Cadillac sweep front row in Le Mans 24 Hours qualifying
Cadillac locked out the front row in qualifying for the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race for the first time on Thursday with Britain's Alex Lynn securing pole position.
Lynn set a best time of three minutes 23.166 seconds in the number 12 Team Jota Cadillac at the Sarthe circuit with New Zealand's Earl Bamber putting the sister 38 car alongside and 0.167 slower.
Lynn shares his car with compatriot Will Stevens and Frenchman Norman Nato while Bamber's teammates are 2009 Formula One world champion Jenson Button and French four-times Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais.
"I can't tell you how much I wanted this," said Lynn, who missed out on pole last year by a mere 0.138, over the team radio. "One tenth last year hurt a lot.
"I'm truly honoured to be able to put in a performance like that in front of everyone and deliver for Cadillac in the way they deserve," he added after getting out of the car.
"This is a magical circuit and this is a special feeling. I can't describe it. We will enjoy this tonight, have a good sleep and re-set."
GM-owned Cadillac are the first American marque to take outright pole at Le Mans since Ford in 1967.
The number five Porsche Penske was third fastest, after threatening to take pole, with France's Julien Andlauer, Denmark's Michael Christensen and France's Mathieu Jaminet.
The number 15 BMW qualified in fourth place with Belgian Dries Vanthoor, Swiss-Italian Raffaele Marciello and Danish former F1 driver Kevin Magnussen.
Defending champions Ferrari, outright winners for the past two years, had Italian Antonio Fuoco, Denmark's Nicklas Nielsen and Spaniard Miguel Molina in seventh place in last year's winning car number 50.
The 93rd edition of the race starts on Saturday at 1600 local (1400GMT). REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Spaun reaches Oakmont turn with share of lead, McIlroy struggling
Jun 13, 2025; Oakmont, Pennsylvania, USA; Scottie Scheffler plays his shot from the tenth tee during the second round of the U.S. Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images REUTERS FILE PHOTO: Jun 11, 2025; Oakmont, Pennsylvania, USA; J.J. Spaun plays a shot on the 18th hole during a practice round for the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images/File Photo REUTERS OAKMONT, Pennsylvania - Overnight U.S. Open leader J.J. Spaun shook off his first bogey of the week to reach the midway mark of his second round level with Thriston Lawrence at Oakmont Country Club where Rory McIlroy was flirting with the projected cut line. Spaun, who began the day with a one-shot lead over South African Lawrence and as the only player yet to card a bogey, finally dropped a shot after missing the green at the par-four third hole to fall into a three way share of the lead. The unheralded American responded brilliantly as he drained a six-foot birdie at the next hole and added another at the par-three sixth for a two-shot lead before bogeying the seventh and reaching the turn at even par for the day. Lawrence, who went out in the third-to-last group off the 10th tee, was one under through his first two holes and was one of just seven players under par for the week. Sam Burns, who had an early tee time and began his day six shots back of Spaun, grabbed the second-round clubhouse lead after firing a five-under-par 65 that brought him to three under on the week at the year's third major. Burns ran into trouble at his final hole where an errant tee shot forced him to take a penalty drop at the par-four ninth but he left his next shot on the green and then curled in a 22-foot, left-to-right putt up the hill to save par. "Then that putt was, I don't know, six feet of break. Yeah, it was a nice one to make for sure," said Burns. Viktor Hovland, who went out from the back nine, chipped in from the greenside rough for eagle at the par-four 17th en route to a 68 that left him two shots off the clubhouse lead. Pre-tournament favourite Scottie Scheffler, fresh off the worst first-round score relative to par of his majors career, mixed four birdies and five bogeys for a one-over 71 that left him at four over on the week. "Today was I think with the way I was hitting it was easily a day I could have been going home and battled pretty hard to stay in there," said Scheffler. "I'm four-over. We'll see what the lead is after today, but around this golf course I don't think by any means I'm out of the tournament." McIlroy, who has been struggling to regain his form ever since completing the career Grand Slam at the Masters, double-bogeyed two of his first three holes and was at risk of missing the projected eight over cut line with 12 holes to play. Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, hoping to become the first back-to-back U.S. Open winner since Brooks Koepka in 2018, was also struggling to make a move early in his second round. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
F1 movie could not have been made without Hamilton, says director
