WEC 2025 BoP analysis: Ferrari

In 2025, Ferrari and AF Corse have pushed the Hypercar class to a new level, extracting even more performance  from the 499P than in previous seasons, when the Italian LMH was already one of the fastest cars in the field.

The 2025 season was defined by the Prancing Horse. Above all, the winning streak in the first half of the season will be remembered forever. However, in a Balance of Performance-governed championship, such dominance is technically not supposed to happen. So what happened?

The answer: Ferrari made a massive leap over the winter. This progress was pivotal for why the 2025 WEC BoP didn’t work as intended. The initial BoP for the 499P was still based on the final races of 2024, when the rear-end update was still brand new. 

Qatar shock sets the tone

Ferrari made this update really work over the winter break. Whilst Ferrari was already competitive in late 2024 — with a win in Austin and qualifying third and fifth in Bahrain — no one expected such a massive performance gain over just three months.

In Qatar, Ferrari caught the entire field and the automated BoP system off guard. The problem with an automated BoP is simple: if the baseline values are incorrect at the start of the season, it takes time for the system to effectively bring a car back in line. AF Corse used this window of opportunity to their maximum advantage. 

Ferdinando Cannizzo, head of endurance race cars at Ferrari, explained at Bahrain: «From the very beginning we worked hard to ensure good performance on all the track characteristics. But the results proved that we achieved our goals on high-efficiency tracks like Le Mans or Spa or Monza first. And so we gained much experience in setting up the car for high-efficiency tracks.

«But over the first two years we collected more data and at some point understood that we had to move away from the specific setup that we used at Le Mans to better perform at tracks with different characteristics.

«We then spent much time segmenting all the tracks and understanding in all the areas in which we were not performing well and how we could set up the car for those. So I think our strength this year is probably the complete understanding of the car.»

BoP always one step behind

The 499P began the season in Qatar with a power-to-weight ratio of 2.070 kg/kW in the critical window below 250 km/h, only the third-worst rating behind Porsche (2.094) and Toyota (2.115). Ferrari steamrolled the opposition and took a dominant 1-2-3. 

What followed is symbolic of how cleverly Ferrari was able to play the system. Instead of a harsher BoP following the Qatar dominance, the power-to-weight ratio for Ferrari’s home race at Imola got actually improved to 2.057 kg/kW. 

Ferrari understands like no other team how to be dominant without showing that dominance too clearly in the data relevant to the 2025 BoP – the top 60% of laptimes and the ten single fastest laps during the race.

For Spa, the BoP procedure was adjusted for the first time, counting only the two best races instead of three. Yet, even having the second-worst power-to-weight ratio in the field (topped only by a catastrophic Toyota BoP) could not stop Ferrari in Belgium.

At least, for the first time in 2025, Ferrari had to really fight for the win. Alpine was certain that without Mick Schumacher’s puncture, the winning team would have been blue instead of red. Nevertheless, Ferrari headed to Le Mans with three wins from three races.

The Le Mans mystery

It was at Le Mans where the biggest BoP row erupted — a conflict largely responsible for Porsche’s subsequent withdrawal from the WEC. In the Special BoP, created primarily on simulation data, Ferrari received a relatively average rating of 2.023kg/kW below 250 km/h.

Above 250 km/h, relevant for only this race due to the track characteristics), the 499P was given the worst power-to-weight ratio of all hypercars at 2.084 kg/kW. Despite this, the three Ferraris occupied first, second, and fifth in the top speed rankings. 

This paradox led to significant displeasure among the other manufacturers. To this day, the paddock puzzles over how Ferrari is able to generate such a massive advantage in the high-speed range. Theories ranging from «diffuser stalling» to tricking torque sensors circulate as unproven paddock rumours.

It should be noted that Ferrari did not cheat. The Italians simply understand how to play the game better than anyone else. However, the political consequences were historic: The «BoP row» and the subsequent failed attempt to unify the LMH and LMDh platforms in the short-term were the catalysts for Porsche’s decision to exit the WEC at the end of 2025. 

With the LMDh concept, Porsche feels it can’t play the same game as Ferrari does with the LMH, despite the ACO’s promise of a «guaranteed equal playing field.»

Competitive even with the harshest rating

It wasn’t until after Le Mans that the system finally caught up with the Ferrari 499P. For three races, it was handed a rating of 2.227 kg/kW under 250 km/h, the same power-to-weight ratio Toyota had struggled with in Spa.

Nevertheless, Ferrari remained competitive in the dry practice sessions in Austin before the rain turned everything upside down. 

And also at Bahrain, now with the second-worst power-to-weight ratio of 2.203 kg/kW behind Porsche, Ferrari remained the second-strongest force behind perennial Bahrain winners, Toyota.

Ferrari’s two «bogey tracks,» Sao Paulo and Fuji, remained. In Brazil, Ferrari was without a chance, partly because the gap in power-to-weight ratio to the other hypercars was so vast. At Fuji, many other hypercars were rated less favourably compared to Sao Paulo, while Ferrari remained stuck at 2.227 kg/kW.

Overall, Cannizzo remains satisfied with Ferrari’s post-Le Mans performance: «Probably the post-Le Mans circuits are not the most suitable tracks to our car. But if you compare our performance and remove any performance management adjustment [the BoP], we have gained a lot of performance. And we are extremely proud of that.»
 
The Ferrari 499P is the fastest Hypercar outright. It is therefore no wonder that Antonello Coletta consistently advocates for the total abolition of the BoP. Yet Ferrari proves that even with BoP, it can exploit its advantages at every level. 

As a result, Ferrari AF Corse secured the first prototype title since 1972 for Maranello. For 2026, Ferrari finds itself in a strange situation: Of course, it wants to keep winning. However, another season like 2025 would inevitably lead to the exit of more manufacturers.

How Ferrari navigates the tightrope between technical excellence and the political necessity of a balanced field will be one of the most compelling stories of the 2026 season.

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— The Motorsport.com Team