Fuoco-Molina-Nielsen second in drivers Championship

WECHyperCar

Aug 16

2024 24 Hours of Le Mans winners Nicklas Nielsen, Miguel Molina and Antonio Fuoco are second in the FIA Hypercar World Endurance Drivers Championship, 19 points behind Kevin Estre, André Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor, leaders of the drivers Championship. The Ferrari #50 trio Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Micklas Nielsen count a second podium at Spa contrary to Imola, Interlagos and Qatar where the #50 Ferrari scored a P4 at best.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans win was a break through

Thanks to their victory at Le Mans, Nicklas Nielsen, Miguel Molina and Antonio Fuoco jumped from P4 in the Drivers’ championship (they shared with the Porsche #5 trio) to P2 thanks to the 50 points collected for the 24 Hours of Le Mans win.

Victorious Ferrari 499P #50 with Nicklas Nielsen, Miguel Molina and Antonio Fuoco. — 📷 © Luc Warnotte at 24 Hours of Le Mans. Victorious Ferrari 499P #50 with **Nicklas Nielsen, Miguel Molina and Antonio Fuoco**.

Heavy rainfall led to a long Safety Car period (from 3:44 to 9 a.m.) because of poor visibility and aquaplaning. When the race restarted, the victory seemed very difficult as Ferrari #50 was sixth. But the last couple of hours saw both official Ferrari 499P lapping faster and easier than the #6 Porsche enabling the #50 Ferrari trio to win their first 24 Hours of Le Mans, the second in a row for Ferrari-AF Corse.

Nicklas Nielsen 499P #50: “Fantastic! It really is a dream come true. The victory seemed very difficult for part of the race, even at the end, when we had a problem with the door. But then everything went well. I’m speechless. I’m very proud of everyone. The last lap was very long, impossible to imagine. I worried about avoiding any risks and getting to the finish line as quickly as possible. I just had to manage the lead.”

📷 © Luc Warnotte at 24 Hours of Le Mans. Victorious Ferrari 499P #50 with **Nicklas Nielsen, Miguel Molina and Antonio Fuoco**.

Antonio Fuoco 499P #50: “We were perfect all weekend, so I think we deserve this victory. It’s been a long wait since last year, so we can enjoy it thoroughly. The result is even better because we finished on the podium with the #51. The atmosphere here is always incredible, starting on the test day when you meet the fans with Ferrari flags. These aspects also provide extra motivation to give your best. Even during the race, at night, with the rain, it was lovely to see a big turnout from the public along the track, in the stands. It’s incredible how much passion you can experience. No words can capture this moment.”

Miguel Molina 499P #50: “We worked hard to achieve this goal. We wanted this victory for a long time. We realised we had a chance to fight for victory, and we gave everything. I am delighted because it’s the best day of my sporting career” Source: Ferrari

One podium at Spa

Both Maranello cars moved into the top positions after starting from the middle of the pack with Molina in third at mid-race. Fuoco moved into second place on lap 86 until a red flag came out following the accident between Cadillac #2 and BMW M4 GT3 #31. At the restart the #50 Ferrari had to make an emergency stop, followed by a final pit stop, as the race did not resume just for the five minutes remaining until the natural end but also the recovery of the 104 minutes of suspension. In the finale, despite Nielsen’s excellent lap times, he could not overtake Porsches #12 and 6, which finished first and second, respectively. These Porsches had made their fourth pit stop before the suspension.

The crew of Fuoco-Molina-Nielsen finished in an excellent third position, their first podium of the season.

Podium for Ferrari 499P #50 with Nicklas Nielsen, Miguel Molina and Antonio Fuoco at 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. — 📷 © Luc Warnotte at Spa-Francorchamps. Podium for Ferrari 499P #50 with **Nicklas Nielsen, Miguel Molina and Antonio Fuoco** at 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.

