Yifei Ye was born in Xi’an (China) in June 2000. Since leaving single-seaters, he has banked three years of prototype experience in various international endurance series. In 2023, he made his début in the Hypercar class of the FIA WEC – and the 24 Hours of Le Mans – at the wheel of the Hertz Team JOTA Porsche 963. He has three appearances in the French endurance classic to his name: 2021 with Team WRT (DNF), 2022 with Cool Racing (seventh in the LMP2 class) and 2023 with Hertz Team JOTA (40th overall).
Ye has chalked up four different category titles in his career to date. He became the French Formula 4 champion in 2016, winning 14 of the 23 races on the calendar, and repeated the success in the 2020 Euroformula Open with 11 victories. In 2021, the first Chinese driver to join the Maranello factory team triumphed in both the European Le Mans Series and the Asian Le Mans Series.
“When I heard I would be an official Ferrari driver, I was thrilled,” Ye said. “For me, this is a dream come true. This new sporting chapter opening with the Prancing Horse is definitely a milestone in my career.”
“It’s a pleasure to welcome Yifei to Ferrari, a driver who despite his young age has been able to emerge as one of the fastest in the World Endurance Championship,” enthused Antonello Coletta, Global Head of Endurance and Corse Clienti. “Excellent results stand out in Yifei’s endurance racing career. From this starting point, we’re confident that we can build a positive pathway together within the Prancing Horse family.”
Three Ferrari 499P hypercars are set to compete in the FIA WEC in 2024. Two will be entered by Ferrari AF Corse, while AF Corse will field the third with Robert Kubica announced as one of the drivers.