Win the championship or maintain the trophy? Supply Ferrari the selection of claiming a title within the World Endurance Championship this 12 months or taking possession of the newest piece of silverware given to the victor of the Le Mans 24 Hours by making it three in a row, and a spread of solutions are forthcoming. You get the impression, nevertheless, that the trinkets on supply on the finish of the season, those for the drivers’ and producers’ titles, are what the Italian producer actually needs.
Antonello Coletta, Ferrari’s long-time boss of sportscar racing, waivers, in addition to he may. He needs each, however, he says, “now a very powerful objective of the season is the world championship” and says he doesn’t perceive why “many individuals discuss solely Le Mans and never in regards to the championship”. Coletta doesn’t distinguish between the Hypercar class drivers’ and the producers’ titles. He’s most likely not fussy.
James Calado, who together with Antonio Giovinazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi took Ferrari’s on-debut comeback win with a manufacturing facility prototype at Le Mans in 2023, is unequivocal. He makes no secret of his need to change into world champion. Or somewhat world champion once more. He already has three crowns in GTE Professional with Ferrari, they usually had been all pukka FIA world titles – it might be semantics however GTE Professional went from cup to championship standing the 12 months earlier than he received his first crown in 2017.
“I’ve all the time mentioned from the start that I’d choose the championship over Le Mans,” says the Briton, now in his twelfth season with Ferrari. “Le Mans is only one race. Sure, it’s huge, however a world title is received over eight races. The precedence is the title.”
So Ferrari has the massive goal of profitable what may be termed as the general world title in sportscars for the primary time because it took the producers’ prize in 1972 – there was no drivers’ crown again in these days, not till 1981, in actual fact. It’s conscious it wants to enhance on its 2024 marketing campaign, one which yielded a single victory for the manufacturing facility staff, once more at Le Mans and this time with Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen and Miguel Molina. A works 499P Le Mans Hypercar has but to win an everyday WEC race; the one victory for the automotive got here at Austin final September with the so-called buyer entry shared by Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Robert Shwartzman.
Ferrari went into the Bahrain finale with an opportunity of taking each titles, however in actuality it knew that it must make do with the piece of silverware it claimed over in France in June. There was some unhealthy luck over the course of the eight race, most notably the momentary stoppage of the race in Spa in Could — or somewhat its controversial restart — that just about definitely price it a 1-2, and its tactical implosion the month earlier than on house floor at Imola that did likewise. Then there have been two retirements for the #51 Calado/Giovinazzi/Pier Guidi entry. Ferrari has been striving to enhance and it is aware of it has to whether it is to realize the objective of profitable a title within the third season of the 499P.
#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi
Picture by: Shameem Fahath
And in all areas. So says Ferdinando Cannizzo, technical lead of Ferrari’s sportscar racing programmes. Which means eking extra efficiency out of its LMH, taking steps ahead as a staff together with associate AF Corse and, most significantly of all, bettering reliability. That has been the primary focus of growth of the 499P because it was up to date for the race after Le Mans at Interaglos in July with the arrival of a rear brake improve, the primary of the evo joker efficiency enhancements allowed over the lifespan of the 499P.
Getting two automobiles to the end within the factors might be ever extra essential in 2025. The brand new rule mandating that producers run a pair of manufacturing facility entries has been accompanied by a change within the scoring system within the producers’ classification: two automobiles will now accrue factors. Had the brand new system been in place final 12 months, Porsche and never Toyota would have taken the end-of-season marques’ trophy.
Cannizzio explains that fifty% of the enhancements on the 499P for the brand new season, which kicks off with the Qatar 1812Km 10-hour race on 28 February, have been made to enhance reliability. “We performed on that aspect rather a lot,” he says.
Ferrari has reacted to the issues of 2024, not solely those that put its automobiles out of the races however ones unseen by the broader world. Within the first class is the transmission concern that pressured #51 out at Austin. It was triggered by a spin for Giovinazzi and was solved by a change in procedures as a driver recovers from such a rotation. The identical automotive’s retirement at Fuji was the results of an issue with the ability electronics of the hybrid system, which has been resolved by adjustments within the manufacturing processes.
“We had been lacking a safety,” Cannizzo says of the Fuji retirement. “Every little thing that occurs to us is a lesson to be realized. Each space of the automotive has been impacted by the modifications.”
The enhancements on reliability, that are free and never lined by the evo joker guidelines, ought to mix to present Ferrari a extra aggressive automotive, a contender that’s “extra strong, extra assured to drive on the sting”, says Cannizzo. “Inherently it may well have an effect on efficiency by way of consistency.”
Watch: FIRST LOOK: The 2025 Ferrari 499P Hypercar | The journey begins right here
One other 25% of the modifications for ’25 have been targeted on regulatory adjustments, corresponding to the brand new LED sidepod panels that can point out race place, and the remaining quarter are immediately associated to efficiency, continues Cannizzo. He confirms that Ferrari hasn’t taken one other joker and has no plans to take action this 12 months. The newest pointers from the rulemakers, the FIA and the Car Membership de l’Ouest, demand that any jokers are in place from the start of the season.
However that hasn’t stopped Ferrari from making an attempt to wring extra efficiency out of the 499P. There aren’t any {hardware} adjustments, however the enhancements are associated to “a greater interpretation of our automotive to take advantage of the aero, the tyres, the potential”. Put merely, Ferrari acknowledges that it’s nonetheless on a studying curve with what’s an advanced racing automotive.
However there may be one other space by which Ferrari has strived to enhance and that’s within the operation of the staff. That it wanted to take a step ahead was clear when it threw away a race it was dominating at Imola when the rain got here. Cannizzo factors out that Ferrari’s prototype squad is “nonetheless a younger staff” because it begins its third season collectively.
“We really feel that the group has good potential, however it’s not sufficient,” he says. “We have to maintain bettering, bettering, bettering. To win this 12 months we positively want the efficiency within the automotive, however we additionally must be glorious in operation and all of the technique selections.”
An inner evaluate geared toward bettering strains of communication was instigated post-Imola and the staff now has about 3 times as many KPIs (key efficiency indicators) from its information techniques to help and pace up choice making. The enhancements got here into play nearly instantly.
Cannizzo means that the Le Mans victory was proof of that, most notably within the remaining knockings of the race when Nielsen needed to return to the pits quickly after his penultimate gasoline cease as a result of a door had not been closed correctly. That turned his remaining cease for gasoline and an early one, which meant some strenuous efforts to save lots of power on the a part of the Dane at a time when the chasing Toyota was the quicker automotive. “Should you have a look at Le Mans it was an instance of a pure, excellent response,” he says.

Race winner #50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen
Picture by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Picture
There’s one other issue that Ferrari can’t speak about, and that’s the Stability of Efficiency – discussing the BoP in public is expressly banned within the sporting rules. Cannizzo will solely say that there have been two races, Qatar and Fuji “the place we had been out of competition” and that he won’t touch upon the the reason why. He additionally factors to Interlagos, one other race the place Ferrari wasn’t within the sport, conceding that it didn’t get probably the most from the 499P that weekend.
The Ferrari report card from 2024 may be very a lot a case of “may do higher”, reckons Cannizzo. “Final 12 months was not unhealthy,” he continues, “even when we’re not comfortable in any respect.”
Ferrari is just going to be comfortable this time round if it finishes the season with a world title, maybe or maybe not additionally with possession of that Le Mans trophy. No stone seems to have been left unturned in its efforts to realize the championship objective.
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