. I was nearly three tenths up going into turn six and I had a massive snap going in, and then I came across the line six tenths down. So that would have put me second." But Hamilton refused to say whether he felt he could convert it into a maiden Ferrari podium, having targeted that before this season only to suffer on race day. He smirked: "Every race I've been saying I can't wait to get that first podium, so I'm not going to say that today! I'll just stay quiet and try to do a better job tomorrow." Like Hamilton, Leclerc has been critical of Ferrari's car this season but seemed much happier with the upgrades introduced this weekend. He said: "Monaco was the last time we started on the front row and it's been a difficult season overall, but the team have kept pushing and we brought some new parts this weekend which for sure made a difference. "If you look at the gaps, everybody is super close so it's a big thanks to the team. I'm happy with the lap and we know that we normally have a better car during the race than in qualifying so, hopefully, we can put a bit more pressure on the McLarens." "The upgrades definitely helped us today. How much is difficult to know but, when you see how fine the margins were – apart from Lando – it definitely helped us to get to the front row. We did a great job and have worked very well this weekend. I'll do everything I can to make the McLarens' lives as tough as possible."
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Catalans cruise past Giants to end losing streak
Betfred Super LeagueCatalans Dragons (20) 32Tries: Darrelatour, Keary, Tomkins, Martin, Da Costa Goals: Makinson 6Huddersfield Giants 0 Struggling Catalans Dragons ended a seven-match losing streak with a thumping win over Huddersfield was a first success for interim head coach Joel Tomkins, and his brother Sam played a key role in temperatures of over 38C (100F) in Darrelatour, Luke Keary and Tomkins scored the first-half tries, with two more added after the interval from Clement Martin and Alrix Da Costa in Catalans' biggest victory of the French side stay ninth in Super League, while Huddersfield remain second bottom in 11th after a 14th defeat in 16 games in the competition this season. More to follow. Catalans Dragons: Tomkins; Cotric, Martin, Darrelatour, Makinson; Keary, Rouge; Navarrete, Da Costa, Maria, Sironen, Seguier, Pangai Jr, Bousquet, Dezaria, Giants: Flanagan; Gagai, Halsall, Milne, Jake Bibby; Lolohea, Frawley; King, Woolford, Powell, Rushton, Greenwood, Golding, English, Burgess, Rush. Referee: Cameron Worsley.
