At the end of a difficult qualifying session, where the Ferrari 499Ps took sixth and seventh place on the grid, we heard from the drivers at the track on the slopes of Mount Fuji.
James Calado: "I'm not surprised by the qualifying, although I was obviously hoping for a better result. We already knew in the run-up to the weekend that we'd be penalised even more than at Monza, so this is the best possible result for us, even though we're not happy. As for my qualifying, I made an excellent first attempt even though I lost something in the third sector, but even so, we wouldn't have been able to compete with the Toyota. It will be difficult in tomorrow's race because of our tyre degradation, but we will try to find the right strategy. Fuji is always an unknown quantity weather-wise. We'll need to be good at using any hitches to our advantage”.
Nicklas Nielsen: "In my opinion, it was the most challenging qualifying of the season for our car and the entire team. It's pretty clear we lack pace. Tomorrow will be a long race, but I don't have high expectations, and although we'll do our best to gain as many positions as possible, it will be challenging”.
Ferdinando Cannizzo, Head of Endurance Race Cars: "We tried to do as much as we could, also because we didn't expect to compete for pole position. That's why we've been trying to optimise our performance for the race, hoping to get to the podium. In this context, it will be crucial to make the most of the opportunities the changeable weather offers”.
Antonello Coletta, Global Head of Endurance and Corse Clienti: “We arrived in Japan aware that we had a tough weekend ahead of us, unable to exploit the full potential of the 499P to fight for victory. We’re certainly not happy to start so far back, partly because this is the worst qualifying of the year in a race crucial for keeping our title hopes alive. In any case, we are working to climb the podium as in all previous races, taking advantage of the six hours to battle with our rivals.”