499Ps in action at Le Mans Test Day

The traditional Test Day marked the official start of the week of the 2024 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Today, the Maranello manufacturer’s 499P crews took part in two test sessions. Six hours were spent gathering information and working on the set-up of the cars for Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, and Nicklas Nielsen, drivers of the Hypercar number 50, and Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, and Antonio Giovinazzi, who share the Ferrari – AF Corse team’s “sister” car, the 499P number 51. In addition, the Test Day at Le Sarthe featured AF Corse’s Hypercar number 83, piloted by official Ferrari drivers Yifei Ye and Robert Shwartzman, alongside Robert Kubica.

The 499P number 50 posted the day’s fifth-best time of 3’28”014 (Miguel Molina). Ferrari number 51 was 12th, and number 83 was eighth. For all crews, the benchmarks came during the second session.

Morning. The first three-hour session ran under dry track conditions, featuring several interruptions and two red flags—one of which was shown to allow track personnel to carry out a simulation exercise ahead of next week’s event. Air and track temperatures were 18.7°C and 19.5°C respectively in the early stages of the session, which began at 10 a.m., and 20.8°C and 22.6°C by the end of the morning.The official 499Ps clocked 24 and 21 laps, with crews number 51 and 50 turning in the tenth and twelfth fastest times, respectively. Alessandro Pier Guidi set a best time of 3’30’’367 (1”900 off the session leader, the Toyota number 7).

The AF Corse team’s 499P number 83 was fifth at 3’29’’732. In all, the crew, completed by Robert Shwartzman and Robert Kubica, completed 28 laps.

Afternoon. At 3.30 p.m., the Hypercars were back in action in sunny weather. The air temperature ranged from 22° to 23°C, while the asphalt varied between 24° and 36.6°C over the three hours. Ferrari – AF Corse completed 73 laps. The 499P number 50 registered the fifth overall time (3’28”014; 1’107” behind the Porsche number 6, first in the session), while the number 51 was 12th.

The schedule. 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).