A year on from a victory that went down in Prancing Horse and motorsport history, Ferrari’s tenth overall victory in the centenary edition of the world’s oldest endurance race, the Maranello manufacturer returns to the La Sarthe circuit to confirm its position as a leading contender in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. As per tradition, round four of the FIA WEC 2024 will run in mid-June, with the season’s most important race taking the green flag on Saturday, 15 June, at 4 p.m. (local time).
The public can admire the two 499Ps of the official Ferrari – AF Corse team on the 13-kilometre-plus French track. Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, and Nicklas Nielsen, and the winners of the 2023 edition, Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, and Antonio Giovinazzi, will be at the wheel of the Le Mans Hypercars number 50 and 51, respectively. AF Corse’s Ferrari number 83 will debut in the temple of endurance, crewed by Maranello’s official drivers, Yifei Ye, Robert Shwartzman, and Robert Kubica.
Besides the prestige of a race that this year celebrates its 92nd edition and the excitement of a global event, Le Mans is the race that, more than any other, is decisive for the world rankings, with 50 points up for grabs for the winners. So, the red-liveried Ferrari 499Ps go to France to prove their potential and win crucial championship points.
The situation. After a podium finish in the previous round at Spa-Francorchamps and a pole position at Imola, Fuoco-Molina-Nielsen go to Le Mans—where they took the Hyperpole in 2023—in fifth place in the Drivers’ standings on 40 points (34 points behind the leaders). Pier Guidi-Calado-Giovinazzi are ninth on 18 points, returning to the French tarmac in the 499P number 51, with which they won the acclaim of the 325,000 spectators in the stands on 11 June 2023. Ferrari is third in the Manufacturers’ standings, 34 points behind the leader.
In their first season on the biggest stage in endurance racing, Ye-Shwartzman-Kubica are seventh in the Drivers’ standings, while AF Corse is second in the independent FIA World Cup for Hypercar Teams’ ranking (11 points off the top) thanks to a class win at Imola and two podiums in Qatar and Belgium.
The programme. After the scrutineering, featuring the Ferrari 499Ps and drivers in the city centre on Saturday, 8 June, the Test Day will take place on Sunday, 9 June, with two three-hour free practice sessions from 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. The cars will be back on track on Wednesday 12 for two free practice sessions, from 2 to 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. to midnight, punctuated by qualifying (7 p.m. to 8 p.m.). Free Practice 3 will run on Thursday 13 June, from 3 to 6 p.m., followed by the Hyperpole (8 to 8:30 p.m. for the eight fastest cars in qualifying) and a final free practice session from 10 to 11 p.m. The 24 Hours will start on Saturday 15 June at 4 p.m. (all times are local).
Special initiatives. Ferrari fans can watch the Hyperpole and the race from the drivers’ perspective on Ferrari’s “YouTube” channel, with onboard cameras available for both 499Ps.
Like last year, the European dealership network will also open its doors to its loyal clients for the 24-hour event, allowing them to follow the race while enjoying dedicated entertainment provided by the dealerships.
The Ferrari Museum at Maranello will offer special initiatives to experience the “race of races,” which will be broadcast live on Saturday, 14 June, from 3 p.m. to midnight and on Sunday, 15 June, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (in the Convention Centre, subject to availability). The museum will also display a 499P. It is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the 24 Hours weekend, and the public can visit the current exhibitions: ‘Scuderia Ferrari—The Complete History’, ‘Supercars—The Evolution of Uniqueness’, and ‘Roaring 50s—An exhibition on the Aeroautodromo di Modena’. Details at ferrari.com/en-EN/museums.