Le Mans 24 Hours winners Antonio Giovinazzi and Alessandro Pierre Guidi will take the lead in Italy’s 24 Hours of Le Mans race after the two AF Corse-operated cars failed to make pace in the first two sessions. The manufacturer admitted that its 499P Le Mans hypercar lacks pace in all aspects. Free practice.
“It was really bad. I had no pace at all,” Calado said ahead of Friday’s final free practice session for the Bahrain 8 Hours.
“We’re a bit perplexed. The car actually feels very good to drive and it seems normal, but we’re just two or three seconds behind.”
“The only thing you can really compare it to is the last race. [at Fuji in September]And we’re pretty much turned off in every area. ”
Ferrari’s sports car technical director Ferdinando Cannizzo was more diplomatic than Calado, but admitted the Italian manufacturer faced “a very big challenge” to turn around the Bahrain weekend.
The Ferraris’ best time was in free practice 2, which was more representative of Thursday’s two sessions, and was more than three seconds off the pace of the Toyotas at the top of the timesheets.
The two cars occupied 10th and 11th place in the hypercar field, ahead only of the Vanwall Vandervell 680.
Photo credit: Shameem Farhas
#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi
Both Calado and Cannizzo explained that the lack of pace so far was not entirely unexpected after doing private pre-event testing with 499P in October.
“The reality is, after the test, we came here knowing it was going to be difficult,” Calado said. Calado remains open to winning the WEC Hypercar title alongside Giovinazzi and Pierre Guidi in Saturday’s championship finale.
“The temperature was about 10 degrees higher, so I was hoping that the temperature would drop and help, but the reality is the same as the test.”
Cannizzo suggested there was hope for the race as the 499P appeared to be taking care of its tires on the harsh Bahrain International Circuit surface.
“I have to say that everything looks perfect in terms of tire management. The warm-up is great and the degradation is more than good. I think we are the best in the field when it comes to degradation,” he said. Ta.
“I was really happy with FP2 yesterday, which was the session with the most data.”
He explained that most of the deficit Ferrari is facing is due to reduced traction and straight-line speed.
“Grip-wise, it’s not that bad. [top] “What we lack most is speed,” he said.
Photo credit: Shameem Farhas
#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi
“There are three main things here. [long] It’s very difficult for us to fight because it’s straight. ”
Cannizzo also hinted at the impact of balance of performance on 499P in Bahrain, saying, “There are things I can’t talk about.”
Manufacturers, teams and drivers are prohibited by regulations from discussing BoP.
Following changes made to the BoP after Le Mans, Ferrari has not been able to challenge the Toyotas, but its cars remain firmly in the top six.
Cannizzo acknowledged that the 499P was already approaching its potential around the Bahrain circuit, but stressed that he and Ferrari had by no means given up.
“Even though the task seems impossible. In the set-up, in the strategy, in everything, we will try to find something that will at least create the conditions to fight for the podium.”