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24 Hours of Le Mans

Dramatic penalty strips former F1 driver of Le Mans 24 Hours pole

A late twist to qualifying at Le Mans as the pole position award changed hands after the session ended.

38 Cadillac
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To news overview © XPBimages

The #38 Cadillac team has been stripped of pole position at the 24 Hours of Le Mans following a dramatic penalty on Thursday.

Jack Aitken fired himself and the team to the top of the timesheet with a record-breaking lap, moving just 0.005s ahead of the #15 BMW.

It was due to stand as the closest pole margin in Le Mans history - before the stewards interevened.

Aitken's surprise surge to the top of the standings was immediately covered in scrutiny as the team was under investigation for being ushered out into the pit lane too early at the start of the session.

The Cadillac squad celebrated pole position and took hold of the medals on the podium, which is when the news awkwardly broke that it had been penalised.

Due to being deemed guilty of breaching the rules, the car was demoted to the bottom of the Hyperpole 2 timesheet.

It will now start Saturday's race from 10th on the grid.

Inheriting pole position is the #15 BMW, with Dries Vanthoor setting what would prove to be the crucial lap.

See the full results from qualifying here!

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HYPERPOLE RESULTS 2026 Le Mans 24 Hours Qualifying