Peugeot lacked pace in qualifying at Imola

Everyone was hoping for better. After showing an interesting pace during free practice, the two Peugeots were lagging behind in the qualifying session. On the twisty Imola track, the two Lionesses could not do better than the 14th and 15th fastest times.

« The session was shortened by a red flag. These were our first qualifications with the 9X8 2024 version. I managed to do a few fast laps at the beginning of the session and I had a good feeling behind the wheel. We will start in 14th place, it will be tough with the traffic at the start, but everything remains possible for this race that looks difficult for everyone », notes Stoffel Vandoorne in issue 94.

On his side, Jean-Éric Vergne, in the sister car, was caught out by the red flag caused by BMW #15. I couldn’t manage to put in a fast lap on the restart. Even if I had improved by two or three tenths of a second, we wouldn’t have been able to go any further. We will start in 15th place and our objective for the race will be to climb back into the points, says the French driver.

Peugeot is focusing on strategy

However, despite this underperformance, Peugeot’s leaders remain confident in the improvements made to the hypercar during these 6 Hours of Imola.

« The 9X8 2024 is still a bit “young”. We know it has potential and is faster than the 2023, but we couldn’t demonstrate it during these qualifications, we clearly lacked pace », admitted Jean-Marc Finot, head of motorsport at Stellantis. « The race looks set to be very difficult on this great circuit where overtaking will be difficult, strategy will play a decisive role. »

To climb back up the hierarchy, we will have to fight. But this mission will be complicated, as the Italian layout is very narrow and winding. And overtaking opportunities are scarce.