Ferrari vs. Everybody
The Ferrari 499P is undefeated at Le Mans. What could be better than that? Beating everyone else to the top of the WEC manufacturers' standings.
Ford's recent announcement trumpeting its return to international sports car racing's biggest stage in 2027 mentions Ferrari three times. But while a rekindling of the epic Ford-Ferrari rivalry at Le Mans and throughout the World Endurance Championship (WEC) schedule may qualify as headline news in Dearborn, the prototype racing specialists in Maranello have more pressing issues.
Not that Ferrari won't prioritize beating Ford or winning the 2027 24 Hours of Le Mans. They will--when the time comes.
For now, however, the Italian icon's attention is squarely focused on not just the biggest prize that has eluded its 499P Hypercar program, but the most important prize any Ferrari team can claim: a manufacturers' title.
By most measures, Ferrari AF Corse's first two seasons running the 499P in WEC's increasingly competitive Hypercar class were enviable. The Ferrari factory team finished second in the manufacturers' title race in 2023 and third in a much deeper 2024 field. Along the way, Ferrari won Le Mans twice, snapping Toyota's five-race La Sarthe winning streak in the process.
Capturing Le Mans is tough enough--just ask the folks at Ford. The manufacturers' title requires another level of top-tier consistency.
Last year's title was the sixth straight for Toyota Gazoo Racing, including all four in the Hypercar era. Given that and the Ferrari 499P's recent success at Le Mans--one win each for the No. 50 and No. 51 teams--there's little doubt about the Italian team's 2025 priorities.
"Winning at Le Mans in 2024 motivates us to compete for victory in this year’s 24 Hours as well, but I think our goal now is also to win the world championship," said Nicklas Nielsen, co-driver of the No. 50 Ferrari 499P alongside Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina.
Running It Back
Ferrari AF Corse took the wraps off its 2025 499P on Feb. 14.
Aside from some livery modifications, not much has changed since the end of 2024. The driver squads are exactly the same--Fuoco, Molina and Nielsen in the No. 50, and Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, and Antonio Giovinazzi in the No. 51.
The schedule is identical, too--an eight-round season that kicks off Feb. 28 with the Qatar 1812km at Lusail International Circuit.
The 499P will start the season in the same technical configuration it had at the end of 2024. The car's big changes came ahead of 2024's Round Five in Brazil, when Ferrari used the first of the 499P’s five allotted evolution extensions, or evo jokers, to introduce several modifications—notably new brake cooling ducts. The resulting air flow changes led to other tweaks to maintain the car's balance, including a redesigned floor and horizontal fins, or flicks, beneath the headlights.
The bottom-line focus was not so much speed, but consistency. Put another way, "greater versatility and easier adaptation of the car on circuits where braking performance is more demanding and decisive," as Ferrari head of endurance race cars Ferdinando Cannizzo told Autosport last year.
The joker rolled out for Interlagos likely represents the last major updates for at least a season. But the 2025 car should benefit from other work done since Brazil.
"From the second half of the 2024 season onwards, we introduced many modifications to the car, all compliant with the regulations," Cannizzo said. "Half of these focused on improving reliability, around a quarter on regulatory updates, while for the rest, we sought to optimize all areas where we found performance gaps with our competitors.”
During the off-season, "we worked hard to expand the set-up window, evaluating new philosophies aimed at better exploitation of the aerodynamics on the one hand and of tire performance in all conditions on the other," he added. "To complement all this, we are committed to the continuous development of control systems. This aspect continues to improve across all areas to enhance precision and provide ever-faster responses to driver inputs.”
Getting Tougher Out There
Even though Ferrari dropped one place in last year's manufacturers' title race compared to its 2023 debut season, Cannizzo considered 2024 a step forward.
Counting the No. 83 team's win at Austin, Ferrari 499Ps grabbed two victories among five podium finishes.
"Compared to 12 months ago, our progress—making the most of the waiver introduced in Brazil and our ever-increasing knowledge of the car—is clear," Cannizzo said after the 2024 season finale in Bahrain.
The view is a testament to Hypercar's rising level of competition. Two years ago, six manufacturers ran the full schedule. Last year, eight makes had at least one car start every race, and a ninth--Isotta Fraschini--dropped out unexpectedly after five events.
"This year [2024] has seen not only an increase in the number of competitors but also an improvement in their quality, so third place in the manufacturers’ standings and second in the drivers’ with Fuoco, Molina, and Nielsen were really positive outcomes," said Antonello Coletta, global head of Ferrari Endurance and Corse Clienti.
Chasing History
Ferrari's last top-class sports car manufacturers' title came in 1972, when Scuderia Ferrari 312Ps won all 10 points-paying races, finishing 1-2 in eight of them. The next season, Enzo Ferrari halted prototype and GT race car development to focus on Formula One.
The move paid off in the form of six F1 constructors' titles in ten years. But Scuderia Ferrari's trophy case hasn't been filling up as quickly of late--its current streak of 16 years without an F1 constructors' championship is its longest title-less run ever.
Ferrari returned to factory-backed GT racing in 2006, partnering with established race teams such as AF Corse, founded in 1999 by former driver Amato Ferrari (no relation). Big wins and full-season titles soon followed.
Ferrari's 2023 win at Le Mans was the team's first there since 1965. Re-capturing the manufacturers' title will be at least as difficult.
The 2025 WEC Hypercar field will feature eight manufacturers and 18 total cars. Aston Martin is joining the grid, and Cadillac has teamed up with seasoned British privateer team JOTA Sport to field two cars--as is now required for factory-backed teams.
"We have to be humble," Coletta said, "as we are competing against many manufacturers in this championship."
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References
Ford announces WEC return: https://performance.ford.com/articles/series/road-racing/2025/01/ford-returns-to-le-mans-2027
2025 reveal comments: https://www.ferrari.com/en-EN/hypercar/articles/499p-2025-comments
Cannizzo on the evo joker: https://www.autosport.com/wec/news/ferrari-reveals-first-updates-to-le-mans-winning-hypercar-for-interlagos-wec-round/10633710/
Coletta on 2024 results: https://www.ferrari.com/en-EN/media-centre/articles/coletta-interview-2024-hypercar