The Qualifying of the 6h of Imola was a Ferrari one, where three 499Ps took the top positions for the start of the second seasonal event of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Antonio Fuoco was irrepressible at the wheel of the 499P #50, taking the Hyperpole, followed by a great Robert Shwartzman with the private #83 of AF Corse with which he achieved the record for the Piacenza team among the independents.
And then there is Alessandro Pier Guidi, who finished third fastest in the official #51 to the delight of Maranello, ready to compete for success on home soil in front of their fans.
Pole sitter #50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen
Photo by: Paul Foster
“We did an excellent job, I felt good since this morning, but we know that in Qualifying we have to put everything together. The car was excellent and I think I did a special lap”, declared Fuoco after the session speaking to the journalists present on the Santerno, including Motorsport.com.
“I'm very happy to start from the front in Ferrari's home race, with many fans who came to support us and will give us an extra push. This is why we pushed hard from the start.”
“In Q1 the time was good, but I wanted to find the right feeling in a couple of corners where I didn't feel 100% yet; since there was time, I took advantage of it to gain confidence in view of the Hyperpole”.
“The interruptions didn't penalize us too much, our plan was to continue pushing, when the yellow flag came out it was useful to slow down and rest the tires for a lap. Honestly, I don't think it changed things much for we”.
“In view of the race the fear is traffic management, it will be the most difficult thing, we will have to be very careful even on the outgoing lap with cold tyres. It will be a race of defense and patience, and then trying to attack at the end”.
“We are three Ferraris in front, there will certainly be no problems between us, as usual we will be very calm. We got the Hyperpole, but in the meetings we will have tonight and tomorrow morning we will also talk about this”.
“Traffic will be a problem and we will have to be careful from the start, we also noticed it in Free Practice. We start from a good position, so it is important to try to keep our rivals behind in the first corners.”
“I think we prepared very well at home with the work on the simulator. For now everything has gone well, it won't be easy, but let's try to do our best in the race too.”
#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Robert Kubica, Robert Shwartzman, Yifei Ye
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
Shwartzman will start in second position, for the first time in the front row and above all in Pole Position among the private Hypercars.
“It was a rather difficult Qualifying, first with the red flag interruption and then with the two yellow flags in the second phase; in the end I'm happy to be on the front row”, said the AF Corse standard bearer to Motorsport .com in the mixed post-qualification interview zone.
“Antonio certainly has more experience and therefore managed to stay in front of me, while I didn't put together the perfect lap. I still have to work to understand well how to manage the car, the weight and the tyres, I hope to do better next time” .
“Unfortunately when Hartley turned I was going much faster than the lap I completed, so I'm convinced that I could have done even better. Unfortunately, these things happen and on the last attempt I managed to lower my time anyway, but Antonio did better.”
“Kubica will start the race, our objective is not to cause any confusion at the start and aim to do our things well, remaining in the fight for the lead. I am convinced that our car is one of the fastest at race pace, so I think we will be able to to take a further leap forward in the race.”
“Finally, let's not forget that it's a 6-hour race, we have to stay focused every second as things can change quickly, even with the weather. The important thing is not to make mistakes, stay focused and adopt a good strategy.”
#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi
Photo by: Paul Foster
Finally, the Ferrari hat-trick is completed by Pier Guidi with the official 499P #51, even if the Piedmontese is left with a bitter taste for not being able to stay in front.
“Clearly I would have preferred to be first than third, but historically when we do good Qualifying we then fail to materialize in the race, something we've been carrying with us since the LMGTE days. Perhaps it's for the best!”, jokes the Le Mans winner philosophically 2023 speaking to Motorsport.com.
“Realistically, however, we start from a good position, despite the fact that we struggled a bit in all the dry laps even in Free Practice compared to the race pace, so I think we can be good for tomorrow.”
“The interruptions weren't great, especially when you want to get the tires up to temperature and then push; these things happen, but it applies to everyone.”
“I don't know the strategy yet, from experience I say that planning your departures leads to potential damage, so I prefer to leave without plans and then see what happens.”
“Any rain? It's always very complicated when it's wet, but frankly the dry performance for us is excellent and therefore it would be better not to have any water.”
#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen
Photo by: Paul Foster
Also present in the pits was the President of Ferrari, John Elkann, who commented on the great result of the Prancing Horse.
“I'm very happy to be here in Imola with all our fans and to have seen a beautiful result in testing, with the three cars in the lead,” says Maranello's number one.
“Tomorrow 40,000 people are expected for the race, but above all I want to congratulate our men, from the mechanics, engineers and drivers, plus all those who are at Ferrari and support us. Thank you for this wonderful result.”
#WEC #Ferrari #ambitious #Patience #needed #attack
