Le Mans | Cannizzo: “499P slowed down? It’s up to us to improve”

At Ferrari we are closing in… tight, with maximum concentration to best prepare for the 499P’s second 24h of Le Mans.

After the historic success of 2023, the Prancing Horse Hypercar returns to the scene of the… crime, but with only part of the underdogs because if it is true that in the first outings of the season of the FIA ​​World Endurance Championship they showed good competitiveness and versatility, it is also important to underline that things could change on the Circuit de la Sarthe.

In the Balance of Performance, the Power Gain system has come into force heavily, limiting performance above and below 250km/h in order to level out the values ​​on the field and prevent anyone from being clever by hiding too much.

But the chances of coming out well even from a difficult situation like this are there and Ferdinando Cannizzo, Head of Ferrari’s endurance cars, underlined this well when speaking with journalists present in France, including Motorsport.com, highlighting that the team Maranello has learned to manage every situation well.

What are your feelings after Test day?
“By the end of the race, we are still deciding who to get first, second or third! On a more serious note, after the tests we don’t think we are the favorite car, which means for us doubling our efforts to understand how to close the gap we saw during the first day of testing, but we are not discouraged. We remain combative and try to find all possible set-up and strategy solutions to recover and, possibly, eliminate the gap.”

Is there something worrying you?
“We are naturally trying to work on the details and have a really clean race execution, because these aspects will be fundamental considering that we are not the favourites. So we have to be very strong from the point of view of reliability and race execution ”.

What are the biggest changes for the drivers and team compared to last year’s 24h of Le Mans?
“It will certainly be quite important for the riders to keep their concentration high during the race, not to get demoralized if our pace is not the most competitive. You need to focus on consistency, not peak performance. We must work together, riders and team, to try to make the right choices at the right time.”

With a weather that could change…
“The conditions seem very variable, so choosing the right tire at the right time, without forgetting that there will probably also be some isolated rain showers here and there which could be a valid help for us if we are not the fastest in terms of performance view.So we have to make the most of each of these situations and the drivers have a fundamental role in all of this.I think that for them, the biggest challenge is to give us the right indications to make the right choice at the right time “This year we won’t have ‘heaters’, although it is true that in summer it is hot here, with 20°C during the day, the temperature drops to around 10°C at night. Furthermore, it could rain.”

#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen, #51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi, team photo

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

How important will the exit lap be?
“This aspect is certainly fundamental, because on the outgoing lap you perhaps lose more than ten seconds, probably even 15 or 20 depending on the track conditions and the compound being fitted on the car. It is clear that this has an important impact on the strategy, because perhaps not changing tires gives us the possibility of returning to action with them a little warmer and, therefore, compensating not only for a shorter pit stop time by not changing the tyres, but also coming out on warmer tires and minimize time lost on the exit lap.”

“We know it’s an important aspect, but there are many considerations to make in a long race, so we need to be competitive even during the stint. What we shouldn’t do is drive beyond the car’s limit, so the drivers will have to be good on the exit lap with cold tyres, especially during the night, to tackle the first sector where we have long straights and important braking, with various chicanes, without losing control”.

Did the team have to regain confidence after Imola and Spa?
“This is a good question, in the sense that the first thing we do is try to give confidence even before arriving here at Le Mans, with the whole preparation phase that we do here at Le Mans, looking a bit at the strategies, trying to understand the race even before it happens on paper, by trying on the simulator. Then, when we are here, the most important job is to find trust and stay calm, whatever situation happens, because agitation doesn’t help. Last year too we demonstrated that, even in difficult situations, it allowed us to overcome complex moments by crossing the finish line first.”

In 2023 you had less external pressure than this year. What changes for you?
“Last year we had a bit of pressure too! But the strength of this team is to manage it. This year we know it’s a little more difficult, because after last year’s victory the expectations are very high, but for us it’s as if it were the first time. We focus on what our mission is, which is to put the car in the window to bring out the best performance, we focus on the strategy. Everything that happens outside is a distraction for us, we trust in our own small way.”

#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi

Photo by: Nikolaz Godet

How do you do it?
“Pilots, mechanics, engineers, we are all in our own world, we manage to concentrate and let the pressure slip away and I think this is the most important element. We know we have the chance to get a good result, but we also know that it comes out only if the work is done in the right way and that’s what we’re trying to do.

You said you’re not the most competitive car here. How important is the introduction of power-gain in this situation?
“Certainly after the first day of testing, it doesn’t seem like we are the favorite car, but it is also our job to try to close the performance gap that we have seen by finding set-up solutions that allow us to get closer to the cars that have shown performance better. That said, it is important for us to focus on the package, understanding what others’ strengths are and making the most of ours while minimizing our weaknesses. The conditions in which we will race can certainly impact the race performance of our car, because it will not be easy to overtake in traffic conditions.”

Can traffic be a problem with LMP2 and more LMGT3?
“There too we will have to make strategic choices that allow us to minimize these situations to avoid wasting time in those scenarios where perhaps we are a little weaker and exploit our strengths. In short, we don’t give up because we think we can achieve a good result.”

#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen

Photo by: Nikolaz Godet

Going back to Power-Gain, it seems like an important change: are you in favor of this introduction as another BoP tool?
“It is certainly important, but I can give some general indications. In a race and a circuit like Le Mans, the period in which we are below 250 km/h is more or less half the time, about 45%. I’ll leave it up to you to conclude what it means to ride half the time with that gap in terms of power, but that’s the way it is and there’s nothing we can do about it. We will aim to develop the car with what we have. If we can win, it will be a great victory.”

With a 499P that was very fast in a straight line, how many km/h did you lose?
“We certainly lost a bit of competitiveness, that’s a fact. On the other hand, however, we have shown in previous races, such as Spa and Imola, that we have improved in other areas, so we need to optimize the complete package. Being more penalized on the straight makes us lose a bit of general competitiveness and will complicate our work a bit during the traffic phases, so we must also take this into account when setting the strategy and focusing on the other strengths . The 499P proved to be decidedly more competitive than last year and we hope that here too we can compensate for this loss of performance.”

Do you think the harder compound can be used?
“I think in these conditions it certainly won’t be an option, but we can’t rule it out at the moment, and above all, if a possibility presents itself, we have to be aware that our rivals could surprise us. So it must be taken into account that, if it were to become an opportunity, there could be advantages. For example, more stints could be done, even four, but it is something that will certainly have to be evaluated. In these conditions it seems that the compounds that will be used will be the soft and medium ones.”

#55 View AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3: Francois Heriau, Simon Mann, Alessio Rovera

Photo credit: Rainier Ehrhardt

How is the adaptation of the 296 to the LMGT3 Class and Le Mans going?
“It’s very good on this track, but actually, we’ve seen it adapt well to many others. After a first year of experience, we are very happy with its handling and performance, we know well that we still need to improve many small aspects, we are working on it. However, the last race we did at the Nurburgring showed that the car is really versatile, so we think it can have a good race at the 24h of Le Mans.”

What will be the characteristics and key elements to win?
“There are many elements to win the race on the 296 LMGT3. Certainly, the crucial point is not to make mistakes during the first phase and during the night, especially for gentleman drivers, because it is difficult to drive in the dark with two classes of cars that will continue to overtake them. The second thing is that the car has many strong points, knowing them well and knowing how to exploit them on this track, in braking, chicanes, entering corners, the handling is quite easy. So, I think all the elements are there to obtain a good result, but the 24h is long, so you have to take care of it, especially in the early stages, not abusing the curbs without damaging the car. Furthermore, we have professional drivers, as well as Silver and Bronze drivers, and the balance between them will determine the final result.”