The 6 Hours of Spa, round three of the FIA WEC 2024, ended with third and fourth place for Ferrari – AF Corse’s 499P numbers 50 and 51. The number 83 car, fielded by AF Corse, finished eighth overall and third in the FIA World Cup for Hypercar Teams. Here are the comments following the world championship event in Belgium.
Miguel Molina, driver 499P #50: “I think the team showed its full potential at Spa, and it will be hard to forget how both our crew and our teammates in the 499P number 51 climbed up from the back. At the sixth hour, we were first and second, and I believe that positioning best represents what we saw on the track today.”
James Calado, driver 499P #51: “I congratulate my teammates and the entire team. In the first stints, Antonio (Giovinazzi, ed) did something exceptional by moving up in the standings and allowing me to take the race lead. At that point, we were first and second with the two Ferraris. The race was over for us at the six-hour mark, and the subsequent one-hour and 44-minute ‘sprint race’ shouldn’t have happened. “
Yifei Ye, driver 499P #83: “It was a complicated race at Spa, with excellent moments and trickier ones. Eighth place overall may not be the best result we could have hoped for, but we are certainly pleased to have achieved third place in the independent teams’ class, which allowed us to climb the world championship podium for the third consecutive time.”
Robert Shwartzman, driver 499P #83: “We didn't end the race in the way we wanted. The team was a little unlucky with the red flag and we regret that. In the first stint, the car was balanced, and I had a decent pace that would have allowed us to fight for the overall podium, but the suspension shuffled the deck. Now we look ahead, focusing on the next round at Le Mans.”
Antonello Coletta, Global Head of Endurance e Corse Clienti: “The team did a great job over the entire weekend at Spa. Today in the race ,the drivers pulled back many positions and took the lead with the two official cars, benefiting from the team’s excellent strategy, which allowed them to make the most of the tyres. The third and fourth positions of the 499P numbers 50 and 51, as well as the class podium finish of number 83, are significant results. However, this race, which ideally should have concluded at the sixth hour when we were in even better positions, went on a lot longer.”
Ferdinando Cannizzo, Head of Endurance Race Cars: "Today was a positive day for us, despite the result. As far as the race performance is concerned, we did nothing wrong, setting a perfect strategy. We took the cars, which started at the back of the grid, all the way to the top of the leaderboard, and we were leading the race securely, so much so that we had the three Ferrari 499Ps in the top four positions.
Unfortunately, an accident at that point led to a red flag, but we consider the decision to extend the race beyond six hours questionable. We feel a lot of regret because we believe the outcome should have been different”.