24 Hours of Le Mans: More opinions on the exciting race

The 2026 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans was a real thriller. In the end, Toyota with the TR010 Hybrid of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries won by a narrow margin of less than eleven seconds against the BMW M Hybrid V8 of Robin Frijns, René Rast and Sheldon van der Linde. Behind the second Toyota, the Cadillac V-Series.R of Norman Nato, Will Stevens and Louis Delétraz finished in fourth position.

Kamui Kobayashi - winner in the Toyota TR010 Hybrid

"It was a big challenge for us, but we never gave up. The car with starting number 7 has finished second many times at Le Mans, but now we have finally achieved our second victory. We've waited so long for this success and it's a fantastic feeling. The whole week wasn't easy and the race didn't go smoothly either. We had a puncture early on, which made things difficult for us. But Mike, Nyck, our engineers and our pit crew did a great job. It was an incredible day. Thanks to everyone who made this possible - including the fans who make this event so special."

René Rast - Second place in the BMW M Hybrid

"It's a bittersweet podium. On the one hand, it's a great achievement to be on the podium at Le Mans. The team and we as drivers did everything right, I would say. But unfortunately Le Mans didn't pick us as winners this time. We were in the lead for most of the race, but the last safety car threw our strategy out the window a little. And when you're so close to victory, you obviously want to win."

Brendon Hartley - third place in the Toyota TR010 Hybrid

"It was a race with ups and downs, as usual here. We led for a long time and had a big lead at times - before the safety car phase. We were both lucky and unlucky. In the end, it wasn't enough for our car. We fought hard right to the end and my team-mates did a fantastic job. I'm really happy for the whole team, for the crew of car number 7 and for the drivers. It's an emotional moment."

Will Stevens - fourth place in the Cadillac V-Series.R

"It's pretty disappointing to only finish fourth. To be honest, we deserved more. With our pace, we should have at least been on the podium. We are better than last year, which is positive. But we had higher expectations, so of course we are disappointed. But we'll come back stronger next year."

James Calado - fifth place in the Ferrari 499P

"We had hopes and I'm disappointed - but actually I should be happy because we knew we would struggle with race pace. We did everything we could. We finished fifth, but we still have a lot of work to do. We have to keep working hard, stay positive and see what we can achieve in Brazil - another track that is difficult for us."