The Ferrari – AF Corse 499Ps finished 11th and 14th in the 8 Hours of Bahrain with crew numbers 50 and 51, respectively. The final round of the FIA WEC 2024 also saw the AF Corse team’s Ferrari number 83 finish in eighth position. Here are the post-race comments from the Sakhir circuit.
Nicklas Nielsen, 499P #50: “We can’t be satisfied. At the start, the contact Miguel suffered meant we had to chase. We found a good pace at mid-race, climbing up to the top five until a second collision that caused the puncture knocked us out of the running again. Without these setbacks, I believe we could have remained in the hunt for a podium finish.”
James Calado, 499P #51: “We’re sorry we didn’t win the world title for Ferrari. It was a challenging goal going into this race, but we were determined to give it everything right to the end. With the 8 Hours of Bahrain, our second season in endurance racing’s top class comes to a close. It’s been a positive year.”
Yifei Ye, 499P #83: “Overall, today’s race was tough. The high temperatures pushed us to the limit. At various points, we showed we could be quick, but we struggled in the final part. Nevertheless, I think all the guys performed well, and I thank them for their hard work throughout the season.”
Antonello Coletta, Global Head of Endurance and Corse Client: "We close the 2024 season with two victories at Le Mans with he number 50 and at COTA with the number 83, and in total five top-three finishes. We can still look back on a very positive championship, with third place in the manufacturers' standings and second in the drivers' standings for Fuoco, Molina and Nielsen. In this race in Bahrain as well, where we led for almost the entire 8 hours, we saw confirmation of our cas and crew's improved competitiveness - a solid foundation to build upon for the 2025 season."
Ferdinando Cannizzo, Head of Endurance Race Cars: “Compared to 12 months ago, our progress—making the most of the waiver introduced in Brazil and our ever-increasing knowledge of the car—is clear, as shown by number 51’s race pace. We were unlucky with the number 50 crew, as the early and late-race contacts heavily impacted their performance. However, we are satisfied with having recorded significant improvements over last year, aware that there are more steps to take to compete for titles.”