Ferrari 499Ps conclude the WEC Prologue at Sebring

The Sebring circuit hosted the FIA WEC Prologue, two days of testing prior to the opening round of the championship, the Sebring 1000 Miles, scheduled to take place on the same track on Friday, 17 March. The two Ferrari 499Ps entered in the Hypercar class amassed a total of 313 laps, gathering valuable data ahead of the race, in spite of the fact that the programme of the no. 51 499P was prematurely interrupted following damage sustained after crashing off-track on the first lap of the Sunday session.

Day 1. A clear day with temperatures just under 30°C was the backdrop for the morning session. On the 6.019-kilometre American track, the no. 51 Ferrari 499P driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi set the fifth fastest time, stopping the clock at 1'49''724, some 0'458 less than teammates Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen, seventh in the no. 50 car.

In the afternoon, improving track conditions allowed the crews to shave a few tenths of a second off their best times. The Ferrari - AF Corse team finished in fourth place for the Fuoco-Molina-Nielsen crew with a 1'49''402 marker, ahead of the 499P of Pier Guidi-Calado-Giovinazzi, 0''171 adrift.

Day 2. Sunday morning’s session took place below clear skies and temperatures of 30°C. At the end of the 3 hours and 30 minutes on the track, the Ferrari 499P crewed by Fuoco-Molina-Nielsen had taken seventh place by virtue of a 1'49''558 lap time, produced by the Italian driver.

The session was to end prematurely, however, for the no. 51 Hypercar following a collision into the barriers at turn 1 on the out-lap whilst Calado was at the wheel. The incident on the out-lap, exacerbated by tyres still not up to temperature (thermal blankets are no longer allowed by the regulations), led to some damage to the bodywork and suspension. The Maranello engineers, having already collected plenty of data in the previous sessions, opted to not return the car to the track, thus allowing the mechanics to carry out repairs and check the integrity of the 499P.

In the second session, the no. 50 Ferrari 499P completed 58 laps to achieve the fourth best time, with a lap of 1’49’’300, produced by Nicklas Nielsen.