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Ferrari’s WEC title hopes «back on track» after Le Mans win

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Ferrari believes it is back in the hunt for the 2024 World Endurance Championship after claiming its first win of the season at the Le Mans 24 Hours.

This had left the #50 crew a distant fifth in the drivers’ standings, 34 points off the championship-leading Porsche trio of Laurens Vanthoor, Kevin Estre and Andre Lotterer, while Ferrari itself trailed both Porsche and Toyota in the manufacturers’ table.
However, the Italian marque managed to strike back in the most prestigious round of the year, with Fuoco, Molina and Nielsen claiming an impressive win from fourth on the grid and Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi joining them on the podium in third in the #51 car.

The result has elevated the #50 trio to second in the drivers’ championship and just nine points off the #6 crew, with Ferrari now trailing Porsche by the same margin in the manufacturers’ battle.

Antonello Coletta, Ferrari’s sportscar racing chief, described the victory in the double-points WEC round in France as a turning point for its championship challenge.

«Honestly, we lost a lot of points in Imola and Spa because today we could come here [after Le Mans] with three victories on our table. Unfortunately [we have] just one, but probably the most important one,» he said.

#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen

#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen

Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo

«It’s normal that we are at the turnaround [point] of the championship and we have a chance to make all our best efforts to win the championship. At the end, the world championship is a maximum result — the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the World Championship. 

«We won a lot of world championships with the GT class and why not with the prototype.»

The WEC heads to Sao Paulo and then Austin in the coming months as part of the American leg of the championship, with both venues returning to the calendar after long absences. Six and eight-hour fixtures in Fuji and Bahrain will bring the season to a close.

Ferrari’s technical director for sportscar racing Ferdinando Cannizzo was equally upbeat about the Prancing Horse’s prospects for the title, but is uncertain just how competitive the 499P will be in the second half of the campaign.

«For sure we recovered a bit and we are probably back on track to win the championship,» he said.

«About the next races [it] will be difficult. It will be difficult because we need to digest the victory quickly, we need to focus on Brazil. Brazil is very close so we need to rest, keep the focus on the new races [which are] completely different. Interlagos is a difficult track. 

«What I can answer is we need to [repeat] the job that we did for Le Mans or for Spa or for Imola.

Podium: Race winner #50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen

Podium: Race winner #50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

«There is work on the simulation and to understand how we exploit it for the race. I don’t know at the moment if we will be competitive or not but of course, we will work very hard in all the last races of the season so we can say hello to the championship. 

«Our target is always to close the season with the title and we will work hard to bring it home.»

Ferrari threw away a near-certain victory at Imola due to two strategic errors in rainy conditions, while another potential win was lost at Spa when the red flag left its cars in an unfavourable position for the restart. It protested against the results of the Belgian round in the immediate aftermath of the race, but it was rejected by the stewards. It has since appealed the decision.

Speaking after its win at Le Mans, Ferrari revealed the extent it went to to ensure it doesn’t face a similar breakdown in communication during crucial pitstop calls. 

The Italian manufacturer split the strategy when rain arrived for the first time in the third hour at La Sarthe, and the #50 factory entry and the #83 satellite car emerged with a major lead by staying out on a rapidly drying track.

«I organised a lot of meetings after Imola, with the mechanics, with the engineering, with the drivers,» revealed Coletta. «I spoke with all of them because I would understand exactly the problem that we had and why we had the misunderstanding. 

«And now I believe that we demonstrate we work very very well. I think that all the choices we took in the race have been correct. 

«No misunderstanding, no error with the call of the car on the box. And probably the race of Imola has been a big help for this 24-hour.

«But I’m very, very happy about the answer of the team after the problem on the Italian GP (sic) because frankly for me it has been a disaster to lose in front of our [home] fans.» 

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Le Mans-leading Ferrari slapped with big penalty for Kubica’s BMW clash

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


AF Corse driver Robert Kubica was trying to put a lap on Dries Vanthoor in the seventh hour of the race when he side-swiped the BMW at the end of the Mulsanne straight, sending the car head-on into the barriers.

The contact with the armco sent Vanthoor spinning to the other side of the track, where he came to a rest with severe damage to the front of the car.

The #15 BMW retired immediately on the spot, with the race control deploying a safety car to help with the recovery of the vehicle.

