Ferrari’s Le Mans Victory: A Surprise Triumph
Ferrari’s sportscar racing boss Antonello Coletta has acknowledged that his team’s victory in the 92nd 24 Hours of Le Mans was a surprise, given the Italian marque’s pace struggles during the test day, practice, and qualifying sessions. Coletta made the comment after the factory #50 Ferrari 499P, driven by Nicklas Nielsen, Antonio Fuoco, and Miguel Molina, took the chequered flag by 14 seconds over the #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid.
“We arrived here like not the favourites,” Coletta said in a post-race interview. “I remember after the first test on Sunday and the FP1, FP2, and FP3, my idea was that without a special race with the problem of the weather, with the change of the weather or the other problem, it was impossible for us to win.”
Despite the team’s initial doubts, the three Ferraris charged to the front in the opening hour of the race and remained competitive throughout, despite encountering late drama, including an unscheduled pitstop for the #50 entry due to a stuck door. Coletta credited the team’s ability to adapt to the changing weather conditions, which repeatedly switched between wet and dry, as a key factor in their victory.
“In fact, during the 24 hours, a lot of cars were in the first position during the race. And for us, it has been very complicated because we started with two penalties for the #83 and the #51 [carried over from qualifying]. After that, I don’t remember how many penalties we received, but [it was] a lot. We [also] had a problem with the door. [But] we won for the second year, and we are very, very happy.”
Ferrari’s technical director for sportscar racing, Ferdinando Cannizzo, attributed the team’s success to their ability to exploit their strengths and minimize their weaknesses, particularly in wet conditions. “I was not really that optimistic before the race,” Cannizzo admitted. “But we knew that we were missing something that Toyota specifically had.”
Cannizzo acknowledged that Toyota had the edge over the competition in dry conditions but noted that Ferrari was able to fight back when the track was wet. “In the middle part, there are two different phases in the wet where the Toyota was definitely the fastest car, no doubt. Clearly, they had a lot of downforce. They did an excellent job.”
The victory marks Ferrari’s second consecutive win in the WEC 2023 season, with the team now looking ahead to the next round of the championship. As a key player in the FIA WEC, Ferrari’s success is a testament to the Italian marque’s commitment to sportscar racing and its ongoing development of the 499P LMH.
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