Former F1 racer Felipe Nasr takes victory in dramatic Rolex Daytona 24 conclusion

The Rolex Daytona 24 race has been won by Porsche, with a former F1 star at the wheel for the critical final stint.

Porsche’s Felipe Nasr has led home the German manufacturer’s victory in the 63rd running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, having got the better of Porsche teammate Matt Campbell in the final hour of the race.

Felipe Nasr and Porsche win the Rolex 24 at Daytona

Nasr came out on top of an intra-Porsche fight for the lead of the race at Daytona with 30 minutes to remaining, with Porsche Penske winning back-to-back races at the Florida circuit.

Following a late full-course yellow which grouped the pack together with 40 minutes to go, a dramatic battle between the #6 Porsche of Matt Campbell and Nasr’s #7 resulted in the former Sauber driver getting ahead of his teammate.

Nasr was able to weather Campbell’s best efforts to get back into the lead, as the Brazilian then pulled away in the closing stages to open up a two-second gap as traffic played a part in separating the leaders of the GTP class.

But Campbell’s runner-up spot wasn’t to be, with Meyer Shank’s #60 Acura getting past in the final 10 minutes as Tom Blomqvist sprang a late attack to separate the Porsches.

The top three came home separated by just 4.4 seconds, with Nasr completing the race on behalf of his entry’s line-up with Nick Tandy and Laurens Vanthoor.

Kevin Magnussen’s entry, the #24 BMW M Hybrid for RLL, had been a strong contender for victory as the Danish driver proved more than capable upon his return to IMSA after the conclusion of his F1 career. But contact between the BMW, driven by Dries Vanthoor in the final stint, with the back of Campebell’s Porsche at Turn 1 at the final restart, resulted in damage to the BMW.

This forced Vanthoor to return to the pits for repairs as the car’s front bumper had come loose, with bodywork scraping against the ground preventing Vanthoor from turning in for the Le Mans chicane. The BMW effort thus finished a lap down in fourth place.

The Cadillacs had a difficult run; despite great pace, particularly from Kamui Kobayashi, a late night crash knocked the #40 out of contention. The #10 Cadillac finished sixth, featuring former Marussia driver Will Stevens and former Toro Rosso driver Brendon Hartley of a victory.

The No. 63 Lamborghini with Romain Grosjean and Daniil Kvyat behind the wheel was the first retirement of the night.

In LMP2, former Toro Rosso driver and multiple ChampCar Champion Sebastien Bourdais led home a comprehensive victory in the #8 Tower Motorsports Acura as he came home 44 seconds ahead of United Autosports #22 Paul Di Resta.

2025 Rolex Daytona 24 Results:

GTP:

1. 1. #7 Porsche 963 – Felipe Nasr/Nick Tandy/Laurens Vanthoor 781 Laps (Porsche Penske)
2. 2. #60 Acura ARX-06 – Tom Blomqvist/Colin Braun/Scott Dixon/Felix Rosenqvist +1.335 (Meyer Shank Racing)
3. 3. #6 Porsche 963 – Matt Campbell/Mathieu Jaminet/Kevin Estre +4.423 (Porsche Penske)
4. 4. #24 BMW M Hybrid – Dries Vanthoor/Kevin Magnussen/Phillipp Eng/Raffaele Marciello +1 Lap (RLL)
5. 5. #10 Cadillac V-Series.R – Filipe Albuquerque/Ricky Taylor/Will Stevens/Brendon Hartley +1 Lap (Wayne Taylor Racing)
6. 6. #85 Porsche 963 – Gianmaria Bruni/Pascal Wehrlein/Tijmen van der Helm/Bryce Aron +1 Lap (JDC-Miller)
7. 7. #25 BMW M Hybrid – Robin Frijns/Rene Rast/Sheldon van der Linde/Marco Wittmann +4 Laps (RLL)

LMP2:

1. 1. #8 Oreca LMP2 – Sebastien Bourdais/John Farano/Sebastian Alvarez/Job van Uitert 765 Laps (Tower Motorsports)
   
2. 2. #22 Oreca LMP2 – Paul Di Resta/Daniel Goldburg/James Aleen/Rasmus Lindh +44.697 (United Autosports)
3. 3. #74 Oreca LMP2 – Felipe Fraga/Gar Robinson/Felipe Massa/Josh Burdon +51.413 (Riley)
   

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