Why Hypercar drivers are going “blind” into Monza WEC qualifying

Hypercar drivers feel they are going “blind” into qualifying at the Monza 6 Hours, with heavy rain preventing any representative dry-weather running on Friday.

The final round of the 2026 World Endurance Championship got off to a cold and wet start, with persistent morning showers causing severe aquaplaning at Monza.

The opening practice session was red-flagged no fewer than three times, with several cars across both classes going off track and getting stranded in the gravel in treacherous conditions.

While the track sufficiently dried out in the afternoon to allow drivers to switch to slick rubber, the lap times remained an estimated five seconds off the expected pace.

Overnight rain is expected to leave the track damp again in FP3, meaning Saturday afternoon’s qualifying could be the first opportunity for the field to run on a completely dry track.

Genesis driver Mathieu Jaminet, who made light contact with the Porsche 911 GT3 of James Cottingham at Lesmo 2, explained how difficult it was for drivers to keep the car on track on Friday.

“Not ideal conditions out there. It’s very, very cold in Monza,” Jaminet told Motorsport.com.

“Obviously, we are in November. It’s been extremely wet in FP1. Conditions got better in FP2, but really, really tricky conditions out there.

“A lot of cars have been going off through the gravel and rejoining the track, us included.

“With the two Genesis, we had a couple of offs. So, it was a really tough day out there. I’m happy that the two cars are in one piece.

“It was not ideal to prepare for the race as we expect a dry race and a sunny day on Sunday and we’ve had a wet Friday.” 

Ferrari is one of the two manufacturers to have tested at Monza this year, having run both its current car and its 2027 prototype at the Italian venue at the end of July. 

However, the conditions in early November have been a significant departure from the height of summer, with temperatures dropping to a low of 8C on Friday morning.

Antonio Fuoco triggered the first red flag of the day as he went off at Parabolica while trying to assess the conditions. He was eventually able to bring the #50 499P back to the pits on his own power, but he admitted he had been caught out by the amount of standing water on track.

“Really tricky, more this morning than the afternoon,” he said. “Obviously, it was the first time here with the wet tyres and the conditions were really difficult.

“You can see with the new tarmac the rain is not really going away, so the conditions were quite tough.

“Already this morning I made a small mistake on the first lap, where I was a bit surprised by the aquaplaning, but from that moment on, I stepped back and tried to control the day.” 

Resurfacing and drainage

Monza underwent a complete resurfacing in 2024, a year after the WEC last visited the circuit.

While the new tarmac offers a significant amount of grip, drivers have suggested that its characteristics have also affected how water drains from the track.

“This tarmac is surprising because as soon as there is a little bit of rain, it seems to generate a lot of aquaplaning,” explained Jaminet. 

“But on the other hand, as soon as it stops raining and the cars are running around, very quickly from two laps, three laps, it drains the water super well and you gain two-three-four-five seconds in just two laps.

“A bit of characteristic [of the new tarmac], I have to say, but it still seems to have a pretty high grip, even in the wet somehow. So, let’s see in the dry.”

With no representative dry-weather data to draw on, drivers are effectively heading into qualifying without knowing how their cars will perform in the conditions expected for the race.

“It’s difficult to know now [where we stand] after two sessions that basically mean nothing,” said Ferrari’s Alessandro Pier Guidi. “It’s not easy to understand the pace; who is the quickest car, who has the best pace. 

“Actually, we are a bit blind, but we will try our best here to start everything.
“Probably the first dry session will be qualy, and most probably two of us [drivers who don’t take part in qualifying] will go into the race without any single lap on the dry. So, yeah, it will be quite unknown in the race.”

Jaminet added: “Totally blind. That’s an understatement. I think we go there more than blind.

“Obviously, if qualifying is the first dry session and we know the race is dry, we will try to split strategies on the car, split setups, split concepts and try to learn as much as we can in those 10-15 minutes. 

“Maybe we make it to the extra 10 minutes [in Hyperpole], because this is the only dry running we’re going to have to prepare for a six-hour race. So with zero data before.”

Pier Guidi echoed Jaminet’s sentiment, saying a wet Friday will also complicate the team’s preparations for Sunday’s finale.

“It’s a bit of a gamble in terms of set-up, because at the end you didn’t work a lot at solid zero [conditions]. 

“You just go blind in the race, and sometimes you are a bit more lucky and you have a good base, a perfect base. Sometimes you have to work more, so it will be quite challenging. 

“In the wet conditions, especially with a lot of water, we really struggle to put temperature on the tyre. The problem is that the [tyres] are not made for this temperature and with a lot of water, for a track that is mainly low energy. So, this is why I prefer to be in the dry.”

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— The Motorsport.com Team