Last year it came close and, although at Ferrari there was clearly a great sense of happiness for the #51, capable of bringing the most prestigious trophy back to Maranello upon its return to the WEC in the top class in the Centenary season, from On the other hand, the crew of #50 logically had the same ambitions. What was learned in that edition was the basis for today’s triumph, born and achieved amidst a thousand difficulties, especially due to the uncertainty of the weather.
The 2024 edition was in fact characterized by uncertain weather, with rain that was at times very light but sufficient to wet the track, but at times also short-lived, making the switch to wet a gamble that didn’t pay off, especially in the very first part of the race. Precisely for this reason it was crucial to understand the weather well and anticipate what could be changes in scenarios at the right time, given the difficulty in interpreting an extremely changeable sky.
This is demonstrated by the various tire changes during the race, both in the transition to wet tires and in the choice of slick tires, often soft to guarantee greater grip on an asphalt that is sometimes still damp. The long period spent behind the Safety Car during the night then added an extra level of difficulty, namely that of maintaining concentration in such a “wait-and-see” phase of the race, where there were really no indications on how the directors would move of competition.
The winners of the 24H of Le Mans #50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
Precisely because of this “volatility” of the race among a thousand variables it is difficult to find a moment in which the drivers understood that the 2024 edition of the 24h of Le Mans was going in the direction of the Ferrari #50: “Honestly I don’t think there was a particular moment of the race where we said to ourselves ‘we won’. Anything can always happen at Le Mans, down to the very end. With the conditions in the last part of the race, it was really very variable, but I think that from the start of the race we did an excellent job, everything was perfect”, said Antonio Fuoco during the media interviews at the end of the race.
“We had some little bad luck in the pit stops, but in the end we put all our effort into this race, especially after last year, where we were left here a bit… We worked for a year to come back here and do our best better and in the end we made it. Le Mans is always special. I think with Miguel [Molina] we understood at the last chicane that we had finally made it”, added the Italian driver, mentioning above all the work done over the last year to understand what hadn’t worked last year and how to improve to find those small last useful aspects to turn that dream into reality.
If on the one hand there were moments of absolute happiness, on the other obviously there were also difficult and tense phases, in which to find the calm necessary to manage problems and strategic choices that could have had a significant impact on the rest of the race. One of these is the one about two hours from the end, when the front right door of car #50 remained slightly open, that margin sufficient to push the race direction to request a return to the pits for safety reasons. Not being able to close the door that remained open, Nielsen returned to the pits, but this moment of tension was experienced on three different levels: inside the car, in the garage of the Red and in the hearts of the fans in the stands and in front of the television.
Podium: The winners of the 24H of Le Mans #50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
A moment that Fuoco also experienced with a certain amount of tension in the pits, although he wanted to thank the work done by the mechanics in the pits who were very quick to understand and resolve the problem: “Yes [ho sudato freddo], but I think it’s not just me! But the guys at the pit stop were really fast, we had a bit of an advantage over our rivals. Then on the strategy we did an excellent job this weekend, especially in the last hour, and this allowed us to win the race.”
The feeling with the car has been excellent since last Sunday, a day of testing on the French circuit. A theme that represented the fortunes of both Fuoco and the crew of the #50: “We felt good with the car already since Sunday. We worked perfectly during the weekend, focusing only on ourselves to understand which direction to go even with the changing weather. I think this paid off in the end, as a team we did an excellent job”, explained the Calabrian driver, although this does not mean that there were some points to improve, such as the type of sensations with the wet tyre, on which the #51 drivers felt a lack of grip, especially during traction.
“During the night, yes, I felt the lack of grip, but the track was drying out, so it’s difficult to keep up with the track, because the conditions change so much from one lap to the next, in some parts it was practically slick and we we were with the wets. The feeling wasn’t great, but we tried to survive until the end. Then during the last stint on the wets with Nicklas [Nielsen] everything seemed to work well and the pace wasn’t bad either.”
It was Nielsen himself who took the checkered flag and gave Ferrari its second consecutive victory at Le Mans thanks to a perfect last stint, in which he was able to manage the energy and fuel available, crossing the finish line with the limit sufficient to Don’t stay dry. Nielsen’s was a skilled team effort, both on the part of the pilot and the remote team.
#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
“To be honest, it was a very long race, especially after the door problem which made me think all was lost. But then I realized that the pace in the wet was good. So yes, it was a very long last stint, and the last lap was also very long,” explained Nielsen.
“I don’t even know what to say. It’s great to be here and finally win a race that I’ve always wanted to win. Seeing the sister car win last year was obviously a proud moment for all involved. And then I think that for us winning it this year is an even greater result. Do it in succession.”
Similar feelings also came from the third element of the winning crew, Miguel Molina, who wanted to mention above all the importance of some strategic choices at the right moments, also overcoming some critical phases that could have compromised the result.
“Well, actually in a couple of moments of the race we risked staying on slicks and even for the last call, to switch to wet, it was the right time. it’s incredible. We worked for a long time for this result and we are really proud. Today was our day, we experienced some moments of tension but we managed to overcome them and in the end the result arrived. I am really proud of everyone involved in this project,” said the Spaniard, the third Iberian to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans after Marc Gené and Fernando Alonso.
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