United Autosports, racing partner of McLaren Automotive, at the 2025 WEC 6 Hours of Fuji
Last weekend, the McLaren LMGT3 duo took on the 6 Hours of Fuji - the penultimate round of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship, finishing P10 (#95) and P14 (#59) after a hectic afternoon of on-track incidents, Safety Cars and penalties across the field which saw the McLaren duo swing up and down the order, with the podium in sight until the closing stages.
On Saturday afternoon, the McLarens stormed to the front in Qualifying and Hyperpole, securing P2 (#95) and P3 (#59) on the grid – the former just 0.03 seconds from Sean Gelael’s second pole position of the season, and with only 0.002 seconds between the sister cars.
Come race day, the McLarens were leading the LMGT3 pack within minutes – with Darren Leung taking the lead initially in the #95 McLaren, before James Cottingham took over in the #59. Cottingham commanded the opening stages, building up an impressive 30 second gap to the pack in just half an hour following a Safety Car restart.
The British Bronze driver handed over to Sebastien Baud in a dominant position, until a further Safety Car reduced the gap to five seconds. Then, the #59’s charge was derailed by an electrical issue. The team acted quickly in the pits, but the #59 dropped dramatically to the back of the LMGT3 pack – however, with strong pace and an adapted strategy, Gregoire Saucy went hunting for a podium, breaking into the top five with 20 minutes on the clock.
Incredibly, Saucy saved enough fuel and energy to go without a final pit stop, which would have propelled the #59 McLaren into P3 while other competitors splashed and dashed. But the final blow came in the form of a 30 second stop and go penalty for overtaking under Safety Car during Baud’s earlier stint. As a result, Saucy took P14 at the line.
For the #95 McLaren - Lone Star Le Mans race winners - it was a strong start with Darren Leung taking the lead on the first lap and then running in the top two. A drive through penalty for a jump start was an early bump in the road, dropping Leung to the back of the pack – however, he quickly made his way back towards the top ten.
Sean Gelael delivered a stellar double stint in the middle stages, at one point running P3 before a Safety Car shook up the order once again, with a number of cars behind Gelael and the top five pack gambling, boxing and gaining an advantage. Marino Sato powered on to the finish, but gains were limited with the #95 ultimately crossing the line in P11 - later upgraded to a top ten finish (P10) due a post -race time penalty for the #33 LMGT3.
James Cottingham, Sebastien Baud and Gregoire Saucy - United Autosports, racing partner of McLaren Automotive, drivers 2025
#59 McLaren GT3 EVO
QUALI P3 | RACE P14 | CHAMP P10
James Cottingham: “To win a world championship race you need to deliver a flawless and faultless performance. We did our best, we led the race for the first three hours and demonstrated we were the fastest on track. However, a technical issue and a driver error put us way down the order at the end of the race. We now only have one opportunity left to get a podium to bookend the season; everyone will have to pull together and in the right direction so we can deliver the result we deserve in Bahrain.”
Sebastien Baud: “Disappointed with the result because we had a good chance to win this race. James did a great job, he was very fast. I kept the position and then in the middle of my stint I had an electronic problem. I lost a lot of time because I didn’t have any power in slow corners so I had to manage that. During the Safety Car, I didn’t see the Safety Car line because it was the same time as the pit entry line. We had a penalty for that because I overtook cars on the track when I was going into the pitlane and at the end of the race, it was possible to finish on the podium but with the penalty we dropped back to P14. Very disappointed for the team.”
Gregoire Saucy: “Disappointing because I was so happy for James … he did a mega two stints. He showed he was clearly one second per lap faster than all the other Bronze drivers. It was just a mega start to the race. Then Seb did his two stints, he had an issue … he had to stop to fix the car so we lost the position and we were last. Then we boxed for Safety Car - he overtook some cars before the Safety Car line as he came into the pits. Then I went into the car, I was doing my best to fuel and energy save to go with only two stints at the end when I think almost everyone else had to box one more time. And I think we had the possibility again to win. I was P5 at this point. We clearly had the pace to win the race, or on the podium for sure. So it’s disappointing because we had a penalty for Seb’s overtaking before the Safety Car line. We got a stop and go for 30 seconds, a massive penalty. It’s disappointing to not get the results we were hoping for. Let’s focus on the next one.”
Darren Leung, Sean Gelael, Marino Sato - United Autosports, racing partner of McLaren Automotive, drivers 2025
#95 McLaren GT3 EVO
QUALI P2 | RACE P10 | CHAMP P11
Darren Leung: “After a promising start to the weekend, this wasn’t the end we wanted or deserved. I made a mistake at the start and received a penalty for it, which was delivered at a very unfortunate time meaning we had a bigger hill to climb. My teammates did an outstanding job getting us back into contention, but unfortunately the race didn’t pan out how we would have liked. We go to Bahrain for the last round which is somewhere the car has historically done well at, so it’s all out now to try and secure a second victory in this year’s WEC.”
Sean Gelael: “From leading to last, to third to back to eleventh … it was a crazy race! We tried our best but we just got caught out with the strategy. The top five didn’t box in that moment so it was difficult for us to make a decision. But at the end of the day, others played it better. It is what it is. Bahrain!”
Marino Sato: “Lots of up and downs, we had a really good Qualifying for both cars … Darren had an unfortunate penalty at the start which dropped us to the back of the field but with the team effort, Sean’s great stint and decent timing of Safety Cars, it put us back in the pack. But unfortunately we didn’t quite have the pace to make a difference in the end. I gave it everything but I wasn’t able to gain any places. Aiming to finish the season on a high in Bahrain.”
MANAGEMENT
Richard Dean, United Autosports CEO: “There was big potential this weekend in Fuji but sadly it didn’t quite come together for the McLarens. James Cottingham drove a fantastic double stint, it has been great to see his confidence and skill grow over the past two seasons. We have what it takes to win in the WEC with the McLaren, we proved that in Texas – and that is the focus for the season finale in Bahrain.”
The grand finale of the 2025 WEC is the 8 Hours of Bahrain on Saturday 8th November – however, before that, it’s the final round of the 2025 European Le Mans Series in Portimao (Saturday 18th October). Stay up to date with the team on social @unitedautosports.