Miguel Molina, driver 499P #50: “I think the team showed its full potential at Spa, and it will be hard to forget how both our crew and our teammates in the 499P number 51 climbed up from the back. At the sixth hour, we were first and second, and I believe that positioning best represents what we saw on the track today.” Source: Ferrari

Rain jeopardise strategy at Imola

Ferrari 499P #50 dominated the 6 Hours of Imola until the fourth hour. At that point, rain fell, especially in the third sector. What initially seemed like a brief, passing rain shower turned out to be persistent, negating the advantage of having a competitive car in mixed conditions. This forced them to pit earlier than planned, giving an edge to the teams that had switched to rain tyres several laps earlier. At this stage, the 499P’s prospects of contending for victory evaporated, and only an impressive final stint by Fuoco (with a best race lap time) enabled crew #50 to finish within reach of the podium (P4).

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola. The three Ferrari 499P did pit too late for wet tires losing the double they achieved before the rain.

Nicklas Nielsen, 499P #50: “The race showed promise at the start, with a strong pace in the opening hours. However, the weather changed, and we could not finish the 6 Hours of Imola as we’d liked. At the end of the day, we can’t be entirely satisfied. We’ll aim to gather valuable insights from this race to improve our performance and return determined to do our best as of the next race at Spa.” Source: Ferrari

P6 at Sao Paulo

Round five of the World Endurance Championship - the six hours of Sao Paulo- ended with the Ferrari – AF Corse 499P #50 in sixth position. Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, and Nicklas Nielsen maximised the potential of the 499Ps. Nevertheless, they were unable to contend for the top positions still earning eight championship points.

📷 © courtesy of WEC at Interlagos. P6 for Ferrari 499P #50 with **Nicklas Nielsen, Miguel Molina and Antonio Fuoco** at 6 Hours of Sao-Paulo.

Antonio Fuoco, 499P #50: “In general, this was a difficult weekend. We have no regrets because we know we gave our all, and considering the performance seen on the track over the six hours, we couldn’t have done better.”

Miguel Molina, 499P #50: “The team did a tremendous job, and we tried every solution, even varying the tyre compounds during the race, to perform at our best. However, we couldn’t compete for the top positions in terms of pace. The positive aspect is that we scored some vital championship points.”

Nicklas Nielsen, 499P #50: “The Brazilian weekend was tricky from the first free practice session. After the extraordinary victory at Le Mans, we were hoping for a better result, but we have no regrets because we know we gave our best as a team. The points we scored with our 499Ps will still be crucial for the championship.” Source: Ferrari.

Difficult debut in Qatar.

The Lusail’s 1812 Qatar track proved tricky for the AF Corse Ferrari 499P. The contacts suffered, which constrained the mechanics to recall the 499Ps to the pits for the necessary work, and the penalties incurred for several errors undermined the official crews’ chances of contending for the top positions despite Molina’s excellent start.

Following the disqualification of the #93 Peugeot, which had finished ahead of the #50 crew, Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, and Nicklas Nielsen was classified in 7th leaving Qatar with 12 points in the Drivers’ standing.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Losail. The #50 crew, Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, and Nicklas Nielsen were classified in 7th of the 1812 Qatar race.

Antonio Fuoco, 499P #50 Ferrari – AF Corse: “The year’s first outing wasn’t positive. First, we must work on ourselves because we made too many mistakes today. Now our goal must be to start again even stronger. We are already thinking about the next race at Imola in which I hope we’ll again prove our worth.”

Miguel Molina, 499P #50 Ferrari – AF Corse: “The 1812 KM was very long, and so much happened over the ten hours. We made a good start, although we knew that our pace wouldn’t give us much of a chance to challenge for the podium. In the end, we picked up some points that will be precious over the course of the season, but looking ahead to Imola, I hope we can do better and bag a significant result in front of our fans.”

Nicklas Nielsen, 499P #50 Ferrari – AF Corse: “We can’t be satisfied with eighth place, even though we climbed a few positions at the end, gaining some important points for the team and perhaps finishing in the best possible position given the circumstances. It’s a shame because Miguel had an excellent start, but we couldn’t contend for a top position during the race.” Source: Ferrari

Three races until the end of season

The next round of the World Endurance Championship will occur at Austin for the Lone Star Le Mans race September 1st. The WEC circus will then fly to Japan for the 6 Hours of Fuji on September 15th. Both races enables to score 25 points for the race win and 1 point for the pole in Hyperpole. Season ends at Bahrain for an 8 hours race November 2nd (a 38 points race for the winners).