Ferrari on pole position at the 1812 KM of Qatar

Lusail, 27 February 2025 - The 499P cars of the Ferrari – AF Corse team will start from first and third positions at the 1812 KM of Qatar, the opening round of the FIA WEC 2025. Antonio Giovinazzi secured pole position today at the wheel of the number 51 499P, while his teammate Antonio Fuoco, in the number 50 car, will start two places further back. The Prancing Horse thus claims its fifth pole position since the Maranello manufacturer’s return to competition in the top class of endurance racing, once again starting from the front in the season-opening round, just as it did on the 499P’s racing debut at Sebring in 2023.

The number 83 499P of AF Corse will start from eighth place, thanks to the time set by Robert Kubica.

The green flag for the 1812 KM of Qatar is scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, 28 February, at 2 p.m. local time.

Qualifying. The session took place in dry conditions, with cool temperatures of 15.7°C and 17.5°C for air and track respectively. Giovinazzi took the wheel of the 499P – which he will share in the race with Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado – stopping the clock at 1’38”587, the fastest time of the session, ahead of Fuoco, who completed his best lap in 1’38”609, securing second place.

Qualifying was further enhanced by the sixth place secured by the number 83 499P, entrusted to Kubica. The Polish driver – sharing the cockpit with official Ferrari driver Yifei Ye and Phil Hanson – posted a best lap of 1’39”326.

Hyperpole. In the decisive session reserved for the top ten drivers, Ferrari ended the day on a high, confirming its presence at the top with Giovinazzi further improving his time to 1’38”359. Fuoco, meanwhile, secured a second-row start, lapping Lusail in 1’38”692.

The number 83 499P in Giallo Modena livery will start from the fourth row, after Kubica set a time of 1’39”299.

Fifth pole. The Maranello manufacturer thus returns to pole position in the FIA World Endurance Championship for the fifth time, following the pole positions secured in 2024 at COTA and Imola – where the Prancing Horse locked out the top three grid places with the number 50, 83, and 51 cars – and those from the debut Hypercar season in 2023, recorded at Le Mans and Sebring.

For the Pier Guidi-Calado-Giovinazzi crew, this marks their second pole in the past 24 months. The Italian driver had also qualified Ferrari on pole at Austin in September last year. Previously, teammates Fuoco-Molina-Nielsen started from the front at Sebring and Le Mans in 2023 and at Imola the following year.

Antonio Giovinazzi: “Starting from the front tomorrow here in Qatar is the result of the great teamwork we have done in recent days. I am thrilled and want to thank all my teammates and the team. In qualifying, I put together a strong lap, but I knew the challenge would be really tough in the decisive Hyperpole session, where I managed to improve and secure this fantastic result. We have an excellent car, and starting first and third is undoubtedly important, but the race will be very demanding, and we need to execute everything perfectly.”

Antonio Fuoco, 499P #50: “We will start from the second row, which is a good position at the start of what will be a challenging race. Over the last few days, we have shown that we can be competitive, so the hope is to put in a strong performance in this first round of the season.”

Antonello Coletta: “We are very pleased with this start to the season, thanks to the pole position secured by Antonio Giovinazzi, which not only earns us the first point of the year but also marks Ferrari’s fifth pole position in the Hypercar class. Congratulations also to Antonio Fuoco, who finished an extremely competitive session with an excellent third place. Now, we look ahead to the 1812 KM of Qatar with confidence, fully aware that the race will be long and on a track that presents challenges for us.”