At the headquarters of racing partner AF Corse, the preparation of a hybrid Hypercar consists of six main phases which, in addition to assembly and numerous checks, include the fire-up and scanning of the bodywork.
A team effort in which the data collected by the engineers, the skill of the mechanics and the aid of sophisticated instruments find maximum synthesis.
Return
A few hours before the checkered flag the official 499Ps are ready for the return to Italy.
“The cars travel by air because it is essential to speed up times in order to be able to start work in the workshop in the shortest possible time,” explains Batti Pregliasco, Team Manager of the Ferrari-AF Corse team.
At the headquarters of the racing partner AF Corse, a team of mechanics, made up of around 40 people, takes care of the various phases linked to the preparation of the cars.
“Hypercars are very technologically advanced, as well as complex, which is why the staff is highly specialized and divided into well-defined areas of expertise.”
#50 FERRARI AF CORSE Ferrari 499P Hypercar of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
Complexity
Each Ferrari 499P is made up of over 3 thousand parts, without considering the internal components of the combustion and electric engines (the specific analyzes linked to the engines are carried out in the workshop in Maranello).
Each of them is subjected to targeted checks before the car returns to the track for a World Endurance race.
“Our Hypercars are designed to be able to complete even 9,000 kilometers with the same components, i.e. well beyond the distance of a 24 Hours of Le Mans”, details Luca Massé, Technical Manager of AF Corse.
“This means that after the shortest races, 6, 8 or 10 hours, when 2 or 3 thousand kilometers are completed, the cars return to our headquarters, are checked and, often, reassembled, with most of the same components” .
The substantial difference, however, manifests itself on the eve of the most awaited race of the season, the one taking place on the La Sarthe circuit in France.
“Before Le Mans we replace up to 70% of the parts”.
#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi
Photo by: Shameem Fahath
Six phases
The process of preparing a Ferrari 499P for a race includes six main phases: disassembly of the component parts and checking them, reassembly or assembly of the car, Fire-Up, Set-Up and scanning.
“The data collected by the engineers on the track is fundamental for starting the preparatory work in the workshop. Dismantling the car means reaching the point where we only have the chassis, while all the other parts are checked in specific departments to carry out targeted analyses”, continues Massè.
Once the inspection phase is completed, the cars are re-assembled.
“This brings us to the moment of the Fire-Up, which consists of a static check that involves operating the engine, the front transmission and the battery to verify that the car has been assembled correctly”.
“The Set-Up follows, the first fine-tuning of the 499P, which will end once we arrive on the track, also taking into consideration the characteristics of the track and the weather”.
Finally, before leaving the racing partner's headquarters, once the bodywork has been reassembled, the Hypercars number 50 and 51 are subjected to further fine-tuning, called “scanning”, which allows – through the use of technologically advanced tools – to verify the correct assembly of the cars, in compliance with the parameters established by the FIA.
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