Ferrari will introduce the first updates to the 499P at the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, the fifth round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship, using the first of the five “Evo Joker” that can be used during the homologation period of the LMH.
This weekend in Brazil the #50 Rossa of Antonio Fuoco/Miguel Molina/Nicklas Nielsen returns to action following its stunning victory at last month’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, where the #51 of Alessandro Pier Guidi/James Calado/Antonio Giovinazzi took a podium finish.
For the debut of the Hypercars (and LMDh) on the Interlagos track, the first package of innovations that the men of the Prancing Horse have thought of concerns a series of changes permitted by the regulations and which, as officially declared by the red leaders, fall within the so-called ‘performance window’.
The first is a new design of the brake cooling ducts, which aims to modify the flow distribution and ensure better effectiveness, particularly on tracks that subject the braking system to greater stress.
From an aesthetic point of view, a new appendage (called ‘flick‘) under the front headlights designed to improve aerodynamics, which will also benefit from additional fins and a new bottom specifically designed to harmonise everything.
These choices are not really a surprise because already time is illis the big boss, Antonello Coletta, had admitted that something would most likely arrive in the second half of the season. With what was collected in terms of data and information at Le Mans, the general picture of the situation was completed, understanding where and how to intervene, as Engineer Ferdinando Cannizzo had anticipated in the immediate post-French race, to the question posed to him by Motorsport.com.
#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen
Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo
“After the excellent result at Le Mans, the challenge at the top for the world titles is even more open and in the second part of the season, in every race it will be essential to do our best to try to win the championship”, underlines Cannizzo, Head of Endurance cars at Maranello.
“The Interlagos circuit sees the debut of the first modifications made to the 499P. In the 2023 season, despite the excellent performance of the car, we had recorded a limitation in brake cooling”.
“For this reason we have defined and developed, in the wind tunnel and on the track, a new design of the cooling ducts to modify the distribution of the flows and guarantee greater effectiveness.”
“The change had an impact on the balance of the 499P, which we restored to the desired value by acting on other areas of the car. In particular, we made changes to the floor, the heights of some ‘gurney flaps’ and introduced a ‘flick’ under the front headlights.”
“The update has allowed us to keep the 499P’s position unchanged in the ‘performance window’ foreseen by the technical regulations. We do not expect improvements in terms of lap times, but greater versatility and ease of adapting the car on circuits where braking performance is more demanding and decisive.”
#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
Coletta, Head of Ferrari Endurance and Corse Clienti, added: “The historic victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans of the 499P #50 and the third place of the #51 put us back in the fight for the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ titles.”
“The triumph in France, the second consecutive after the one in the Centenary edition, has pushed us to accelerate the introduction of the first update on our car starting from the Interlagos race”.
“In Brazil, a difficult but stimulating challenge awaits us on a spectacular track and in front of a passionate crowd like the one in Sao Paulo.”
#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi
Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo
On the drivers’ front, there is an air of renewed enthusiasm after the transalpine feat, especially in the trio of the #50 who are now aiming straight for the rainbow jersey in the tough challenge against Porsche and Toyota, but it is also true that the South American track represents an unknown for everyone.
“Debuting on a new track like Interlagos, famous throughout the world for its unique characteristics, after winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans, is something very special for me and the team. I think that climbing into the cockpit of the 499P for the first free practice sessions will be a special emotion,” said Fuoco.
“As for the track, we have never done any tests on this circuit, and we were only able to prepare ourselves on the simulator: the sessions in Maranello were certainly very useful, but now the time has come for the first feedback on the track to verify how much good we were able to do in virtual reality.”
Molina added: “I can’t wait to get back on track with the 499P after the extraordinary victory at Le Mans, a result that made us really proud and which was also very important in terms of the championship.”
“The track is new to the FIA WEC calendar: we prepared ourselves as best we could on the simulator, but I think that only after the first sessions on the track will we be able to be aware of our potential and that of our opponents.”
“Interlagos alternates low-speed corners, especially in the second and third sectors, where you will have to be very careful with traffic management. We will do our best to fight for another win.”
Nielsen comments: “We achieved a historic victory at Le Mans and I think the whole team, including our teammates in the 499P #51, did an exceptional job. Without a doubt that result will remain indelible in my memory as the belief that I can count on an extraordinary car and team.”
“But now the time has come to look to the future, to the next event in Sao Paulo, a completely new track for each team with the Hypercars. Our goal will be the same as always: to get on the track to get the best possible result and earn important points for the championship.”
#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen
Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo
On the other side of the box, the desire to compete at the top remains very high, as Pier Guidi highlights: “Interlagos represents one of the three new circuits for this season, as well as a track where we have never carried out tests. The work carried out in Maranello on the simulator, preparing us for the fifth event of the year, will be very important to start the race weekend in the best possible way”.
“For Ferrari, the appointment in Brazil follows an excellent double podium obtained at Le Mans: we arrive in Sao Paulo with the hope of continuing to demonstrate the potential of our 499P and the team with the aim of confirming our fight for the top positions”.
Calado echoes him: “We return to Interlagos ten years after the last race, in 2014, when with the Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 I obtained a third place together with Davide Rigon in LMGTE PRO. A lot of time has passed since then, but I have excellent memories of the track, a very technical and evocative layout where I am happy to be able to compete with our 499P”.
“Considering the characteristics of the Sao Paulo layout and the number of cars entered in the 6 Hours, I believe that traffic management could be one of the main variables for obtaining a good result.”
Giovinazzi concluded: “We arrive in Brazil with great motivation after having obtained a historic Ferrari one-two on the podium at Le Mans. For our crew, the 24 Hours was an uphill race, even though it ended with an excellent third place”.
“At Interlagos the ambition will be to confirm our competitiveness and try to obtain the first victory of the season on a track that represents something new for the Hypercar class.”
“I have always felt comfortable in Sao Paulo in the past and in 2019 I achieved my best placing in Formula 1 with a fifth place at the Brazilian GP: I can’t wait to get on track with the 499P and have a great weekend.”
#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen
Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo
Ferrari: Facts and Figures
28 – the days between June 16, the Sunday of the victory at Le Mans, and July 14, the date of the race in Brazil
1938 – the inauguration of the Brazilian track
4,309 – the length of the route named after “Carlos Pace” (in km)
15 – the curves of the circuit (10 on the left, 5 on the right)
99 – points in the Constructors’ standings for Ferrari, second, 9 points from first place
50 – Formula 1 races contested by Scuderia Ferrari at Interlagos (11 victories and 32 podiums)
Ayrton Senna – in 1960 the three-time Formula 1 world champion was born in Sao Paulo
1554 – the year of foundation of the city of São Paulo with the construction of a Jesuit college, today called Pateo do Collegio
12.1 – the inhabitants (in millions) of São Paulo, the most populous city in Brazil
Helicopters – São Paulo is the city with the largest fleet (over 400 aircraft) and the highest number of helicopters in the world, as well as the only city to have an air traffic control system dedicated only to helicopters (source: Associação Brasileira dos Pilotos de Helicóptero – Abraphe)
900 – São Paulo is known for its large number of street markets selling food (over 900) that have existed since 1914 and are called “feira livre” (free markets).
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