Lilou Wadoux's frustrating ELMS campaign continues with Silverstone DNS
Lilou Wadoux’s frustrating 2026 European Le Mans Series campaign continued at Silverstone, as the Ferrari factory driver was once again denied the opportunity to take part in the race after the Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 was withdrawn following a heavy accident during Friday’s FP1 session.
Lilou Wadoux’s frustrating 2026 European Le Mans Series campaign took another disappointing turn at Silverstone, as the Ferrari factory driver was once again denied the opportunity to take part in the race after the Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 was withdrawn following a heavy accident involving teammate Custodio Toledo during Friday’s FP1 session.
The incident left the #50 Ferrari unrepairable at the circuit, bringing an early end to the team’s weekend despite a highly encouraging start and clear evidence that the car had the pace to fight at the front of the LMGT3 field. Wadoux had been one of the fastest drivers within the team throughout the season while simultaneously combining programmes in the ELMS, GT World Challenge Europe and IMSA, but her ELMS campaign has been repeatedly interrupted by circumstances beyond her control.
The French driver arrived at Silverstone still searching for a chance to properly rebuild a season that had promised considerably more after she and Richard Mille AF Corse finished as ELMS LMGT3 vice-champions in 2025, collecting multiple class victories along the way. Instead, 2026 has offered remarkably little opportunity for Wadoux to translate her pace into results.
She missed the opening round in Barcelona because of a calendar clash, while at Paul Ricard and Spa-Francorchamps early incidents involving her teammates prevented her from taking her scheduled racing stints. Imola provided the clearest indication of what might have been, with Wadoux producing an outstanding recovery drive that brought the Ferrari from ninth to third before a late fuel stop ultimately dropped the crew to eighth. At Spa, however, another accident during the opening stint left the Ferrari retired before Wadoux could even get behind the wheel, meaning that she had accumulated racing laps at only one of the first five rounds of the championship.
Silverstone initially appeared to offer a much-needed opportunity to change that pattern, with the #50 Ferrari immediately demonstrating front-running pace during the opening running. Wadoux set a 1:59.962 in the first test session on Thursday morning, placing the Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari second in the LMGT3 classification, and she remained the fastest driver from her team during the afternoon session as well. The encouraging pace continued into official practice on Friday, when Wadoux lowered her benchmark to a 1:59.669, again emerging as the quickest member of the #50 crew and placing third-fastest among the LMGT3 field.
With the Ferrari consistently running near the sharp end of the class, the weekend appeared to be developing into one of the strongest opportunities of the season for Wadoux to finally convert her pace into a podium. Instead, the weekend went sideways during the final stages of Friday's first practice session.
Toledo was at the wheel of the #50 Ferrari when the car suffered a heavy accident. According to the Stewards’ report, the Ferrari initially left the circuit at the fast Becketts section before running wide and losing control at Turn 4. When the car re-entered the track, it collided with the #99 AO Racing LMP2 Oreca, with both cars hitting the barriers on the right-hand side. The following #34 Intereuropol car was also caught up in the incident.
After reviewing the circumstances, the Stewards determined that the driver of car #50 Ferrari was responsible for causing the collision and imposed a suspended drive-through penalty.
The greater consequence, however, was not the sporting penalty but the damage sustained by the Ferrari. With the car beyond repair, Richard Mille AF Corse was forced to withdraw the #50 entry from the remainder of the Silverstone weekend, meaning Wadoux was once again left without any meaningful opportunity to compete.
Of the first five rounds, Imola remains the only event at which she has actually been able to take part in the race itself. Only one round remains on the 2026 European Le Mans Series calendar. Wadoux and Richard Mille AF Corse will head to Portimão for the season finale on October 8-10, where they will have one final opportunity to bring a difficult campaign to a more positive conclusion.
