Round five of the FIA World Endurance Championship over the weekend of 8-9 July is a ‘home’ race for Ferrari – AF Corse, competing in the Monza 6 Hours, the last European event of the season. Here are the comments ahead of a race that will see Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen behind the wheel of the number 50 Ferrari 499P, and Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi crewing the number 51.
Antonio Fuoco, 499P #50: “I particularly like the Monza track. It is a special track for every Italian driver where, in some places, you can make a difference on the straights and when braking. I think that you really breathe motor racing history at this circuit. What do I expect? There will be a sizeable crowd, and the support of the fans will be crucial: I hope to give them all an excellent result.”
Miguel Molina, 499P #50: “Monza is definitely Ferrari’s ‘home’ race on the World Endurance Championship calendar, so it will have a special flavour, and I can’t wait to climb into the cockpit to start this weekend. Personally, I like the track a lot because it’s so fast and because Monza is one of those tracks where pages of motorsport history have been written. Our goal? It’s clear: after winning as a team at Le Mans, we should aim for another victory in Italy, also from a championship perspective. Indeed, we showed we could compete with Toyota in the first part of the season. Now, we aim to take a further step forward and fully prove our worth”.
Nicklas Nielsen, 499P #50: “We were unlucky at Le Mans, but our Hypercar performed brilliantly, so we come to Italy targeting an excellent result, fighting for the win. Monza? Personally, I don’t have a favourite track. However, I admit that I like this track because of its unique characteristics, alternating long straights with very slow corners, such as the First and Second Chicane, and others, conversely, high-speed, such as the Parabolica. Also, the Autodromo Nazionale is an iconic circuit, especially if you race a Ferrari. It will be wonderful to drive our 499P for the first time in front of so many fans.”
Alessandro Pier Guidi, 499P #51: “At Monza, we expect a scorching atmosphere, not just because of the mid-summer temperatures, but above all because of the crowd in the stands. We expect many fans, and it will be great to see them again at the Italian round after the victory at Le Mans. Their support will be essential for us. The Brianza track is very quick. It’s the one on the championship calendar most like the Circuit de la Sarthe, and I think it’s a track where we can be competitive. In any case, we approach this race with humility: I think Toyota remains the championship’s benchmark. Looking to the future, I think one of the most positive aspects is the ample room for growth for us drivers, for both the group as a whole, and our Hypercar.”
James Calado, 499P #51: “I can’t wait to see the grandstands at Monza, where I expect many fans and a fine sight with red as the dominant colour. We’ve all been looking forward to this race for many months. I think that at Monza, our 499P will show its full potential: we will do everything to claim a victory to celebrate with the Italian public.”
Antonio Giovinazzi, 499P #51: “We arrive at this event in high spirits, having won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but now it’s time to get going again, looking forward. The Monza 6 Hours is, to a certain extent, our ‘home’ race, both as a team and for me as an Italian driver. I imagine many fans will come to support us for this event and celebrate our success in France with us. So we come to the Autodromo Nazionale hoping to confirm our worth and achieve an excellent result. Our dream would be to cross the line first as a team, achieving a top-step finish on a unique podium in global terms like the one at Monza.”
Antonello Coletta, Global Head of Endurance and Corse Clienti: “We are happy and proud of our historic victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, whose value we fully grasped in the weeks following the event. At the same time, we are aware that our path will be even more difficult now, considering that our opponents will come to Monza aiming to do well in a crucial race for the standings. For these reasons, we will keep up our concentration and total commitment, aiming to continue achieving important results and to get the 499Ps on the podium for the rest of the season. The Monza 6 Hours is our ‘home’ race: our team’s dream would be to give further excitement to the many fans expected at the Autodromo Nazionale.”
Ferdinando Cannizzo, Head of Endurance Race Cars: “Expectations for the Monza race are really high after the extraordinary result at Le Mans. There’s a lot of enthusiasm, and we want to do well for our fans. However, we are aware of the high performance of our opponents and expect a very close race, which could be affected by unsettled weather and very high temperatures over the six hours.
After a few days’ rest following Le Mans, we returned to preparing for the race as usual in the simulator. We also ran two days of testing at Fiorano that were extremely useful for reviewing setups and control strategies”.
The photo was taken in the Ferrari Flagship Store at Maranello