24h Le Mans
For its return to the head class of endurance racing, Ferrari delivered a stunningly memorable victory at the Centenary on Sunday. The 499P proved fast and reliable in its first participation, and certainly the same can be said for its drivers Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi.
Per tradition, the church bells rang in Maranello, the historic home of Ferrari's headquarters, to signal the #51 499P Hypercar's victory at Le Mans. After 24 hours of intense battles, the Italian marque triumphed over Toyota, Cadillac, Peugeot, Glickenhaus, Vanwall and Porsche. The drivers were faced with deplorable weather conditions on Saturday as engineers in the garage constantly finessed a winning strategy. The entire team held its breath 25 minutes from the chequered flag hoping the 499P would restart during a pit stop after problems earlier. James Calado: "It was very stressful. We were lucky. When you see the car isn't restarting, it's not a good feeling." Alessandro Pier Guidi: "We have a procedure to restart the car and reset the entire system. You have to press two buttons at the same time. I had to do it twice. The second time was easier, I knew how to do it."
Ferrari AF Corse pulled off a true masterstroke at the 24 Hours Centenary by clinching the Hyperpole AND the win. The 499P finally reached the top step on the podium at the fourth round of the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship. Calado: "Our odds of finishing were slim, but we did it. We didn't experience problems during pit stops, no mechanical troubles. It's looking good for the continuation of our programme in the FIA WEC. We will be able to increase performance level with all of this data to analyse."
The trio Pier Guidi, Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi maintained a fast pace throughout the race, culminating in a victory for the ages. Antonio Giovinazzi: "We'd shown we have a fast car at previous races with pole position at Sebring and qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps. We need to gain experience like Toyota has done, especially in terms of tyre wear. That is not the most difficult aspect of Le Mans and I think that helped us have a better pace. We were more concerned about reliability than performance, and being able to hold on over such a long distance."
The former Alfa Romeo driver in the Formula 1 World Championship won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in his second appearance. Giovinazzi: "To win Le Mans with Ferrari was special. We first took the track with the car last July, and less than a year later, we win the 24 Hours of Le Mans. We could already tell during qualifying that things were clicking. To place two cars on the first row, having it all red, was fantastic. We didn't necessarily expect to make it 24 hours, but everyone did incredible work. Thank you to the whole team, and to Ferrari. After a 50-year absence, we're back and we won. We are so proud."
With this result in the fourth round of the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship, Ferrari remains second in the Manufacturers classification, trailing Toyota now by only 18 points.
