6 Hours of Monza: Free Practice - Wet start for TOYOTA RACING’s season finale

TOYOTA RACING faced rain and changing conditions when practice began for the eighth and final round of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season, the 6 Hours of Monza.

After securing the manufacturers’ title with a one-two victory in Barcelona last month, one of the team’s crews will win the drivers’ World Championship in Sunday’s season finale in Italy.

Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa – who lead by 17 points and will guarantee the title by finishing the race in the top five – were 12th fastest on Friday in their #8 TR010 HYBRID. Le Mans winners Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries need a combination of a top two finish and an off day for their team-mates to take the crown. The #7 TR010 HYBRID crew ended the day in 17th.

Action began in persistent rain with air temperatures around 10°C, with the team focusing on mechanical and aerodynamic set-ups in a session interrupted by three red flags. Ryō – back on track after scoring points on his Formula 1 race debut in the Mexican Grand Prix – set the best lap for the #8 to finish in 11th place, while the #7 was 14th after Kamui’s fastest lap.

Between the two sessions, engineers used data from first practice to optimise settings for the specific demands of Monza, known as the Temple of Speed for its long straights. As well as high top speeds, the track also places significant demand on the brakes and suspension in the slower chicanes.

Rain continued into the afternoon but stopped early in second practice. Track conditions improved during a trouble-free session, allowing slick tyres to be fitted for the final 15 minutes. Ryō’s late lap secured 12th place for the #8, while Mike, who is participating in his last WEC event before retirement, also set his quickest time as the track dried in the closing minutes, as the #7 finished in 17th place.

There is a reduced risk of rain on Saturday, which starts with final practice in the morning prior to qualifying and Hyperpole at 3pm for the Hypercars. Dry conditions are also forecast for Sunday, when the 6 Hours of Monza begins at 11am CET.

Quotes:

Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car #7): “They were difficult conditions for us, and we seem to be lacking a bit of pace. So it’s a disappointing start but we still have one more practice session to go in the morning and we will do our best to find more performance.”

Mike Conway (Driver, car #7): “It’s good to be back on this track after a few years away. It’s a cool place. But it was a tricky day in mixed conditions. I think we are still struggling in some conditions. We’ll try to work on what we can and aim to be quicker tomorrow.”

Nyck de Vries (Driver, car #7): “Obviously conditions were challenging, especially in first practice. It’s a pity we haven’t been able to do proper laps in the dry. We’re expecting the race to be dry, so it would have been nice to have a better read on where we are ahead of the race.”

Sébastien Buemi (Driver, car #8): “It’s nice to be back at Monza. It has changed a lot since we last raced here in 2023, with new asphalt and new kerbs. We suffered a bit in the wet today but it’s good learning because we still don’t have much experience with these wet tyres. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”

Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8): “It was a clean day of running but I wouldn’t say we are feeling fully sorted for a dry race. Some of our competitors have tested here and look to be a step ahead. We are lacking a bit of pace so hopefully we get some dry running tomorrow before the race to work on that.”

Ryō Hirakawa (Driver, car #8): “It was tricky, especially the first session when there was a lot of water on track. We optimised the car for FP2, which gave us slightly better pace and a better feeling in the car. I am happy with the work we did. We have built a bit of positive momentum, but the leading cars are quite fast. We’ll just focus on what we can do for qualifying tomorrow.”

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