Podium for the #59 Crew at the WEC Season Opener in Qatar

United Autosports and McLaren Automotive came out swinging at the opening round of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship in Qatar this week. The team topped the timesheets in FP3, added a second front row lock out to their LMGT3 track record - making WEC history in the process – collectively led 108 of 287 laps on race day, and celebrated second place on the podium at Lusail International Circuit with just 0.493 seconds between the #59 crew and victory.

On Thursday afternoon, James Cottingham (#59) posted P3 in the 12-minute LMGT3 Qualifying session, putting both McLarens through to the first Hyperpole shootout of the year. As per the new regulations, the Silver drivers then took over, with 10 minutes to set the top 10 on the grid. Sean Gelael stormed to pole position in the #95 McLaren, followed by Sebastien Baud (#59) in second place – securing a second consecutive WEC front row lock out for United Autosports and setting history as the first LMGT3 team to do so.

The papaya and black duo largely stayed out of trouble as the race surged on, carefully managing tyres, fuel and energy to bank strategic gains for the final throes.

In the #59 car, Sebastien Baud showed strong pace while managing the tyres, delivering the car to Gregoire Saucy who went hunting for victory in the final hour. The Swiss driver raced nose to tail with the leading #33 LMGT3 in an exhilarating dash to the line. As midnight struck at Lusail International Circuit, Saucy took second place with less than half a second in it, securing his debut WEC podium (the same for co-driver Cottingham), and the team’s best WEC LMGT3 result to date.

#59 MCLAREN GT3 EVO - QUALI P3 | HYPERPOLE P2 | RACE P2 | CHAMP P2

James Cottingham: “I’ve said a number of times since we got to Qatar that I feel like we could hit the ground running. The efforts that have been put in by the United Autosports team over the winter have been translated into a podium that is well-deserved at long last for the #59 car! I couldn’t be happier. Super close to the race win, and we had a teeny bit of bad luck with a gear box malfunction in the race which lost us 40 seconds. Without that, undoubtably we could have been on the top step of the podium. But we have seven more rounds and I am confident that you will see McLaren on the podium at multiple points during the season going forward … which is where the team should be! Very pleased.”

Sebastien Baud: “My first race with the United Autosports team and McLaren, and our first podium of the season! We did a great job to get second place in qualifying and then second place in the race. We had some small mechanical problems but we did not give up – we worked together and hunted down the podium. I can't wait for the second race in Imola and to continue writing this beautiful story.”

Gregoire Saucy: “I am so happy to get my first WEC podium. My two teammates did an amazing job – James and Seb had great pace. We had a little issue with the car at one point - we had to switch it off and on, losing almost 40 seconds … so to finish on the podium is really nice. I am so happy for the mechanics, the engineers and all the team. We have been waiting for that podium result for a long time, since last year! So it is very special to celebrate with James and our new teammate Seb. Now we will continue to work for Imola – I am really looking forward to it!”

Richard Dean, United Autosports CEO: “It has been an exceptionally strong season opener in Qatar, and one that we are very proud of. We have two cars that have instantly established themselves as front runners and we’ve secured our first podium of the season - huge congratulations to James, Gregoire, Seb and the #59 crew. Second place in the world championship is a massive achievement. The #95 crew also had a stellar week, with P1 in Qualifying for Darren, pole position for Sean and top work as usual from Marino. Sadly, their race didn’t end the way we had hoped but Imola is just a few weeks away and we will be there with the same race-winning ambitions.”

Ian James, Director of Motorsport, McLaren Automotive: “The last twenty minutes of the race had us all on the edge of our seats as Grégoire pressured the leader and came so close to taking the win. Of course, Darren and Sean did very well to take pole position on their McLaren debut as well, so there’s a lot to celebrate in Qatar. We were quick all weekend. It really is a testament to all the hard work done by the engineering team in Woking and everyone at United Autosports over the winter that we have been able to perform straight away. You must score in every race to win championships, and we are certainly off to a very good start.”

Round two of the FIA WEC is the 6 Hours of Imola on 20th April.