Ferrari marks the anniversary of the birth of Enzo Ferrari on 18 February 1898 with the unveiling of the livery of the 499P that will compete in the Hypercar class of the FIA WEC 2024. The spotlight is now on the second world championship season, which will kick off on 2 March in Qatar and feature car numbers 50 and 51 fielded by the Ferrari – AF Corse team.
Tradition and innovation intertwine in the new livery of the Ferrari Hypercar. While closely recalling that of last season, when the Italian team won the Centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans and finished runner-up in the Manufacturers’ standings, the new racing colours look to the future and introduce innovative elements.
Ferrari’s red, synonymous worldwide with the Italian sporting spirit, is coupled with the company’s traditional Giallo Modena yellow already seen on the 2023 livery, and together they emphasise the car’s sculptural and dynamic lines.
The colour scheme celebrates the Ferrari 312 PB, the last prototype to compete in the World Championship in 1973 before a half-century interlude broken last year when the Prancing Horse returned to the top endurance class. A racing red specifically designed for the new season dominates the 499P and is combined with the Giallo Modena yellow highlights. The deep, intense red of the bodywork takes inspiration from the F2007 single-seater with which Scuderia Ferrari competed in Formula 1 in 2007, but with the addition of new elements: these produce a glossier version of the Hypercar that boosts the car’s visibility at night and in conditions with poor visibility.
The composition of the livery designed for the two 499P numbers 50 and 51, driven by the six official Ferrari drivers, is also a departure from the previous year. The main objective is to accentuate the car’s body and cockpit with two staggered colour blocks, creating a fluid, compositional rhythm and with a design that, by blending the two hues, enhances the lines and three-dimensional quality of the surface geometry.
These aspects are apparent when viewing the Hypercar side-on: the Giallo Modena surrounds the entire cockpit, underlining its physical and symbolic importance. New graphic features, lines and horizontal bands in the same colour further accentuate the concept of dynamism and speed by expanding in the lower part of the bodywork near the rear wheelarches, on the upper part of the tail fin and inside the rear-wing end plates.
The team. Like last year, the Ferrari – AF Corse team lines up for the 2024 season with the 499P number 50 and 51 crewed respectively by Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, and Nicklas Nielsen, and Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, and Antonio Giovinazzi.
The calendar. The Lusail International Circuit in Qatar hosts the FIA World Endurance Championship for the first time. The Persian Gulf state hosts the Prologue (24-25 February) ahead of the 1812 km of Qatar, the year’s debut race over the ten-hour distance (2 March). The 6 Hours of Imola (Italy) is next on the FIA WEC calendar (21 April), followed by the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium; 11 May), the 24 Hours of Le Mans (France; 15-16 June), the 6 Hours of São Paulo (Brazil: 14 July), the Lone Star Le Mans at the Circuit of the Americas – COTA (USA; 1 September), the 6 Hours of Fuji (Japan; 15 September) and lastly the 8 Hours of Bahrain (2 November).