Defeated Toyota Gazoo Racing drivers Sebastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley congratulated Ferrari for its historic victory at the 2023 Le Mans 24 Hours on Sunday after a mistake by teammate Ryo Hirakawa on the final stint of the race, ended his team a sixth consecutive victory at Circuit de la Sarthe.
Inadvertently or not, Toyota driver team principal Kamui Kobayashi did not acknowledge their rivals in his post-race analysis, and neither did the errant Hirakawa, for that matter. But after an epic 81st edition of the event that lived up to its billing as the Race of the Century.
However, Buemi did: Congratulations to Ferrari for their victory. They were very impressive from qualifying onwards. Now we will look towards the World Championship and work hard to come back stronger in the next races.”
As for the race, the Swiss ace reflected: “It was a tough race. At some point, it was not easy just to stay on track due to the changing conditions early in the race. We didn’t have the ultimate pace to win but we gave it our best shot and we pushed them all the way.
“Ferrari were faster than us, so we had to push very hard to stay with them and that meant taking no margin. We tried everything to win so we have no regrets.”
Echoing his Toyota Gazoo Racing teammate, Hartley said: “Right now, it feels like we came so close but were so far away. Big congratulations to Ferrari. They were quicker, and they didn’t make mistakes, so well done to them.”
Hartley: Toyota told Ryo to go full risk and try to close the gap
The New Zealander added: “I’m feeling a lot of emotions right now. We gave it our all and we had nothing left. We didn’t have the outright performance, but we were still there, putting pressure on Ferrari all the way through.
“For a moment it was getting exciting at the end when the conditions came back to us a bit and we started to close the gap. Ryo was in the most difficult situation. He was told to go full risk and try to close the gap so there’s no blame,” insisted Hartley.
But in truth, even for armchair enthusiasts watching the drama unfold, it was clear Buemi’s or Hartley’s experience as well as pace, based on the quality and pace of their earlier stints, might’ve been the smarter options for the final vital shift on the car today.
Kobayashi, whose own #7 Toyota did not finish the race summed up his 2023 Le Mans: “Unfortunately, the centenary Le Mans was not our race. We had bad luck with car #7 when I was driving. It’s hard to believe what happened.
“During a slow zone procedure, a car ahead braked and I reacted to avoid a penalty, but I was hit from behind. It damaged the car and there was no solution to get back to the garage. That was tough for us because I think we had done a strong job up to then.”
Hirakawa: I’ll learn from my mistake and come back stronger
“Car #8 fought as hard as possible until the end and finished second,” added Kobayashi of the sister car: “As a team, we did everything we could, we got the maximum performance from the car and the drivers gave everything. We really fought hard to win this centenary Le Mans and everyone enjoyed working together to try to get the victory.
“We need to come back stronger; that’s how we deal with disappointments. Thank you to everyone who has supported me. We will fight again together soon,” concluded the team boss and driver.
Final word to Hirakawa: “First of all thanks to Sébastien and Brendon for their hard work and big effort. Thank you also for the team who did a fantastic job all week, and to all our supporters for their encouragement. It was very hard to challenge Ferrari but we never gave up hope and we tried everything to win Le Mans again.
“We need to analyse this race and find areas to improve. Personally, I will learn from my mistake and come back stronger. There are three races remaining in the season so we will focus on the World Championship, that’s all we can do right now,” concluded the Japanese driver.
After Round 4 of the 2023 World Endurance Championship at Le Mans today, Toyota still lead the standings heading to Monza for Ferrari’s home race, despite the Italian team’s double-points haul (which Le Mans awards) on the day, the Japanese team on 126 points lead them by 18 in the standings.
