Welcome at RacingNews365

Become part of the largest racing community in the United Kingdom. Create your free account now!

  • Share your thoughts and opinions about F1
  • Win fantastic prizes
  • Get access to our premium content
  • Take advantage of more exclusive benefits
Sign in
24 Hours of Le Mans

2025 Le Mans 24 Hours qualifying format explained

Find out how qualifying for the 2025 Le Mans 24 Hours works!

XPB 1352548 Hi Res
Article
To news overview © XPBimages

How 2025 Le Mans qualifying works

Essentially, qualifying for the Le Mans 24 Hours works very similarly to the F1 knockout qualifying in place since 2006.

There are three classes at Le Mans - Hypercar, LMP2, LMGT3. 

The Hypercars are the ones who will be going for outright pole position and the overall victory come Sunday, with LMP2 and LMGT3 fighting for respective class wins.

For qualifying, the Hypercars are placed into their own sessions, with LMP2 and LMGT3 squeezed together. 

On Wednesday, 11th June, two sessions will be run with every car out on track, split into Hypercar and the LMP2/LMGT3s. 

The 15 fastest Hypercars, 12 fastest LMP2s and 12 fastest LMGT3s will then advance through to Thursday's Hyperpole sessions. Think of this as F1's Q1. 

On Thursday, in Hyperpole 1, the five slowest Hypercars are eliminated with the slowest four in LMP2 and four from LMGT3 being cut. 

In Hyperpole 2, the remaining 10, 8, and 8 cars go for class pole, and for the 10 Hypercars, overall pole.

Check out the time schedule below!

Qualifying start time for 2025 Le Mans 24 Hours

2025 Le Mans 24 Hours qualifying format explained
Date Session Class Time - LOCAL - CET
Wednesday 11th June Qualifying LMP2/LMGT3 18:45-19:15
Wednesday 11th June Qualifying Hypercar 19:30-20:00
Thursday 12th June Hyperpole 1 LMP2/LMGT3 20:00-20:20
Thursday 12th June Hyperpole 2 LMP2/LMGT3 20:35-20:50
Thursday 12th June Hyperpole 1 Hypercar 21:05-21:25
Thursday 12th June Hyperpole 2 Hypercar 21:40-21:55

Also interesting:

Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes and Nick Golding for a special episode of the podcast, as they are joined by Sebastien Buemi to look ahead to the Le Mans 24 Hours and the Canadian GP. Both events and also Formula E are discussed, and how quickly Max Verstappen would adjust to Le Mans.

Rather watch the podcast? Then click here!

Explore the latest F1 results and every stat you can imagine - From Max Verstappen to Michael Schumacher and from Ayrton Senna to Lewis Hamilton — explore every stat from the first Grand Prix to the latest race.

Explore the RN365 Stats Hub

Join the conversation!

Never miss a thing from the Formula 1 season! Add the 2026 F1 schedule to your calendar at the touch of a button. Subscribe below and put the dates and times of every race directly on your PC or smartphone, so you don't miss a second from the new season.

Download the F1 calendar Download the F1 calendar

A variant with just the race and qualifying is also available.
Click here to download it..

F1 calendar 2026
Race Date
chn Chinese GP 15 Mar 2026
jpn Japanese GP 29 Mar 2026
bhr Bahrain GP 12 Apr 2026
sau Saudi Arabian GP 19 Apr 2026
usa Miami GP 03 May 2026
can Canadian GP 24 May 2026
Full calendar
x
RESULTS 2026 F1 Chinese Grand Prix - Qualifying