Winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans on their return to the premier class was a great feat for Ferrari, but granting an encore demonstrated that the success of the 499P in the last edition of the great French classic was anything but a coincidence. 12 months ago, the #51 crew won, but this time the top step of the podium was earned by the #50, the one entrusted to Nicklas Nielsen, Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina.
A triumph achieved with a thrill, because just over an hour from the end, when the Red car was firmly in the lead, the right-hand door opened on the car and this required a pit stop to close it correctly. Which led to a reversal of the strategy, requiring Nielsen, who was at the wheel at the time, to try to keep the Toyota #7 at a distance, but always keeping an eye on fuel consumption.
A job he did admirably, given that he showed up under the checkered flag with still a minimal fuel reserve, painting Red a Circuit de la Sarthe hit by rain on several occasions. Here are the immediate comments from Antonello Coletta, great leader of the Cavallino’s Endurance program.
Do you feel a different emotion with the second victory compared to the first?
“It’s incredible. The first one, last year, was a surprise for the whole world. We certainly weren’t the favourites, because I remember everyone thought Toyota was, but in the end Ferrari won 58 years after last time. This year we didn’t arrive here as favorites because, honestly speaking, after the tests and practices, my idea was that without a special race, both in terms of weather and possible problems of our opponents, it was impossible for us to win. At the start we were competitive, but we know that the 24 Hours of Le Mans is a race that changes in every part of the day: if you are competitive at the start, it doesn’t mean that you will also be competitive at the end. And in fact I am There were so many cars that took turns in first place. It was complicated for us, because we started with two penalties, for the #51 and for the #83. Then I don’t remember how many other penalties we received, but they were different In the end, however, we won for the second year in a row, so we are very happy and it’s an incredible emotion.”
Probably the last stint this year was as complicated as last year with Pier Guidi’s problem in the pit stop…
“Probably every year we have to have a problem in the last stint (laughs). It was different, because last year it was very complicated. In 2024, the first problem was the weather, because last year we were very fast in the rain and this time it was exactly the opposite. The rain came many times and we would have preferred to race without it, I think the last stint of 2023 was more difficult than this year.”
You had to switch from slick to rain many times and vice versa, and we know what happened in Imola, but this time you seemed much more convinced about your choices. What has changed compared to the Italian round?
“In Imola we had a misunderstanding between the team and our drivers and we lost the race. This probably helped us, because I remember having organized several meetings after Imola, with the mechanics, with the engineers and with the drivers I spoke with all of them to avoid any misunderstandings happening again and I believe that today’s race shows that we worked very well in this race, because there were no misunderstandings or errors in the car calls in the pits. Probably, the Imola race was a great help for this 24 Hours, but I’m really happy with the team’s response, because it was a disaster to lose like that in front of our fans.”
Going back to the last stint, how did you make sure you got to the end? And how did the strategy change over the course of the stint?
“Our strategy changed because we had a problem with a door. If it hadn’t been there, our strategy was quite clear and we were in a good position. After the problem, we were in the middle of a disaster, because we had to go back for solve it and this put us in difficulty with fuel management to get to the end. In any case, from the first 3-4 hours, our strategy was to attack as hard as possible to understand the real value of our car and the others. competitor. Then the weather changed things, forcing us to follow its evolution with strategies.”
The winners of the 24H of Le Mans #50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen
Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo
When did you realize that the opportunity to win again was real?
“As I said, at the beginning I believed that the best we could aspire to was the podium. Then during the race I changed my mind, because I realized that the situation wasn’t bad at all. But I repeat, the race changed a lot depending on For example, with a lot of rain we were competitive, but we had problems and lost positions when the intensity dropped. In the dry, however, we were very strong, but during the race it’s difficult to think of winning to win, but we know that the race only ends on the last lap and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans history has already taught us very well that this has been the case several times in the past.”
Has the rain helped you save fuel?
“Yes, in the second part of the race we made fuel savings, because with the rain the consumption is completely different. In any case, the only problem we had was in the last hour and a half, because we had to change all our strategy due to the problem with the door. Previously, however, we had managed to be constant on 12-13 laps per stint for the entire 24 hours.”
What do the data say: without the problem with the door and therefore without changing the strategy, was the race in your hands?
“Without the problem, we probably would have won by a greater margin, because we lost more or less between 20 and 25 seconds. We changed plans, because we were forced to stop early and then we had to save fuel. Nicklas ( Nielsen) drove very well in the last two hours, because on the one hand he had to control the margin on Toyota, but on the other he had to manage the fuel, so I think it wasn’t easy for him.”
After this victory, do you think you can win the championship too?
“Honestly, we lost a lot of points in Imola and Spa, because today we could be here with three victories in our pocket and unfortunately we only have one, even if it is the most important. In any case, we are now at the halfway point of the championship and it is obviously we have a chance, so we will do our best to try to be champions. In the end, there is the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but there is also the title of world champion: we have already won several in the GT class. , why not also with prototypes?”.
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