By Carlo Platella
For the Ferrari endurance race, the race of the year is approaching, the 24 hours of Le Mans. The 499P collected less than they could in the first three races of the World Championship, however demonstrating that they have the potential to challenge for the overall victory. In view of the upcoming French marathon FormulaPassion meet Antonello ColettaGlobal Head of Endurance and Corse Clienti Ferrari, who during the video interview returns to the joys of success in the Centenary, and then aims for an encore in the 2024 edition.
499P: the potential is there
Coletta retraces the start of the championship which between Imola and Spa saw the Ferraris producing excellent performances, which however did not materialize into results due to strategic errors and other external factors. However, there is no shortage of positive feedback: “We bring home the awareness that our project continues to be competitive and we can fight to give me equal with our competitors”comments Coletta. “However, the opponents are growing, both in terms of numbers and in terms of performance. The battle is therefore increasingly complex and difficult, but I believe that having demonstrated that we are there, among other things without having yet spent any jokers on the evolution of the machine, is the best testimony to the goodness of the project”.
Towards Le Mans
During the video interview, a passage on the historic absolute success at the last 24 hours of Le Mans is inevitable: “Winning in perhaps the most sensational edition, that of the Centenary, after 50 years of our absence, 58 years after the last victory, at the first attempt and in the year of our return is something that fills us with pride. It made us dream in those moments and even afterwards, because every time we see the images again it still seems like a dream”says Coletta.
The Cavallino’s endurance number one then reflects on the most likely opponents for the next edition: “It’s always difficult to rank the most feared in a race like the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Definitely the usual suspects: However, Toyota is always the reference competitor and I am sure that at Le Mans they will be more than competitive, as they were last year. Porsche has grown a lot and among other things he fields several cars, so he has even more chances to get the best final result. Then there is Cadillac which is growing and all the new brands that have arrived this year, which certainly perhaps had some more difficulties in the first part of the season, but we have always seen the surprises at Le Mans, so maximum attention and maximum respect for everyone”.
A group of individuals
In front of the cameras Coletta also opens up about the mentality he tries to transfer to the team, denoting several ideas in common with his colleague Frederic Vasseur at the head of the Formula 1 team: “The philosophy must be to stress teamwork, respect for each other, understand the importance that everyone has for the final result. As far as I’m concerned, it’s called a team precisely because everyone on the team has a role which is however essential to obtain the final result. Sometimes even roles that might seem more insignificant have an implication that becomes strategic for the overall result of the team, so respect and humility are the things that must never be missing.”
“It’s clear that skills are the basis, but assuming that those are there, the rest are the values that I personally try to stress the most”. The resulting image is that of a Ferrari in which the community is as important as the individual. “Groups are made up of individualstherefore everyone must be at the highest level, but everyone must understand that others are important too”, adds Coletta.
Dreaming of America
Ferrari is preparing to face the 24 hours of Le Mans, but the fans dream of one day being able to see the 499P in action in another historic marathon: the 24 hours of Daytona. A suggestion, however, that does not seem destined to materialize any time soon: “IMSA is certainly one of the reference championships after the WEC, indeed it is certainly the most important championship after the world championship. At the moment we are focused on our three machines and the same will be the case for 2025. You can never tell in the future. We have certainly always been present in IMSA and this year we won the 24 hours of Daytona in GT. So we’ll see, but certainly not in 2025.”concludes Coletta.
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