AF Corse has defined the crew that will take to the track the Ferrari 499P number 83 in the Hypercar category in anticipation of the FIA World Endurance Championship 2024 Prologue in Qatar, which will kick-off in about one month.
FIA WEC LMP2 champion Robert Kubica, who was already confirmed in the line-up in December, will be joined by official Ferrari drivers Robert Shwartzman and Yifei Ye. Shwartzman had already competed with AF Corse in the 2023 season of the GT World Challenge Europe - Endurance Cup, where he secured a win in the 3 hours of Barcelona. Ye instead has recently proved his skills winning Asian and European Le Mans Series in the LMP2 class in 2021.
The first official commitment of the crew will be on 24-25 February during the Prologue of the FIA WEC 2024 season at the Losail International Circuit. Qatar will also be the scene of Round 1, which will kick-off the championship a week later.
Robert Kubica: “After winning the FIA WEC LMP2 class in 2023 I am very happy to be able to drive the AF Corse Ferrari 499P this season. I will share the car with Robert and Yifei, two very fast drivers, but it’s going to be very challenging, as the starting grid is very tough. We have everything we need to do well, but we must also recover a lot of ground, since we all have little experience behind the wheel of the 499P. It will be a difficult and demanding challenge, but at the same time it’s all very exciting. We will have to try to keep our feet on the ground and do our best. Especially at the beginning of the season it will not be easy, but we will try to maximize track time to gain crucial experience. I am happy to join AF Corse, a team that I have seen racing and winning for many years in many different categories."
Robert Shwartzman: “I am very happy to debut in the FIA WEC with the Ferrari 499P of AF Corse together with Robert and Yifei. We are feeling confident and ambitious. Confident about the job we will do with the team, and ambitious about the results we want to achieve this year. We will have little time and many things to focus on, but I will give my best to adapt to the car, to the team and everything as fast as possible. I am confident that the season will be positive and I am really motivated to get good results, with the ambition to win the world title. There is a race that I am especially looking forward to, however, and that is the 24 hours of Le Mans. It is a race that has always been in my dreams and I will do everything possible to try to win - I will give my all to do so."
Yifei Ye: “It is truly a privilege to be named as one of the drivers in the 83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P. AF Corse has achieved enormous success across different championships in endurance racing and I’m super excited to start my role of official Ferrari driver with them in the World Endurance Championship and in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Last year the competition was already extremely stiff and this year, with 19 hypercars, it will be even more fierce but, looking at the performance of the team in 2023, I have no doubt that we will be competitive. Together with my two new team-mates, we have experience, speed and youth. I can’t wait to get my first taste of the 499P and start the preparation for the new season that is coming very quickly, but we will be ready to fight for the podium and victory, hopefully right from the first race in Qatar.”
(Source: AF Corse’s PR)