Ferrari compares maiden WEC Hypercar title to Le Mans wins

Ferrari says clinching its maiden Hypercar title in the World Endurance Championship gives it a “different satisfaction” to winning the Le Mans 24 Hours.

The Prancing Horse swept both the drivers’ and the manufacturers’ championships after its three 499Ps finished third, fourth and fifth in the season-ending Bahrain 8 Hours.

It marks Ferrari’s first prototype world title since 1972, when it won the World Sportscar Championship with the 312 P.

After introducing the LMH-based 499P in 2023, Ferrari won Le Mans at its first attempt and then repeated that achievement in 2024 and ’25. However, it wasn’t until this year that it delivered the consistency to clinch the overall titles in Hypercar. Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi won the drivers’ title in the #51 499P, while Ferrari comfortably trumped Toyota in the manufacturers’ race.

Ferrari said its 2025 success was built on the lessons it had gathered across its first two seasons back in the top category, and demonstrated its ability to perform consistently across an eight-round campaign.

“It’s clear that we won the 24-hour Le Mans very quickly and we repeated the victory in Le Mans three times,” said Antonello Coletta, global head of Ferrari Endurance.

“It’s clear that the victory of the championship is different. It’s the final step after eight races and it’s not just an episode or just a point, but it’s the synthesis of our work.

 “It’s clear that during the first season, 2023, we learned a lot. In 2024, we progressed in terms of the management of tyres and reliability. 

“I remember that during our meeting at the start of the season, I declared that we are ready to win the championship or to have a battle to win the championship. Why? Because during this period we worked a lot in terms of repeat management, we changed some people and we organised our team in different steps, and we won the first three races.

“Three times Le Mans and now the world championship. We deserved this title; we worked very, very well for the season. 

“It’s clear that it’s impossible to have an amazing result for each race, but we won [the first] half of the championship and we were very consistent in the rest of the races.”

While a Le Mans victory is traditionally viewed as the biggest achievement in endurance racing, Coletta stressed that the full-season title provided a distinct kind of reward.

Asked if the WEC title tasted sweeter than its Le Mans successes, given how long it took Ferrari to achieve that target, he said: “It’s a different satisfaction. It’s clear that it’s impossible to explain what the difference between Le Mans and the world championship is.

“These are two different issues, but we are very proud to win both. It’s better to win both.”

#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye, Philip Hanson

Photo by: Nikolaz Godet

Ferrari’s title challenge was built on its dominance in the first part of the season, with victories in the opening four races on the trot — including Le Mans — giving it a healthy buffer in the standings.

It struggled particularly at Sao Paulo and Fuji, but podiums at COTA and Bahrain helped it seal the manufacturers’ title.

Meanwhile, Pier Guidi, Calado and Giovinazzi claimed the drivers’ crown after victories at Imola and Spa, plus podiums in Qatar and Le Mans.

Pier Guidi said Ferrari had to step up its game this year to mount a successful season-long challenge.

“The first target was winning Le Mans and we achieved it immediately,” he said. “And then we understood that to win the title, we need to be more constant during the season.

“So we had to improve the weak points we had. And finally we did, we put it all together. This season has been a tough season, with the first part where we were really competitive. 

“Then after Le Mans, we started to struggle, even because we know that there are some tracks where we struggle a bit. But generally I think we did the best job, this is why we are here.”

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— The Motorsport.com Team