Historic Ferrari top 3 at Qatar 1812km

WECHyperCar

Mar 1

📷© Luc Warnotte at Lusail. Triple Ferrari 499P at Lusail.

Perfect race for Ferrari this weekend at Lusail (Qatar) with the triple for the second season with the Ferrari 499P. The victory was secured by Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, and Nicklas Nielsen in the #50 499P, crossing the line ahead of the #83 car of AF Corse, driven by Yifei Ye, Robert Kubica, and Phil Hanson. Third place went to the other official Ferrari – AF Corse crew of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, and Antonio Giovinazzi in #51 499P.

📷© Luc Warnotte at Lusail. Both official Ferrari 499P leading the Qatar 1812km.

Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, and Nicklas Nielsen in the #50 499P

The Prancing Horse lead 309 laps out of the 318 covered with #50 crew (Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, and Nicklas Nielsen) leading 116 laps. its fifth pole position since the Maranello manufacturer’s return to competition in the top class of endurance racing. Miguel Molina took control of the race when overtaking Phil Hanson in the #83 AF Corse 499P with just over four hours remaining.

In the ninth hour, the car fell to second as the Ferrari AF Corse pit was 10” slower than the AF Corse #83. Antonio Fuoco did spend 25 laps behind the privately owned yellow Ferrari, before pouncing again with 32 last to go before checkered flag.

📷© Luc Warnotte at Lusail. Winning Ferrari #50 pitting ahead of AF Corse #83.

Antonio Fuoco: “First of all, I want to thank the entire team for the work done over the winter, which allowed us to arrive here in Qatar with great potential to exploit. We performed very well in the race, both in tyre management and strategy. What we achieved today, with three Ferraris in the top positions at the end of a World Endurance Championship race, will go down in history.”

Miguel Molina: “The most important thing is that we started this season in the best possible way with a fantastic victory. After claiming success at Le Mans last year, we were determined to begin 2025 by showing our potential, because we have a major goal – to chase the world title for Ferrari. Scoring 38 points here in Qatar is undoubtedly ideal as we pursue this dream.”

📷© Luc Warnotte at Lusail. Winning Ferrari 499P #50.

Nicklas Nielsen: “As the race got underway, I immediately managed to take second place – I got off to an excellent start which gave us a confidence boost for a race that turned out to be tricky. The race was very tough, but I think we did everything in the best way possible, reclaiming the top step of the podium after our great Le Mans victory in 2024. We performed well in tyre management and in the choices made by the team, which allowed us to make the most of our 499P.”

Yifei Ye, Robert Kubica, and Phil Hanson in #83 AF Corse 499P second

The #83 privately-entered 499P from AF Corse, with Yifei Ye, Robert Kubica, and Phil Hanson on board, did spend 98 laps in the lead. After four hours racing, when the then leading 499P #51 suffered a penalty, the #83 took the lead for 73 laps (a bit more than two hours) just interrupted by #50 for two laps and Cadillac #12 for 1 lap due to asynchronous pitting. The yellow Ferrari took the lead again during the 8th hour for 25 laps.

The second official Ferrari 499P in P3

The pole sitting crew took the lead from start during more than 3 hours (95 laps) just losing the lead for 6 laps (in two sequences) to Cadillac #38 until two drive-through penalties, in the mid-section of the 1812 KM, did see them going down the ranking. The Pier Guidi-Calado-Giovinazzi crew staged a perfect comeback with #51 499P, securing the best possible result at Lusail. As previously noted, Pier Guidi also set the fastest lap of the race with a 1’41’’259 on lap 141.

📷© Luc Warnotte at Lusail. #51 Ferrari 499P

Alessandro Pier Guidi: “We maximised the points we could earn as a team for the world manufacturers’ championship. It wasn’t the cleanest race for us, and halfway through, it was hard to imagine finishing on the podium. But we did it, and we should be happy with this third-place finish and the fact that we have started the season much better than in 2024. The most important thing is that Ferrari won, and seeing three cars in the top positions was truly exciting.“

James Calado: “It was not an easy race for us, but in the end, we managed a great comeback, bringing our 499P onto the podium on a hugely important day for Ferrari, which secured a historic one-two-three. We leave Qatar with valuable points for the world manufacturers’ championship as well as for the drivers’ standings, looking ahead to the next round at Imola with confidence.”

Antonio Giovinazzi: “The start of the race was tough and forced us into a huge team effort to regain positions. I want to thank my teammates for what they did today on the track. We leave Qatar happy about this historic one-two-three for Ferrari and for the points gained for the world manufacturers’ championship standings.” Source: Ferrari

A serious score in the Manufacturers’ standings

From this season onwards, the FIA WEC regulations allow both cars to score points towards the world championship standings, whereas until 2024, only the best-placed 499P from the Ferrari – AF Corse team could earn points. Prancing Horse leaves Lusail with 66 points in the manufacturers’ standings, thanks to the pole position, which earned one point, and the race results of the number 50 and number 51 crews, who contributed 38 and 27 points, respectively.

53 and 58 years ago in endurance racing

On 25 June 1972, at the 1000 Kilometres of Österreichring, in Austria, four crews, at the wheel of the Ferrari 312 PB, concluded the race with four cars in the leading position. Jacky Ickx and Brian Redman cross the finish line first, ahead of Helmut Marko and Carlos Pace, followed by Tim Schenken and Ronnie Peterson, with Arturo Merzario and Sandro Munari narrowly missing out on the podium in fourth.

At the 1967 24 Hours of Daytona, the Ferrari 330 P3/P4 secured a one-two-three with Lorenzo Bandini and Chris Amon first past the chequered flag, finishing ahead of the 330 P4 of Mike Parkes and Ludovico Scarfiotti, and the 412 P of Pedro Rodriguez and Jean Guichet.