Toyota Racing goes into the 6 Hours of Monza on 8 November already holding the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship manufacturers’ title. The drivers’ crown will go to one of its two crews. The #8 trio of Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa lead the #7 crew by 17 points, and the weekend is also Mike Conway’s last full-time race.

The 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) ends at Monza on Sunday 8 November. It is an all-Toyota fight for the drivers’ title. The team won the manufacturers’ World Championship at the penultimate round in Barcelona with a one-two finish. That was its first season racing under the Toyota Racing name. The same result also made sure that one of its two crews will win the drivers’ championship in Italy.

A 17-point cushion for car #8

Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa won in Barcelona in the #8 TR010 Hybrid. They arrive at Monza 17 points clear. A top-five finish is enough for them to take the title. It would be their third World Championship as a trio, after their titles in 2022 and 2023.

Their team-mates in the #7 car are Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries. They won Le Mans this year and need to close the 17-point gap to win their first title together. Conway and Kobayashi have both won the championship twice before, in 2019-20 and 2021. De Vries is still chasing his first.

“Even though we have a decent gap over the sister car, championship deciders are always stressful, and you never know what will happen. So, we’ve got to be on top of our game all weekend.” – Brendon Hartley, car #8

A strong debut season for the TR010 Hybrid

Monza is the last race of the TR010 Hybrid’s first season. The car has already won both World Championships and four races, including the Le Mans 24 Hours and the team’s home race at Fuji Speedway.

Kobayashi is both Team Principal and a driver in the #7 car. He said the team had “achieved our targets” and added: “The points gap is pretty big, but we’ll do our best. We can only concentrate on our race and see what happens.”

Mike Conway’s farewell

Monza will be Conway’s 86th and last race with the team before he retires from full-time racing. Since joining in 2014, the British driver has won 20 races, including Le Mans twice, and finished on the podium 47 times. Two of those wins came at Monza.

“I’ve had 12 seasons with the team, and I’ve enjoyed every single one of them. It’s coming to an end but it’s the close of one chapter and the start of another for me.” – Mike Conway, car #7

Monza, the Temple of Speed

Monza sits in parkland near Milan in northern Italy. The team has raced there three times in the WEC, winning in 2021 and 2023 and finishing on the podium four times. Like the Circuit de la Sarthe, the track is known for long straights and tight chicanes, so a car needs good top speed and stability under braking.

De Vries will race a Hypercar at Monza for the first time. He compared the track to Le Mans, where the TR010 Hybrid was strong. Hirakawa pointed out that the team has raced a Hypercar at Monza fairly recently, but never with the TR010 Hybrid or this year’s tyres. “There will be plenty to learn,” he said.

Buemi expects a tough race. “We’re in a strong position but the competition will be tough, and it won’t be an easy race,” he said.

Race weekend schedule

Running starts on Friday 6 November with two practice sessions. Hypercar qualifying follows on Saturday at 3pm CET, and the 6 Hours of Monza starts at 11am local time on Sunday 8 November.

Source: newsroom.toyota.eu