Ferrari showcased its championship credentials at the World Endurance Championship's official Prologue test at Imola, sweeping the top three positions in the Hypercar class ahead of this weekend's season opener.
Antonio Fuoco delivered the standout performance, posting a blistering lap time of 1m31.177s in the factory #50 Ferrari 499P just 30 minutes into the afternoon session. His effort eclipsed Antonio Giovinazzi's morning benchmark by four tenths of a second, establishing Ferrari's dominance at the Italian circuit.
Robert Kubica secured second place in the satellite #83 AF Corse entry, while Giovinazzi completed Ferrari's podium lockout. The trio had already demonstrated their pace during the morning session and maintained their advantage despite challenging weather conditions that hit the circuit.
Light rain arrived just one hour after the afternoon session commenced, followed by a second downpour that prevented any meaningful improvements. Despite the track gradually drying toward day's end, no driver could challenge Ferrari's stranglehold on the top positions.
BMW emerged as Ferrari's closest challenger during the prologue, with Robin Frijns finishing fourth in the #20 M Hybrid V8, though still half a second adrift of Fuoco's pace. The gap represented a significant improvement from the morning session, when Ferrari had enjoyed a commanding one-second advantage over their rivals.
Alpine demonstrated competitive form throughout both sessions, with Jules Gounon and Charles Milesi securing fifth and sixth positions respectively, separated by just four thousandths of a second. Their consistent pace suggests the French manufacturer could pose a threat during the race weekend.
Only six cars managed to break into the 1m31s bracket, highlighting Ferrari's exceptional performance. Loic Duval achieved the best result for Peugeot in seventh place with the 9X8 LMH, though he fell a tenth short of joining the sub-1m32s club.
Toyota endured a subdued day with its rebranded and heavily-revised TR010, as Sebastien Buemi led the Japanese manufacturer's charge in ninth place aboard the #8 car. The sister #7 entry could only manage 11th position, with the #93 Peugeot splitting the two Toyota LMH prototypes.
The session was disrupted by three red flag periods, with the most significant incident involving Marco Sorensen's heavy crash in the #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie. The V12-powered LMH sustained extensive damage that prevented any repair work during the test day.
Additional interruptions included an electrical network issue that triggered a second red flag, and Jose Maria Lopez spinning the #87 Lexus RC F GT3 at Acque Minerali. Multiple full-course yellow periods were also deployed for various incidents, including debris at Variante Alta.
While Aston Martin's Hypercar program suffered a setback, the British manufacturer found success in the LMGT3 category. The contrasting fortunes highlight the unpredictable nature of endurance racing as teams prepare for the championship's opening round.
Newcomer Genesis struggled in their debut appearance, with both GMR-001 prototypes finishing 2.5 seconds off Ferrari's pace at the bottom of the timesheets. The South Korean manufacturer faces significant work ahead of their first competitive WEC outing.
Ferrari's commanding performance at Imola sets high expectations as the reigning champions begin their title defense. The Italian manufacturer's pace advantage suggests they will be the team to beat when the 2026 WEC season officially begins this weekend.