GTWC: Lilou Wadoux shines in qualifying, AF Corse recovers to top-ten at Portimão
Lilou Wadoux completed the 2026 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup season with a top-ten finish at Portimão, recovering from being hit in an early-race collision. Wadoux was the star of the show in qualifying, delivering an outstanding lap that placed the Ferrari second overall and fastest in the Pro class in Q3.
Lilou Wadoux completed the 2026 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup season with a top-ten finish at Portimão, recovering from an early-race collision that dropped the #50 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 almost 30 positions.
Wadoux was the star of the show in qualifying, delivering an outstanding lap that placed the Ferrari second overall and fastest in the Pro class in Q3 and bringing the team into the top five overall on the grid. Despite the early setback, the trio fought back through the field to finish 10th overall and sixth in Pro, wrapping up a promising campaign in Wadoux's first season competing in the championship's highly competitive Pro class.
The Portimão finale marked the end of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance serie, with Wadoux contesting competing in the Ferrari factory-supported AF Corse squad, sharing the #50 Ferrari 296 GT3 with Arthur Leclerc and Sean Gelael for most of the season. The French driver repeatedly demonstrated her speed against a field featuring more than 60 cars and some of the world's leading GT3 competitors.
Although the trio showed considerable potential, flashes of pace were not always rewarded with the results their performances suggested they could achieve. For the final round in Portugal, Albert Costa joined Wadoux and Leclerc in a revised driver line-up, with the team looking to end the season on a positive note.
Friday morning's opening practice session provided the first opportunity for the #50 crew to assess its pace around the demanding Algarve circuit. The Ferrari recorded a 1:43.046, placing 14th in class as the team began preparations for the final three-hour race of the season.
Qualifying took place under the lights on Friday evening, with Costa taking responsibility for Q1. The Spaniard set a 1:42.875, placing 11th in Pro and 14th overall before handing the car to Leclerc for the second segment. The Monegasque improved, recording a 1:42.167 to move the Ferrari into fourth overall and fourth in the Pro class.
Wadoux then took over for Q3 and produced a superb lap: the Frenchwoman clocked a 1:41.795 to top the Pro class and finish second overall, more than two tenths of a second faster than Max Verstappen. Her performance elevated the #50 Ferrari to fifth overall on combined times, giving the AF Corse crew a strong starting position for Saturday's finale and highlighting once again Wadoux's talent at the highest levels of GT3 competition.
Saturday afternoon brought the final three-hour race of the season, with Wadoux selected to start the #50 Ferrari after her impressive qualifying performance. However, the team faced an additional challenge before the lights went out, as BoP adjustments added 15kg to the Ferrari, influencing its race pace against its rivals.
With 61 cars charging towards Turn 1 at the start, Wadoux positioned the Ferrari brilliantly on the inside line and negotiated the opening corners cleanly. She then went around the outside to claim fourth place, making an excellent start and immediately putting herself within reach of the leading trio. The Frenchwoman began attacking Maximilian Götz's Mercedes for third while remaining close to the cars ahead.
Wadoux quickly settled into a consistent rhythm, lapping in the 1:44s and holding fourth overall over the opening laps. Maini began closing in with the #46 HRT Ford, but the Ferrari driver responded with consistent laps around 1:44.6 to maintain control of her position.
The first interruption came on lap 12, when a Full Course Yellow neutralised the race. Unfortunately, Wadoux lost ground at the restart as Maini and Engel both found a way past, dropping the Ferrari to sixth. Worse was to follow shortly afterwards, when Jordan Pepper in the #32 Team WRT BMW outbraked himself into the hairpin and drove into the rear of the #50 Ferrari, sending Wadoux into a spin.
The impact proved costly, dropping the AF Corse entry to 30th overall and 15th in the Pro class. Pepper was handed a drive-through penalty for causing the collision, but Wadoux was now left with a substantial recovery task after losing almost 30 positions through no fault of her own.
