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    Ferrari Hypercar

    1812 km of Qatar

    2 March 2024

    2024 RACE REVIEW

    The Ferrari – AF Corse team finished round one of the FIA World Endurance Championship with seventh and 13th place at the 1812 KM of Qatar. The result came courtesy of 499P numbers 50 and 51, crewed by Antonio Fuoco-Miguel Molina-Nicklas Nielsen and Alessandro Pier Guidi-James Calado-Antonio Giovinazzi, respectively.
    Track Temp35.20ºCHour 1
    Air Temp22.50ºCHour 1
    Track Temp24.40ºCHour 10
    Air Temp18.40ºCHour 10
    Position - 4
    Gap from leader - 1 Lap
    Position - 6
    Gap from leader - 2 Laps
    Position - 12
    Gap from leader - 3 Laps
    • Ferrari - AF Corse#50A. FUOCO / M. MOLINA / N. NIELSEN
    • Race Result6
    • Fastest Lap1:41.595
    • Pit Stop11
    • Laps333
    • Total time9:56:02.986
    • Gap from leader2 LAPS
    AVERAGE SPEED
    TOP SPEED
    AVERAGE SPEED
    TOP SPEED
    • Ferrari - AF Corse#51A. PIER GUIDI / J. CALADO / A. GIOVINAZZI
    • Race Result12
    • Fastest Lap1:41.842
    • Pit Stop12
    • Laps332
    • Total time9:57:17.147
    • Gap from leader3 LAPS
    AVG SPEED
    TOP SPEED
    AVG SPEED
    TOP SPEED
    “
    The year’s first outing wasn’t positive.
    First, we must work on ourselves because we made too many mistakes today. Now our goal must be to start again even stronger. We are already thinking about the next race at Imola in which I hope we’ll again prove our worth.
    Antonio Fuoco
    499P #50 driver
    “
    The 1812 KM was very long, and so much happened over the ten hours.
    We made a good start, although we knew that our pace wouldn’t give us much of a chance to challenge for the podium. In the end, we picked up some points that will be precious over the course of the season, but looking ahead to Imola, I hope we can do better and bag a significant result in front of our fans.
    Miguel Molina
    499P #50 driver
    “
    We can’t be satisfied with eighth place, even though we climbed a few positions at the end,
    gaining some important points for the team and perhaps finishing in the best possible position given the circumstances. It’s a shame because Miguel had an excellent start, but we couldn’t contend for a top position during the race.
    Nicklas Nielsen
    499P #50 driver
    “
    Before the start, we knew we didn’t have the pace to compete with the cars vying for the top spots,
    and the race proved this. We still hoped to finish in the points zone, but given how the race went, it was not possible.
    Alessandro Pier Guidi
    499P #51 driver
    “
    We have finished a tricky race in which we made some mistakes
    and were a little unlucky to be honest, but we knew after the practice and qualifying sessions we had little chance of a great result on this track. Now we look to the future, hoping to return to the track at Imola with different aspirations.
    James Calado
    499P #51 driver
    “
    The race was tricky from the start.
    When we lost the rear wing after a collision, one hour and twenty minutes after the start, everything became even harder. We lacked speed and pace here at Lusail, but we also made some mistakes, so in the weeks between now and the 6 Hours of Imola, our goal will be to work hard to return to the track with bigger ambitions.
    Antonio Giovinazzi
    499P #51 driver
    “
    On a tricky weekend, with episodes that we’ll analyse in detail when we return to Maranello,
    the AF Corse 499P’s performance makes the outcome of the Qatar race less sour. Second place in the independent teams’ standings is an excellent launch pad for the season and will motivate the team. As for the official 499Ps, on the other hand, we saw our pre-race fears confirmed, namely, the power-to-weight ratio’s high impact on competitiveness that left us in an inferior position and precluded any chance of contending for the podium. Looking at the positives, we drove all three cars to the finish again, amassing further data and kilometres that will be useful starting at Imola.
    Antonello Coletta
    Global Head of Endurance and Corse Clienti
    “
    The race result confirmed what had already emerged during the Prologue and in the simulations,
    that is, the big difference from other cars that didn’t allow us to fight for the podium, and so it was, despite Molina’s splendid start. The race was not free of flaws and unfortunate episodes, but we had no chance of contending for the podium. Despite this, we tried to achieve the best possible result for our cars also by adopting an aggressive strategy. Despite a very demanding track, the tyre management was admirable considering that we suffered neither degradation nor wear even with so many double and triple stints on the tyres.
    Ferdinando Cannizzo
    Head of Endurance Race Cars
    COVER ART BY FEDERICO CARLO FERNIANI
    Discover

    The Ferrari 499Ps ended the first round of the FIA WEC 2024 with a fifth place for AF Corse number 83, crewed by the Prancing Horse’s official drivers, Yifei Ye and Robert Shwartzman, alongside Robert Kubica. 

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      Turns
      • LocationDohaQatar
      • Turns57
      • Circuit Length5 380 km

      499P is the name of the Le Mans Hypercar with which Ferrari has taken on the top class of the FIA WEC World Endurance Championship since the 2023 season – a name evoking the history of the Maranello manufacturer.

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