Toyota Racing already owns the manufacturers' crown, but its No8 and No7 crews meet in a 17-point fight at the 6 Hours of Monza.
Toyota Racing arrives at the 6 Hours of Monza, the final round of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship, with the manufacturers' title won. The No8 crew of Buemi, Hartley and Hirakawa lead the No7 car by 17 points, and Mike Conway makes his last start.
Toyota Racing has already taken the manufacturers' world championship, yet its two cars will still treat the season finale as a shoot-out. At the 6 Hours of Monza on Sunday, the team's No8 and No7 crews fight for the World Endurance Championship drivers' crown, with one of them guaranteed to take it.
The manufacturers' title arrived at the previous round in Barcelona, where Toyota scored a one-two finish in its first season racing under the Toyota Racing name. That result also made certain that a Toyota crew would be champion in Italy.
The title fight
Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa won in Barcelona in the No8 TR010 Hybrid and now hold a 17-point advantage. A top-five finish at Monza would be enough to give the trio their third world title together, following 2022 and 2023.
Behind them in the standings sit their team-mates in the No7 car: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries. The three won the Le Mans 24 Hours this year and need to erase that 17-point deficit to take the championship. Conway and Kobayashi already hold two titles, from 2019-20 and 2021, while de Vries is chasing his first.
- No8 crew: Buemi, Hartley, Hirakawa, 17 points ahead
- No7 crew: Conway, Kobayashi, de Vries, 17 points behind
A season in numbers, and a farewell
Monza closes the debut season of the TR010 Hybrid. The car has already delivered both world championships and four race wins, among them Le Mans and the team's home round at Fuji Speedway.
It is also the final race of Conway's full-time career. Having joined Toyota in 2014, he will make his 86th start for the team, with 20 wins, two of them at Le Mans, and 47 podium finishes to his name. Two of those victories came at Monza itself. Across three WEC visits there, Toyota has won twice, in 2021 and 2023, and stood on the podium four times.
The circuit and the timetable
The track sits in parkland near Milan and shares some of its character with Le Mans: long straights, tight chicanes, and a premium on top speed and braking stability. Toyota says the TR010 Hybrid looked strong at Le Mans, which gives the team encouragement.
The team begins its preparation on Friday with two practice sessions. Hypercar qualifying follows on Saturday at 2pm GMT, and the race starts at 11am local time, 10am GMT, on Sunday.
What the drivers say
Kobayashi, who is both team principal and a driver in the No7 car, says the team has met its goals this year, naming Le Mans, both championships and the home win. He admits the points gap is large but says the crew will push to win the race, partly as a farewell to Conway.
Conway calls the title still within reach, though harder than before, and thanks Toyota and the staff in Cologne and at Higashi-Fuji for the years together. De Vries, racing a Hypercar at Monza for the first time, expects a quick circuit similar to Le Mans and hopes to run at the front.
In the No8 car, Buemi says the aim is to finish the job and take the title, while acknowledging the opposition will be tough. Hartley points to the stress that comes with any championship decider, despite the cushion over the sister car. Hirakawa notes that the team has plenty to learn at Monza with this year's tyres, as it is the first visit for the TR010 Hybrid.
