Sebastien Buemi has pinpointed victory for the No. 8 Toyota TR010 Hybrid in Fuji as being the key moment in enabling him, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa to secure the FIA World Endurance Championship drivers’ title.
A gamble on strategy by not changing tires and short fuelling after a late safety car propelled the Toyota crew ahead of the two Alpine A424s that had dominated prior to that point to take a crucial victory in Japan.
The No. 8 car then won again at the following round at Barcelona to arrive at the Monza season finale with one hand on the title as only the sister No. 7 crew of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries could prevent them from taking the crown.
The No. 8 car then won again at the following round at Barcelona to arrive at the Monza season finale with one hand on the title as only the sister No. 7 crew of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries could prevent them from taking the crown.
Buemi, Hartley and Hirakawa enjoyed a 17-point lead going into the weekend meaning the No. 7 machine needed to finish first or second to stand any chance of claiming the spoils, but Toyota was never a frontrunner at Monza with the No. 8 car ultimately heading the sister machine home in 10th and 11th places and a lap down on the leaders to secure the title.
“I think that win in Fuji put us really in championship contention and then we had that amazing race in Barcelona,” said Buemi, who — like Hartley — is now a five-time WEC champion.
“Bit sad not being able to fight today, we were just too slow after dominating Barcelona.
“Ultimately we knew coming here we had to beat Car 7 and we had a decent lead but you never know.
“You never know because if there’s a VSC or Full-Course Yellow what can happen.”
Buemi said the latest championship victory against a packed Hypercar field comprising seven rival manufacturers meant this title was extra special.
“It’s been amazing for the team having to do the new car and coming here and really winning in front of everyone,” he added.
“This time nobody can say we won alone so it’s an amazing feeling.”
Hartley added that he was pleased with the way the trio bounced back from the disappointment of missing out on 24 Hours of Le Mans success to the No. 7 Toyota.
“Le Mans was real mixed emotions — when you have the chance to win Le Mans and it slips through the fingers, it’s hard to take,” he said.
“We’re really happy for the team we managed to win Le Mans but I took it a bit personally because it was the stint I was in the car that I took a bit longer to get by the Cadillac, which allowed the sister car to jump us in the pit sequence.
“I took responsibility and I’m really proud of how the three of us fought back. This last part of the season I felt like we were really strong against the sister car.
“We just had to beat the sister car today and we covered them the whole time and we finished in front so it’s a great feeling to finish like that and it brings confidence going into next year.”
Toyota Racing technical director David Floury was disappointed there was “no suspense” for the title battle as it was effectively decided ahead of the Monza race because of the TR010’s lack of pace.
“It was a bid sad to come here and to think that except exceptional conditions or something like in Fuji where you can really make a gamble and it pays off, otherwise the fight between our two crews was going to be difficult,” he said. “It’s a bit sad to finish such a season in this way.”
Floury described the race as “boring” for Toyota and that it was “painful” to watch.
“Today we had no race basically,” he said. “We were not invited to be part of it.
“But tonight what prevails after this frustrating race is the happiness and pride for all the team members who worked very hard after 2025 to bounce back and be in that position.”