The Frenchwoman immediately set about regaining ground. Initially caught in the congested midfield, she worked her way past the Paradine BMW of Leung on lap 20 before clearing Soderström's Aston Martin and Reicher's Audi. Those moves brought the Ferrari back to 28th overall and helped Wadoux recover a position in the Pro class.
She continued pushing through the pack, eventually climbing to 13th in Pro as the race approached its first pit window. Overtaking remained difficult in the tightly grouped field, but Wadoux made steady progress and, after the first hour, had brought the Ferrari close to the overall top 20 and back to ninth in Pro, ahead of Pepper once the BMW driver had served his penalty.
Wadoux pitted on lap 33 from ninth in class, handing the car to Costa for the middle stint. The Spaniard rejoined 23rd overall and 13th in Pro following the pit cycle, beginning his run with laps in the 1:45s.
The race was soon interrupted again when the Boutsen VDS Porsche became stranded at Turn 1, triggering another Full Course Yellow. Racing resumed on lap 40, with Costa holding off the #555 CSA Racing McLaren while working to close the gap to the sister #51 AF Corse Ferrari of Lorenzo Ferrari. Over the following laps, Costa steadily halved the deficit and moved to within a second by lap 50.
A collision between the #54 Dinamic Porsche of Whiteside and the #9 Pure Rxcing entry of Malikhin then sent both cars into the gravel and brought out the safety car. With one hour and 23 minutes remaining, the neutralisation offered Costa another opportunity to close in on the cars ahead. He had already passed Ferrari as the safety car was about to be deployed, moving up to 11th in Pro and 18th overall.
The race resumed with one hour and 11 minutes remaining, and Costa continued his charge. He passed Krognes and Weerts before engaging in a four-wide battle on lap 58, demonstrating the determination required to fight back through such a competitive field. The Spaniard climbed to ninth in Pro and 16th overall, although he remained surrounded by a train of cars battling for position.
Maintaining a consistent pace in the 1:45s, Costa eventually pitted on lap 64 after a very solid recovery stint, handing the Ferrari over to Leclerc for the final run to the chequered flag.
By then, darkness had settled over the Algarve circuit, setting the stage for a demanding final stint under the lights. Leclerc initially ran 12th in Pro as the pit cycle continued, but further stops ahead allowed him to climb to sixth in class and 11th overall while maintaining consistent lap times around 1:45.5. When the #98 ROWE Racing BMW pitted, the Ferrari moved back into the overall top ten and fifth in Pro on lap 74.
Another Full Course Yellow followed with 34 minutes remaining after the #98 Lamborghini stopped in the runoff and the #46 WRT BMW went into the gravel in a separate incident. When the race returned to green with 22 minutes left, Leclerc found himself back in the fight among the leading ten cars.
The closing stages proved particularly intense as Van der Linde and Mosca battled for position and looked for a way past the #50 Ferrari. Leclerc defended firmly through a side-by-side fight, retaining his position before turning his attention to Aurélien Panis in the #6 GetSpeed Mercedes.
However, the pressure continued to build as Auer and Verstappen closed in behind. Leclerc ran slightly wide and dropped to 11th overall and sixth in Pro, but he quickly found an opportunity to fight back. As Verstappen went side-by-side with Fleming's McLaren on the main straight, Leclerc committed to a three-wide move into Turn 1, going around the outside and passing two cars in a single manoeuvre.
It was an impressive move that brought the Ferrari back into the overall top ten with just three minutes remaining. Verstappen subsequently fought back and regained the position, but Leclerc remained close behind as the final laps unfolded.
After an eventful closing stint, the #50 AF Corse Ferrari crossed the line 10th overall and sixth in the Pro class. The result represented a remarkable recovery for Wadoux, Leclerc and Costa after the early incident had dropped them almost 30 positions.
The Portimão weekend offered another demonstration of Wadoux's ability to compete at the front of one of the world's most competitive GT3 championships, with her Q3 performance being the highlight of the weekend.
The French driver concludes her first season in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup's Pro class with 11 points in the overall classification.