The stewards began investigating the incident soon afterwards, but it wasn’t until after the safety car period had ended in the ninth hour that a decision was announced.

It was deemed that Kubica was responsible for the collision, with the #83 Ferrari 499P he shares with factory drivers Yifei Ye and Robert Shwartzman being handed a 30-second stop/go penalty.

The sanction is set to drop the car from the lead of the race, as the safety car had bunched up the field and wiped out its entire lead — which stood at the best part of a minute at one point.

The #8 Toyota GR010 HYBRID of Ryo Hirakawa looks poised to move to the front after Kubica takes to the pitlane to serve the penalty.

#15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Dries Vanthoor, Raffaele Marciello, Marco Wittmann

#15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Dries Vanthoor, Raffaele Marciello, Marco Wittmann

Photo by: Marc Fleury

The factory #50 Ferrari that also didn’t pit for wet tyres at that point will now take over as the lead 499P on track.

The collision between the #83 Ferrari and the #15 BMW, which followed not long after Vanthoor had gone off at the second Mulsanne chicane, further wrecked the German manufacturer’s chances of a strong finish on its return to the top class at Le Mans after 25 years.

The #15 M Hybrid V8 had already dropped off the lead lap after Marco Wittmann suffered a crash in the opening hour, prompting an unscheduled visit to the pits.

The sister #20 entry also had its own share of drama, with Robin Frijns heavily damaging the car after clipping the kerb at the Ford Chicane in Hour 3. 

Frijns managed to complete a full lap of the track and bring the car back into the pits, but it remains in the garage at the time of writing.



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Ferrari calls for strict policing of WEC tyre warming rules at Le Mans 24

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Antonello Coletta, the Italian manufacturer’s sportscar racing boss, made the call in light of ban on tyre warmers in the World Endurance Championship and the rule demanding that the rubber must be at ambient temperature when it is put on the cars. 

He appeared to be suggesting that one manufacturer might be gaining an advantage by circumventing the ban, which was introduced at the start of last season but reversed on a one-off basis for the 2023 centenary Le Mans on safety grounds. 

“In past races, we have already seen that someone has been very good at warming their tyres and on a track like this, we lose over 15s [a lap] when we go out on cold tyres,” said Coletta.

“It is important for the organisers to control the temperatures [of the tyres] when they go on the cars — the rules must be respected.

“The authorities need to check the temperatures; they must be sure that all manufacturers stick to the rules.

“I don’t want the Le Mans 24 Hours to be decided on the warm-up of the tyres in the night or other difficult conditions.”

#4 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Mathieu Jaminet, Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy

#4 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Mathieu Jaminet, Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy

Photo by: Andreas Beil

It appears that the someone to which Coletta referred is Porsche, which has had a clear advantage on tyre warm-up at different points of the season so far. 

Coletta added that he remains hopeful that the rules will be correctly policed during the race. 

“I am confident this is going to happen; I am sure the sporting bodies are thinking to ensure all the temperatures are the same,” he said. 

The FIA has confirmed that checks are being conducted at Le Mans without issuing any further reaction to Coletta’s comments. 

These are known to be made on a random rather than a universal basis, but what is unclear is what tolerance is being allowed.

Michelin, the sole rubber supplier in Hypercar, has also confirmed that its engineers have been instructed to advise the team to which they are attached not to run tyres that could contravene the regulations.

The sporting regulations for the WEC state: “Any process that involves a direct or indirect attempt at modifying the temperature of a tyre (compared to the ambient temperature) is forbidden.

“This includes but is not limited to: warming of the car’s suspension components, wheel hub assembly and braking system; modification to the filing medium water heating system/element when washing the wheels.”

#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen

#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen

Photo by: Rainier Ehrhardt

Traditionally tyres in sportscar racing were pre-heated in ovens at the back of each team’s pit garage. 

The ban, made on environmental grounds, coincided with the introduction of a new range of tyres from Michelin designed to be driven on from cold. 

It was temporarily reversed for Le Mans last year after a spate of accidents at the previous round of the WEC at Spa, which was held in cold conditions. 

Le Mans organiser the Automobile Club de l’Ouest said in May last year that lifting the ban on a one-off basis would give “tyre manufacturers, teams and drivers valuable time to develop better understanding of how to bring cold tyres up to temperature ahead of the remainder of the 2023 WEC season”.

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