Ferrari’s Antonio Fuoco Secures Pole Position at WEC 2023 with Clever Tyre Management

In a thrilling Hyperpole session, Ferrari’s Antonio Fuoco clinched his first pole position since last year’s Le Mans 24 Hours, expertly managing his tyres to set two blistering laps in his factory #50 Ferrari 499P Le Mans Hypercar. The Italian’s clever strategy, which involved completing two warmup laps, paid off as he clocked a 1m29.466s lap time, 0.419s clear of the field and 0.635s faster than the best non-Ferrari, the factory Penske Porsche Motorsport-run Porsche 963 LMDh driven by Kevin Estre.

Fuoco’s Successful Tyre Management Strategy

Fuoco attributed his success to Ferrari’s well-planned approach, which aimed to bring the tyres into the optimal temperature range without overstressing them. “I think today this made a bit of a difference compared to the other competitors because we saw that the Porsche was pushing earlier than us and maybe stressed a bit more tyres,” Fuoco explained. “This was our strategy from FP3 that we tried earlier. It was working quite well and we did it again in the quali, and it was okay. So I think today we understand a bit more than the others on how to manage the tyres.”

Ferrari Lockout of the Top Three

WEC rookie Robert Shwartzman, driving the customer AF Corse-run 499P, adopted an identical approach to secure second place on the grid, while Alessandro Pier Guidi completed a Ferrari lockout of the top three in the second factory machine.

Fuoco reflected on his pole-winning lap, saying, “The feeling was already good from this morning in FP3, so I just tried to keep the concentration high, tried to put everything together. It’s always tricky when you go on qualifying with the traffic and everything, but I think the gap was really good and I just put a really good lap together.”

The Tifosi’s Boost of Motivation

The Italian also credited the support of the Tifosi, Ferrari’s loyal fan base, for providing an extra boost of motivation. “It was quite a special lap as always, but I think today in front of our Tifosi, our home race, I have an extra boost and I just push 100% from the beginning until the end of the quali.”

Shwartzman, competing in Hyperpole for the first time, was pleased to secure a front-row start despite his inexperience. “Really only the last lap was a decent one, but it was not good enough for pole,” he said. “For my first quali, I think the front row is quite good. Antonio did a really good clean lap, but I didn’t manage to do that. That is the difference between P1 and P2.”

Pier Guidi, who struggled on his push lap, remains confident in Ferrari’s race pace. “I am confident for tomorrow, P3 is a good starting place,” he said.

The WEC 2023 season is shaping up to be an exciting one, with Ferrari’s impressive performance in qualifying setting the tone for an intense battle on the track. With the FIA WEC calendar 2023 featuring a packed schedule of events, fans can expect more thrilling action from the world of endurance racing.

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