Formula One F1 - Canadian Grand Prix - Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Quebec, Canada - June 12, 2025 Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton talks to press ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier F1 movie could not have been made without Hamilton, says director MONTREAL - Brad Pitt's soon-to-be-released Formula One movie could not have been made without Lewis Hamilton, director Joseph Kosinski said on Friday. The Apple Original film "F1", with action scenes filmed at race weekends with the Liberty Media-owned sport's cooperation, is due in cinemas and IMAX internationally on June 25 and in North America on June 27. Kosinski told reporters after an advance showing at the Canadian Grand Prix that the involvement of Hamilton, who joined Ferrari this season after winning six of his seven titles at Mercedes, had been key. The 40-year-old Briton is credited as a co-producer while his Dawn Apollo production company was also involved. Kosinski, who directed the Hit 'Top Gun: Maverick', explained how Hamilton was the first person he reached out to with the idea of a movie. "I sent him an email and just said 'I want to tell the story in your world. I want to make it as authentic as possible. Will you help me?'," he said. "And luckily Lewis said yes... He had actually talked to me earlier about playing a role in 'Top Gun Maverick'. So that's how I knew Lewis." Hamilton, who had to turn down a part in that Tom Cruise film because of his racing commitments, acted as go-between with Formula One and as a consultant advising on technical accuracy and authenticity. He was also a driver advisor to Pitt and co-star Damson Idris. "At Hungary for instance, he said, 'If Brad's going to let someone pass during a blue flag and he wants it to be as tight as possible, he's going to only do that at turn six'," recalled Kosinski. "That kind of detail... from a seven-time world champion who lives and breathes this world every day, I couldn't have gotten that from anywhere else." Hamilton also contributed to the story and served as an inspiration for one scene where Pitt's character talks about why he races in spiritual terms. "So his involvement has been amazing. We couldn't make the film without him." Producer Jerry Bruckheimer referred to Hamilton's insistence of authenticity also in the sound of the film, citing an example at Silverstone where the Briton had pointed out a corner was taken in second gear but the audio was of fourth gear. "It's that kind of detail that went into this," he said. Hamilton has said Pitt's speed is real and the movie will be the most authentic racing film yet. Formula One is hoping the movie cements the appeal of the Netflix docu-series 'Drive to Survive' that has boosted Formula One's popularity and growth worldwide and particularly in the key U.S. market. "I think there's this perception that 'Drive to Survive' turned America onto F1 but I think there's just so many more people out there that don't know anything about it," said Kosinski. "So there's a lot of potential still there." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.


CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
F1 movie could not have been made without Hamilton, says director
MONTREAL :Brad Pitt's soon-to-be-released Formula One movie could not have been made without Lewis Hamilton, director Joseph Kosinski said on Friday. The Apple Original film "F1", with action scenes filmed at race weekends with the Liberty Media-owned sport's cooperation, is due in cinemas and IMAX internationally on June 25 and in North America on June 27. Kosinski told reporters after an advance showing at the Canadian Grand Prix that the involvement of Hamilton, who joined Ferrari this season after winning six of his seven titles at Mercedes, had been key. The 40-year-old Briton is credited as a co-producer while his Dawn Apollo production company was also involved. Kosinski, who directed the Hit 'Top Gun: Maverick', explained how Hamilton was the first person he reached out to with the idea of a movie. "I sent him an email and just said 'I want to tell the story in your world. I want to make it as authentic as possible. Will you help me?'," he said. "And luckily Lewis said yes... He had actually talked to me earlier about playing a role in 'Top Gun Maverick'. So that's how I knew Lewis." Hamilton, who had to turn down a part in that Tom Cruise film because of his racing commitments, acted as go-between with Formula One and as a consultant advising on technical accuracy and authenticity. He was also a driver advisor to Pitt and co-star Damson Idris. "At Hungary for instance, he said, 'If Brad's going to let someone pass during a blue flag and he wants it to be as tight as possible, he's going to only do that at turn six'," recalled Kosinski. "That kind of detail... from a seven-time world champion who lives and breathes this world every day, I couldn't have gotten that from anywhere else." Hamilton also contributed to the story and served as an inspiration for one scene where Pitt's character talks about why he races in spiritual terms. "So his involvement has been amazing. We couldn't make the film without him." Producer Jerry Bruckheimer referred to Hamilton's insistence of authenticity also in the sound of the film, citing an example at Silverstone where the Briton had pointed out a corner was taken in second gear but the audio was of fourth gear. "It's that kind of detail that went into this," he said. Hamilton has said Pitt's speed is real and the movie will be the most authentic racing film yet. Formula One is hoping the movie cements the appeal of the Netflix docu-series 'Drive to Survive' that has boosted Formula One's popularity and growth worldwide and particularly in the key U.S. market. "I think there's this perception that 'Drive to Survive' turned America onto F1 but I think there's just so many more people out there that don't know anything about it," said Kosinski.