Ferrari at Le Mans: the figures of success

This race entered the annals of motorsport with Ferrari’s victory 58 years after its last one. The 24 Hours of Le Mans on 10-11 June, round four of the FIA WEC, saw the two Prancing Horse Hypercars drive over 9,200 kilometres, make 61 pit stops, and lead the endurance race for 188 of the 342 laps. The following figures reconstruct the sporting feat of the Ferrari – AF Corse 499Ps.

On the track. Driven to the finish line by Pier Guidi, the Ferrari 499P number 51 that won the world’s most famous endurance event – the Italian driver shared the car with James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi – completed 342 laps, covering 4,659.4 kilometres, with 30 pit stops. Meanwhile, the 499P number 50 of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen, fifth at the finish, racked up 337 laps, 4,591.25 kilometres, and 31 pit stops, posting the best lap time in the race with Fuoco in 3’27”218 and in qualifying with the Hyperpole by the same Italian driver in 3’22”982, at an average of 241.7 km/h. Fuoco also recorded the fastest times in the second (1’19”147) and third sectors (1’34”708). Molina posted the highest speed in the Le Mans race (347.8 km/h).

Ferrari started from pole position with the number 50 crew, ahead of their teammates in the number 51 car. The Prancing Horse led the race for 188 laps: the 499P number 50 led in laps 17-20, 38-39, 59 64-67, and 71-72, with the 51 ahead in laps 15-16, 23, 58, 68-70, 75-102, 149-156, 208-255, and 259-342. In the finale, the Ferrari of Pier Guidi, Calado and Giovinazzi crossed the chequered flag first after uninterruptedly dominating the last 84 laps.

Driving stints. Nielsen started in the 499P number 50 - at 16:00:17 on Saturday, 10 June in France - remaining at the steering wheel for two consecutive stints (10 laps each). Fuoco and Molina were second and third in the cockpit, respectively, with a double stint. In total, the crew completed 31 stints during the race. The Dane drove for 104 laps, the Italian – who crossed the finish line – for 146 laps, and the Spaniard for 87. In the 499P number 51, Calado led for the first three stints (33 laps), then handed the steering wheel to Giovinazzi and Pier Guidi. Overall, the drivers completed 117, 110 and 115 laps, respectively.