Ferrari customers make the budget less bitter
Porsche binge in the 1812km of Qatar which opened the 2024 WEC World Championship. The German company celebrated a hat-trick thanks to the knockout of Peugeot which came close to a prestigious second place which vanished in the last km. Ferrari had dreamed at the start of the race after a super start by Miguel Molina who had taken command of the operations only to then leave it to Muller's Peugeot.
The BoP in Qatar has been extremely strict with Toyota and Ferrari and to make the race for the official 499P even more complicated came contacts and penalties which meant that any chance of fighting for the podium disappeared. The fifth place finish of the 499P clients – second among the independent cars behind Jota's Porsche which finished in second place – makes the outcome for the Scuderia from Maranello less bitter. Below are the words of the Ferrari drivers and those responsible for the Endurance project.
Antonio Fuoco: “The first test of the year was not positive. We must first work on ourselves because today we made too many mistakes. Now the objective must be to start again even stronger, already thinking about the next race in Imola in which I hope we will be able to demonstrate our value again.”
Miguel Molina: “The 1812 KM was very long and many episodes happened over the ten hours. We started well, despite knowing that our pace wouldn't give us much chance of fighting for the podium. In the end we managed to score some points which will be precious throughout the season, but in view of Imola I hope we will be able to do better to achieve a great result in front of our fans.”
Nicklas Nielsen: “We cannot be satisfied with eighth place, even if in the final we managed to move up a few positions, gaining some important points for the team and, perhaps, we finished in the best possible position given the circumstances. It's a shame because Miguel had made an excellent start, but during the race we were unable to aspire to a top position.”
Alessandro Pier Guidi: “Before the start we knew we didn't have the pace to compete with the cars vying for the top positions and the race confirmed this. We still hoped to be able to finish in the points, but given how the race developed, it wasn't possible.”
James Calado: “We end a difficult race in which we made some mistakes and were a bit unlucky to be honest, but we were aware, after the test sessions and qualifying, that on this track we wouldn't have had many chances to get a great result. Now we look to the future hoping to get back on track in Imola with other ambitions.”
Antonio Giovinazzi: “From the start the race was complicated and when we lost the rear wing following a contact, one hour and twenty minutes before the start, everything became even more difficult. Here in Lusail we lacked speed and pace, but we also made some mistakes, so in the weeks that separate us from the 6 Hours of Imola the objective will be to work hard to get back on track with greater ambitions.”
Ferdinando Cannizzo: “The result of the race confirmed what had already emerged during the Prologue and in the simulations, i.e. the great difference compared to other cars which would not have allowed us to fight for the podium and so it was, net of Molina's splendid start. The race wasn't free from mistakes and unlucky episodes but we wouldn't have had any chance of fighting for the podium. Despite this we tried to obtain the best possible result for our cars also by adopting an aggressive strategy. The management of the tyres, even on a decidedly demanding track, was admirable considering that, despite the numerous double and triple stints on the tyres, we suffered neither degradation nor wear.”
Antonello Coletta: “Within a complicated weekend not without episodes that we will carefully analyze upon our return to Maranello, the test of the AF Corse 499P makes the outcome of the race in Qatar less bitter. Second place in the independent team ranking is an excellent starting point for the season and will give the team the right motivation. As regards the test of the official 499P, however, we saw the fears of the day before confirmed, i.e. the high impact on competitiveness of the weight-power ratio which placed us in a condition of inferiority which effectively precluded every chance to fight for the podium. Looking at the positive aspects, in this case too we brought all three cars to the finish line, accumulating further data and kilometers which will be useful starting from Imola.”
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