“Whoever wins celebrates, whoever loses explains”. The maxim that the great Julio Velasco has given to the history of the world of sport for years now is topical at the end of each event, and it could not have been different while the FIA World Endurance Championship workers began to dismantle the paddock of the 6 Hours of Imola.
There are moments to smile and rejoice, as were those immediately after Saturday's Qualifying in which all three Ferraris occupied the top positions, then the less beautiful ones also arrive where the rivals land the low blow, made even more bitter if everything is triggered by a mistake on your part.
And in Maranello the disappointment could be felt even just by looking into the eyes of those who were walking around and inside the hospitality of the Prancing Horse, while the darkness of the evening and the cold enveloped the Santerno circuit on which shortly before the 499Ps paid for an incredibly wrong choice on the part of the garage, too slow in calling them back to the pit lane to replace the tires while the water was pouring down more and more from the leaden sky and the rivals were flying with the grooved Michelins already mounted for a few laps.
#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen
Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo
“I can already imagine what the first question is, so we can start from here without problems”, began Giuliano Salvi, Race and Test Engineer-Manager of the Ferrari GT and sportscar world, when he sat on the sofa surrounded by a sea of journalists – including Motorsport.com – curious to know the details of a real own goal.
“The information we had turned out to be clearly wrong because according to the forecast it was supposed to rain much sooner. When the first drops started to fall we didn't think it could intensify that much and, speaking with the pilots, it seemed that the critical part was only the third sector, while in the first two we could easily continue on slicks”, explains Salvi with great honesty.
“At that moment we no longer believed the radar forecasts, but it seemed that the situation was manageable. We told the drivers to take care of the tires in the first part of the race in anticipation of possible rain, which is why we managed to do three stints with the same tyres”.
“We trusted the forecasts too much, without looking closely at what was happening around us. Unfortunately it didn't go well and it must be said that we will need to review our communications chain. It was clearly a mistake, there isn't much to add, if not that we were based on the wrong scenario.”
#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen
Photo by: Paolo Belletti
Salvi is visibly heartbroken by what happened, also because it was pointed out to him that the situation was degenerating in every sector, as the many fans present in the stands and those watching the match with the times in hand also noticed, also hearing the radio communications broadcast live on TV in which the pilots seemed to have clear ideas.
In the case of James Calado, the Englishman was happy with the performance of his 499P #51 (“Changing tyres? Not for me, it drives well”), but the chronometers spoke with disarming clarity, showing times that were even 8-10 seconds higher than Toyota and Porsche which had already stopped.
“James gave us his point of view and we know that the driver sometimes understands better what is happening. I don't think we should point the finger at anything or anyone, we are a united group that was able to win on our debut at Le Mans last year, while today we were defeated and we admit it.”
“The second mistake, which is still not clear, is why the diversified strategy between the cars was not adopted; we need to review all the procedures, calmly analyze everything at home and understand everything before Spa. We win and lose together , the important thing is that everyone now starts analyzing the details to improve, we are all in the same boat.”
A shame really because the Ferraris proved to be strong in Imola right from Free Practice and the air of a potential hat-trick was swept away in a matter of minutes after 4 hours of a race managed to great effect up to that point.
“There isn't much positive in a day like this, but the car was competitive, unlike Qatar, especially in the dry; we need to build on this. We probably went beyond our capabilities in 2023 by winning at Le Mans, the team is the same and bad days can happen.”
“The worst thing for me is the disappointment of not being able to make the many fans who came en masse to support us happy. I saw people crying at the end of the race and this really hurts, it's a shame. We have to do a better job and I'm sure that based on what was done last year we will be capable of it.”
#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
In the final, the diversified strategy sacrificed the #51 of Calado/Pier Guidi/Giovinazzi – which continued with wet tires on a surface that was drying out – instead trying to mount slicks on the #50 of Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen, with the wild Calabrian who finally grabbed 4th place with touching determination.
“When the track started to dry I think we were good at the strategy, so much so that we recovered positions in the final. Not before, but at that point the situation was already compromised. From Monday morning we will start studying what we can improve to come back stronger at Spa, I'm 100% sure that will be the case.”
“From a set-up point of view we went very well, managing tire wear excellently. This also misled us because the riders were happy and there was the possibility of continuing with the same tyres. The mistake there was and we admit it, we don't want to hide.”
“After Qatar, however, we managed to work very well on the car, developing it as best we could, here it showed well in the dry when it was necessary to push. This also hurts because there was every possibility of doing well.”
“Honestly, the Toyotas surprised us a bit, we thought the Porsches were ahead of them, but in the race they quickly became competitive again, being able to push without having to manage and recovering well. But in any case we knew they would get back into the game, the GR010 is the same one they had last year.”
#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Robert Kubica, Robert Shwartzman, Yifei Ye
Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo
Even for Ferdinando Cannizzo, Head of Endurance cars, the disappointment is great, mitigated just by the victory achieved by Ye/Shwartzman/Kubica in the Hypercar category for private teams: “We close the 6 Hours of Imola with some regret for the result because we had the potential to put the cars on the overall podium, having dominated the race for almost four hours.”
“We know that the performance of the Ferrari 499Ps with slick tires is excellent in wet track conditions, and even in the wet they were quite good at the start, so we took advantage of the opportunity to try to extend the lead over the competitors. Due to a mistake evaluation on the weather forecast we made a late call compromising the overall result”.
“In the final, however, the 499P #50 was the author of an excellent stint in the same conditions of a damp track and slick tyres, and the Ferrari #83 was able to achieve an excellent Class success, undoubtedly positive aspects. It remains a lot of work to do and, as usual, we will work with humility to return to Spa competitive again.”
#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen
Photo by: Paolo Belletti
Antonello Coletta, Head of Ferrari Endurance and Corse Clienti, echoes him: “The result was not what was expected, after having demonstrated in the previous days the great potential of our 499P. The race, when the rain came, was conditioned by the mistake of not having differentiated the strategies between the three cars that had been the protagonists up to that point.”
“The disappointment is combined with the regret of not having given the deserved joy to the many fans who came to Imola who, once again, demonstrated their great affection for Ferrari and the passion for our commitment in the top endurance class”.
“Among the positive notes, without a doubt, I want to underline the success among the independent AF Corse teams, the first achieved by the 499P #83 in its second participation in the world championship”.
On the drivers front, the tenor is the same, as explained by Nielsen, author of an excellent start with textbook management of the leadership and tires: “The race was very promising at the start and in the first hours we showed that we had a good pace , then the weather conditions changed and we weren't able to finish as we would have liked.”
“In the end we cannot be completely satisfied: we will try to draw useful information from this race to improve ourselves and return determined to do our best from the next one in Spa.”
Pier Guidi concludes: “We are commenting on a final result that does not represent the potential of our cars, unfortunately, and it is a shame to finish off the podium in front of so many fans who supported us here in Imola. We made an excellent start and managed the first half of the race well.”
“We know motorsport and sometimes you can go from a moment of joy to disappointment. We therefore leave Imola aware of our potential and also of the fact that we will have to continue to improve. We are already thinking about the next round in Spa in May where we want to return to achieve a great result.”
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